'14 CA TE Tyler Luatua (Back in Blue)

[PANDFAN]

listed as #6 in phil steele's Top Incoming Frosh TE's

 

[dublinirish]

will wear #13 for ND this fall per his twitter

 

[ulukinatme]

Hmmm, who else has worn that number in recent years besides Spond and I think Sharpley?

 

[NCND]

Hmmm, who else has worn that number in recent years besides Spond and I think Sharpley?

The great Tommy Rees

 

[dublinirish]

and the mighty David Wolke

 

[ulukinatme]

The great Tommy Rees

Reesus is with him

 

[GBdomer]

https://vine.co/v/MVmg2YZX6iM

If he can go back to playing like he did as a sophomore we might have gotten a really nice player.

 

[dublinirish]

he's definitely playing with the spirit of a reckless freshman TR in that No.13!

 

[greyhammer90]

Well this has turned out splendidly so far.

 

[ryno 24]

hes playing mean and I like it

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Tell me where I am over optimistic. This guy has the base, control, and strength of an offensive lineman, soft enough hands, and speed that falls just behind wide receiver.

If this kid masters the second (inline blocking) tight end position this year, it helps our offense tremendously. Even Troy Niklas struggled keeping his balance blocking. We haven't seen anything near enough to speculate, but wouldn't it be ironic if we actually upgraded at inline blocking with the addition of a freshman?

 

[Me2SouthBend]

https://vine.co/v/MVmg2YZX6iM

If he can go back to playing like he did as a sophomore we might have gotten a really nice player.

Tyler to James O. "You like pancakces? How do you like that pancake"?

 

[tko]

He flattened James in a business-like manner, no hootin n hollerin. I like the approach, no "Leons"

 

[ResLife Hero]

Notre Dame TE Tyler Luatua Is College Football's Most Versatile 270-lb Freshman | Bleacher Report

"He gives us some really good flexibility," Kelly said. "He's a fullback/H-back that gives us some versatility that we would like to have, especially blue zone [inside opponent's 10-yard line] coming in and black zone [inside Irish's 10-yard line] coming out. Short-yardage situations he can really help us."

"He's doing a good job of acclimating himself to playing either H or Y [tight end] for us," tight ends coach Scott Booker told UND.com. "Being a diverse guy. He brings a little bit of girth to our group, he's already over 260 pounds and he's a guy that we really like in-line and attached."

 

[EuropeanDomer]

Did he played against Rice? And Kolin Hill?

 

[dublinirish]

Did he played against Rice? And Kolin Hill?

yeah he played as the fullback in some pistol sets.
Didn't see Hill play though.

 

[MrIrishCanadian1]

I've been re-watching the Syracuse game and it seems like Luatua struggled a ton. It seems that most of the plays he doesn't block the right person. Another play, he was trying to block (a linebacker?) in space, but overran his guy and fell down. There was only one play where he seemed to be doing right where his assignment was to just block the guy in front of him.

Do people have insight into his play?

 

[PANDFAN]

I've been re-watching the Syracuse game and it seems like Luatua struggled a ton. It seems that most of the plays he doesn't block the right person. Another play, he was trying to block (a linebacker?) in space, but overran his guy and fell down. There was only one play where he seemed to be doing right where his assignment was to just block the guy in front of him.

Do people have insight into his play?

this was def the case in the syracuse game....haven't noticed him really at all in others

 

[Wild Bill]

I've been re-watching the Syracuse game and it seems like Luatua struggled a ton. It seems that most of the plays he doesn't block the right person. Another play, he was trying to block (a linebacker?) in space, but overran his guy and fell down. There was only one play where he seemed to be doing right where his assignment was to just block the guy in front of him.

Do people have insight into his play?

Typical freshman mistakes, IMO. The speed of the defenders can be overwhelming. He's physically gifted. Once the game slows down a bit and he refines his technique he'll be able to find his defender, latch on and block.

Troy struggled as a blocker his first year at tight end and overwhelmed defenders his second year. I can see Tyler doing the same - he's just too big, too fast, too talented. I'd be shocked if he didn't turn into a savage blocker.

 

[MrIrishCanadian1]

Typical freshman mistakes, IMO. The speed of the defenders can be overwhelming. He's physically gifted. Once the game slows down a bit and he refines his technique he'll be able to find his defender, latch on and block.

Troy struggled as a blocker his first year at tight end and overwhelmed defenders his second year. I can see Tyler doing the same - he's just too big, too fast, too talented. I'd be shocked if he didn't turn into a savage blocker.

Yeah, he's definitely in the learning phase. It just gets me worried since the offense seems to be trying to incorporate this two tight end formation to bolster their run game. But even though it might have worked well enough against Syracuse, Stanford is going to take advantage of Luatua-like mistakes.

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

I nominate Tyler as the unsung hero of the Music City Bowl. I've re-watched the game a few times and he was laying punishing blocks all day.

On the TD that became famous for Zaire laying the final block to let Folston in, what largely got overlooked was Tyler dominating the LSU Linebacker (#45), leaving a safety alone to make the tackle. One of my favorite ND plays in a very long time, and Tyler made the critical block that blew the play open.

