Perhaps the only way 2020 would have been more abnormal is if Notre Dame did not have a dominant tight end. In the last 15 years, the Irish have sent eight tight ends into the NFL draft, including six taken in the first or second rounds. After Cole Kmet jumped into the 2020 NFL draft after a stellar junior season, the question was not if someone would step into his place, but who.
WHERE NOTRE DAME WAS
In hindsight, it is too simple to say the Irish knew what Michael Mayer would do as a freshman.