Nov. 21, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Nassau County Sports Commission, sponsored by Briarcliffe College, named University of Notre Dame senior tight end Tyler Eifert a finalist for the John Mackey Award. It is the second consecutive season in which Eifert was named a finalist for the award presented to the nation’s top tight end.
The 2012 John Mackey Award winner will be presented live on ESPNU at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show at 6:30 p.m. EST on December 6, 2012.
Eifert leads Notre Dame with 555 receiving yards and ranks second on the team with 40 catches. Twenty-nine of his 40 receptions have resulted in a touchdown or first down. Eifert also leads the Irish receiving corps with 11 grabs of at least 20 yards.
Eifert ranks No. 1 in school history for career receptions (130) by a tight end and is only 50 yards away from eclipsing Ken MacAfee’s tight end school record for career receiving yards (1,759). He is the second Notre Dame tight end ever to collect 10 or more career touchdown receptions.
Eifert, who ranks eighth overall in career receptions regardless of position, became the third Irish tight end to ever collect at least 100 career catches.
In addition to Eifert in 2011 and ’12, former Irish tight ends Anthony Fasano (2005) and John Carlson (2006) were also named finalists.
The John Mackey Award, established in 2001, is awarded annually to the most outstanding tight end in FBS college football. In addition to demonstrating outstanding athletic prowess on the field, the award also stands for positive sportsmanship-like behavior, good academic standing and exceptional leadership abilities.
The award recipient is determined by confidential balloting of the John Mackey Award Selection Committee, which is composed of respected members of the media and former NFL players.
Notre Dame (11-0), ranked No. 1 in the most recent BCS standings, enters this weekend’s matchup with archrival UCS atop the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls.