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Notre Dame Football

Kmet Ready to Make a Jump This Season

August 13, 2018
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Notre Dame’s offense is searching for their identity after losing two first round draft picks on the offensive line. They are not lacking in talent, but it’s difficult to say exactly who the top players will be when they start playing games in the fall.

That’s partially because there are a plethora of options that could emerge. Near the top of the list is sophomore tight end Cole Kmet, who will be one of a few freakish size/speed athletes catching passers for the Irish.

At 6’5” 258, he presents a tough matchup for defenders because of his size. After a year working with Director of Football Performance Matt Balis, Kmet has added the strength and explosiveness along with it.

“I came in and I didn’t bench much in high school at all,” Kmet revealed. “So I came in probably doing six reps (of 225). I just did 17. That’s gone up a lot.”

To put that into perspective, Durham Smythe did 18 at the NFL Combine in the spring after five years at Notre Dame. That was tied for fifth at the position. Kmet is already approaching that after one year in college.

The truly scary part is how athletic he is for a big man.

“My (vertical jump) has gone up. I came in probably jumping 33 inches. I jumped 38 in the summer,” Kmet said. “So stuff like that has really gone up. My explosion and hang clean power where we measure the speed and all of that stuff has really jumped up.”

There aren’t many linebackers or defensive backs that can deal with that combination of size and athleticism, which is exactly why there is excitement about Kmet going from a freshman with a steep learning curve to a sophomore with star potential.

He has some stiff competition within his own position group to deal with in order to show that potential over the next few months. Tight end is one of the deepest and most talented groups on the team and those players all want to see the field.

It’s a healthy competition, though. Everyone wants to play, but it doesn’t take away from the closeness of the group.

“We’re a really close group of guys,” Kmet disclosed. “We’re always hanging out and stuff. We’re obviously very competitive with each other, being all athletes. We’re competitive, but we’re also a great group of friends as well.”

With a resurgent Alize Mack, an experienced Nic Weishar, and another talented sophomore in Brock Wright to go along with Kmet, offensive coordinator Chip Long can certainly choose to play multiple tight ends and get them all involved in some way.

The fact that Long is also tight end coach doesn’t hurt and Kmet understands the potential benefits of that.

“He’s going to put the best players on the field. Obviously having him as the offensive coordinator is a big deal for our room. When you have the tight ends coach as the offensive coordinator, you’re probably going to get the ball a little bit more.”

In order to ensure Kmet is consistently a top pick for Long to put on the field, Kmet has to be more than just a great receiver. His blocking has to improve and that’s been an adjustment after not being used in the same role in high school

“I think Coach Long has really helped me with my footwork and really understanding that and understanding the concept of the run plays,” Kmet explained. “I think that really helps. In high school school obviously I wasn’t really used to that. They would kind of just throw me out wide and I’d do my thing out there.

“Being physical helps and I think that in the run game it’s just wanting to be physical and do the dirty work. I think the technique and the footwork has been a big deal for me.”

The blocking part of his game is only going to get better the more experience he gains. The receiving part might be good enough right now to make him a name that the college football world will have to pay attention to this fall.

Very few programs have a player his size that can play above the rim like he can. Kmet has the talent to be an x-factor for the Irish this fall. 

 
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