Kyle Rudolph is tied for second on the Irish with 13 receptions this year and ranks third on the team with 162 receiving yards.

Kyle Rudolph Named John Mackey Tight End Of The Week

Sept. 23, 2009

MANHASSET, N.Y. – University of Notre Dame sophomore tight end Kyle Rudolph was named John Mackey Tight End of the Week, the Nassau County Sports Commission announced Wednesday.

Rudolph recorded career highs of six receptions for 95 yards against Michigan State, helping the Irish improve to 2-1 this year with a 33-30 victory over the Spartans. Other candidates considered for this week’s Mackey Tight End of the Week included Caz Piurowski of Florida State and Dennis Pitta of BYU.

The 6-6, 260-pounder hauled in a career-long 52-yard reception on Notre Dame’s opening drive against Michigan State and later added an eight-yard reception on the touchdown drive. The 52-yard catch was the longest by an Irish tight end since John Carlson raced 62 yards against Michigan State on Sept. 23, 2006.

Rudolph is tied for second at Notre Dame with 13 catches this year and has registered 162 receiving yards and one touchdown. Among tight ends with at least 4.33 receptions per game, his 12.46 yards per reception average is the highest of all tight ends in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The John Mackey Tight End of the Week is an honor distinct and different from the annual John Mackey Award. This weekly honor was started in 2004 to draw attention to individual play by Tight Ends during the active season. The Tight End of the Week acknowledgment does not have a direct bearing on the final John Mackey Award selection process.

The Nassau County Sports Commission, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization created to enhance quality of life of Nassau County residents through sports, is responsible for the administration of the John Mackey Award and the John Mackey Award Selection Committee. The 2009 recipient of “The Mackey” will be announced at the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show live December 10, 2009 on ESPN and presented at the Nassau County Sports Commission Annual Awards Dinner on April 26, 2010. For additional information, please visit www.johnmackeyaward.org or www.nassausports.org.

The John Mackey Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official website, www.ncfaa.org.

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