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Irish TE Rudolph Wins Weekly Mackey Award
Kyle Rudolph is our #1 tight end prospect for the NFL Draft 2011 if he declares after the 2010 season. He has been very impressive in the early action and was named the John Mackey award winner this week for his outstanding performance in the Irish loss to Michigan.
Photo - Kyle Rudolph - Notre Dame
Scouting Profile in Pro Prospect Preview for NFL Draft 2011
1. * Kyle Rudolph - 6’5” 260 lbs. - Notre Dame
Athletic junior tight end has developed nicely over his Irish career and has enormous upside as a pro player. He is a big strong prospect with fine athleticism, combining the power to be a quality inline blocker and the speed to get into the deep seam and make the big play. He has good hands and the run after the catch ability to be dangerous after the reception, though underutilized in this role. As a blocker, he shows the agility, strength and quickness to get into a defender with the power to finish the play. He could improve further this fall, though he is working with a first time starting QB who could go through a tough learning curve. He has the prototypical skills to become a premier complete NFL starter.
John Mackey Award - weekly winner Kyle Rudolph - Notre Dame
Kyle Rudolph of Notre Dame was named John Mackey Tight End of the Week by the Nassau County Sports Commission. The junior recorded eight receptions for 164 yards and a 95 yard touchdown catch - a career best in receptions and yardage. His career long 95 yard touchdown reception put Notre Dame ahead 24-21 with 4:28 remaining in the 4th quarter before Michigan retook the lead with 30 seconds remaining resulting in a heartbreaking 28-24 loss for Notre Dame. This is the second time that Rudolph has been name Mackey Tight end of the Week - the other honor coming in week 3 last season. Honorable mentions considered for this week's Mackey Tight End of the Week include Ladarius Green of Louisiana and Rob Housler of Florida Atlantic .
The 2010 recipient of "The Mackey" will be announced at the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show December 9, 2010 on ESPN. Please visit www.johnmackeyaward.org for all Mackey Award related information including the John Mackey Selection Committee, the selection process and award criteria, information on all past award recipients and a high resolution image of the award trophy available for download.
Frank Coyle is a longtime Member of the FWAA and voter in College team and player awards - Heisman, Outland, Nagurski, Jim Thorpe, etc. He is a voter for weekly Team and Player Awards.