(UHND.com) – Later this morning, Cincinnati native Kyle Rudolph will become the fifth member of the Class of 2008 recruiting class at an early morning press conference. Rudolph, a 6’7” tight end from Edler High School, will be the fourth offensive commitment so far this year after picking the Irish over the instate Buckeyes.
The first thing that strikes you about Rudolph is his size – he stands 6’7” and weighs in at 220 lbs. His size has allowed him to become a standout on the hardwood as well as the gridiron for the Elder basketball team.
While he is 220 lbs currently, Rudolph has a frame that can easily accommodate 20-25 more pounds without losing his speed which has been clocked at 4.7. He isn’t a blazer at the position like a Mike Ragone, but he is literally a huge target for a quarterback and will create major match-up problems in the redzone for opposing defenses.
Watch some of his video and you will see rather quickly that Rudolph has the potential to be a very dangerous weapon for the Irish offense around the goal line. He’s a big target who uses his body well to block out defenders and times his jumps very well.
Rivals.com lists Rudolph as one of their 250 recruits to watch for 2008 and he projects to be one of the premier tight ends in the country this year which is backed up by his offers from Tennessee, Michigan, and Ohio State.
The commitment of Rudolph continues a trend of extremely good tight end recruiting by Notre Dame under Charlie Weis. Two years ago the Irish signed the nation’s top tight end in Konrad Reuland along with highly ranked Will Yeatman. This past season, Notre Dame landed the nation’s second ranked tight end in New Jersey native Mike Ragone.
Rudolph figures to be one of two tight ends in this years class with Notre Dame most likely targeting a smaller, faster tight end to compliment Rudolph.
Notre Dame now has four commitments from the Midwest with Rudolph joining Illinois native Sean Cwynar and Indiana natives Braxston Cave and John Goodman.
Stoneburner To Ohio State
On the same day we learned of Rudolph’s plans to commit to Notre Dame, another tight end with a Notre Dame offer, Jake Stoneburner, selected Ohio State. Stonburner is another Ohio native from Dublin-Coffman High – the home of Brady Quinn and CHinedum N’Dukwe – and is in the same mold of Rudolph.