<iframe width="1280" height="750" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uZUqx_yPj48" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I think we have our very own Aaron Hernandez, minus the murder rap.

 

[GBdomer]

I nominate Tyler as the unsung hero of the Music City Bowl. I've re-watched the game a few times and he was laying punishing blocks all day.

On the TD that became famous for Zaire laying the final block to let Folston in, what largely got overlooked was Tyler dominating the LSU Linebacker (#45), leaving a safety alone to make the tackle. One of my favorite ND plays in a very long time, and Tyler made the critical block that blew the play open.

<iframe width="1280" height="750" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uZUqx_yPj48" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I think we have our very own Aaron Hernandez, minus the murder rap.

Hernandez was more of a WR then anything plus he was really damn good. Plus Herzandez was faster, quicker and Luatua just isn't built for that. But maybe? I don't understand the comparison but yes, I noticed what you said a couple times during the game. Thought him and #68 were very impressive

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

Hernandez was more of a WR then anything plus he was really damn good. Plus Herzandez was faster, quicker and Luatua just isn't built for that. But maybe? I don't understand the comparison but yes, I noticed what you said a couple times during the game. Thought him and #68 were very impressive

What I meant by the Hernandez comparison is that Hernandez was moved around a lot behind the LOS, and was a huge asset to New England's power rushing attack. Tom Brady and NE's passing attack get most of the attention, but they have also won a lot of playoff games where they've barely thrown the ball at all (I'm looking at you Indy), especially on lightweight defenses built to stop the pass.

If Luatua can be as much of a blocking mismatch on linebackers as he was in the Music City bowl, he's going to get a lot of playing time.

 

[irishfan]

Luatua played very well against LSU, but Hernandez was a swiss-army knife on offense. They'd line him up everywhere and he was much more WR than TE....his blocking was very average. He was just an athletic freak.

I don't know who to compare Luatua to really...Brent Celek?

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Luatua played very well against LSU, but Hernandez was a swiss-army knife on offense. They'd line him up everywhere and he was much more WR than TE....his blocking was very average. He was just an athletic freak.

I don't know who to compare Luatua to really...Brent Celek?

Chris Cooley?


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[GBdomer]

What I meant by the Hernandez comparison is that Hernandez was moved around a lot behind the LOS, and was a huge asset to New England's power rushing attack. Tom Brady and NE's passing attack get most of the attention, but they have also won a lot of playoff games where they've barely thrown the ball at all (I'm looking at you Indy), especially on lightweight defenses built to stop the pass.

If Luatua can be as much of a blocking mismatch on linebackers as he was in the Music City bowl, he's going to get a lot of playing time.

Then yes I agree with that, I thought you were comparing players. I can't think of the Auburn TE that Luatua reminds me of Philip Lutz something. #43

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

Luatua played very well against LSU, but Hernandez was a swiss-army knife on offense. They'd line him up everywhere and he was much more WR than TE....his blocking was very average. He was just an athletic freak.

I don't know who to compare Luatua to really...Brent Celek?

Ok so I made a meh comparison with Hernandez. But Luatua should be invaluable in our power rushing attack. I believe we'll see a lot of H-back or double h-back sets this year like we saw against LSU. I think Clemson does a lot of this (or at least they did a couple of years back).

 

[ResLife Hero]

Irish A-to-Z: Tyler Luatua | Inside the Irish

FUTURE POTENTIAL

Any worry that Luatua’s lack of traditional size was going to put him in a Mike Heuerman situation was immediately thrown when we saw him early . Then he became a key piece of the offensive puzzle against LSU. Because of that, I think Luatua’s role in the Irish offense is almost assuredly safe.

No, he doesn’t look destined to be a major offensive weapon in the stat sheet. But there’s actually a ton of value in a player like Luatua, who’ll be a beast as a leadblocker and also could be deadly in playaction.

In goal line and 3rd-and-short, Luatua will be on the field. And as the Irish offense evolves with Malik Zaire, there’s only more room for a player like Luatua.



CRYSTAL BALL

Want a potential touchdown vulture in the red zone? Sound smart and consider Luatua one of your dark horse candidates. When Malik Zaire is bootlegging after a nice play fake, Luatua looks like the perfect candidate to haul in a pass in the flats, rumbling for a score.

As mentioned above, Luatua’s work won’t find the stat sheet all the time. But the fact that he shed some bad weight between the fall and the spring, and the fact that he’ll be working in a slightly different offense makes Luatua one of the offense’s more intriguing under-the-radar contributors.

Notre Dame knew what it wanted when it chased hard after Luatua in recruiting. And a thumping tight end who can punish you at the line of scrimmage and also be a very difficult body to tackle in space already looks like the baseline.

While the tight end depth chart is still mostly a mystery, if Luatua is healthy I’ve got him pegged for 13 games and a ton of good blocking. Throw in a few short catches or some damage in the playaction game and it’ll be fun to see how his career progresses.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Thought he did a real nice job of blocking last night and sealing the edge.


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[irishff1014]

Thought he did a real nice job of blocking last night and sealing the edge.


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Might need to see him more on passing downs if Folston is out.