Tight Ends

[johnnd05]

Reuland at home at Tight End U

Posted: August 17, 2007 05:56 PM

The depth and talent at his position on Notre Dame's roster didn't scare away Konrad Reuland when he was picking a school. He wanted to be a part of the new Tight End U.

“There’s been a lot of great tight ends come out of here," Reuland said Friday, "starting with Anthony (Fasano) a couple years ago, John (Carlson) coming up and then all the young tight ends that we have now, including Will (Yeatman) and Mike (Ragone) and myself and the recruits that we’re getting over the next couple years. I think it’s kind of becoming the Tight End U that Miami was the last decade.”

Reuland and Yeatman, his sophomore classmate, are currently listed as tied for No. 2 behind Carlson on the depth chart, though it may not really matter who ends up where. One of the tenets of coach Charlie Weis' offense is it plays to its strengths, and clearly, tight end is the strongest position on the Irish roster at the moment.

Reuland said he knew Weis was fond of using multiple-tight end formations and that he'd have a chance to get on the field, even if he wasn't the No. 1 guy.

"The way Coach Weis uses the tight ends in his offense is pretty intriguing for anybody, I think," Reuland said.

Reuland, who stands 6-foot-6, said he's upped his weight to 260 pounds, which is around where Carlson is. Yeatman, who's listed at 6-6 and 264, is probably the most physically imposing of the Irish tight ends and Ragone, a freshman, is the "baby" at 6-5, 230.

Reuland said he was always the biggest tight end around in high school, but now has to work hard to keep up.

"It’s weird, because I went to being one of the biggest guys at my position to just another guy in terms of size," he said.

The native of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., is a natural pass-catcher and a load to bring down in the open field. But he's had to work diligently to become a better blocker, which is the quickest way to getting playing time.

"Not necessarily strength-wise, because I think I’m strong enough," Reuland said, "it’s just getting the technique down, and I think I’ve come a long way since I first came here a year ago.”

Reuland said his goal is to be as balanced a tight end as possible. He's also trying to achieve balance in his life. He wants to play football as long as he can, but knows his Notre Dame education will continue to take him places even when his athletic ability won't.

"Tomorrow you could step out on the field and, God forbid, have some kind of injury and never be the same," Reuland said. "To have an education like this to fall back on, the connections coming out of here, is also a huge draw.”

 

[johnnd05]

Published: August 22, 2007 6:00 a.m.

Backup tight ends for Notre Dame are quite the pair

By Michael Rothstein
The Journal Gazette

SOUTH BEND – Will Yeatman and Konrad Reuland woke up one morning this summer and made the decision.

The Notre Dame sophomore tight ends from Southern California would head to Chicago for the “Taste of Chicago,” a 10-day event labeled as the Midwest’s Largest Food Festival.

“It was nice,” Reuland said. “A lot of people in there. It was something that I’ve heard about it so many times and wanted to check it out for myself. We got away and went in for the weekend this summer.”

Heading up to the Taste ended up as a de facto Notre Dame team reunion, as Yeatman and Reuland wandered into quarterback Demetrius Jones. The thing is, it didn’t surprise anyone the two went somewhere together. Ask them, and even they’ll tell you how similar they are – from where they grew up, to the position they play, to their laid-back personalities.

“Those two are hilarious together,” said sophomore right tackle Sam Young, Reuland’s roommate. “They are just two goofballs. They rub off. No matter who is in the group, if those two are together, they are going to rub off on everyone.”

While the two are often referred to as a pair – teammates and coaches commonly refer to them as “Konrad and Will” or “Will and Konrad” – they are competing to back up fifth-year senior John Carlson.

Both have improved the way they approach the game and their intelligence. Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said because of that improvement, he has confidence that should Carlson be injured, he’ll have at least one capable player to replace him. Plus, it allows him to diversify his play-calling.

“They are both capable of playing any of the tight end slots we put out there,” Weis said. “They are smart, and that is the one thing they have going for them. It allows you to have more complex schemes with the utilization of the tight ends.”

Yeatman, 6-foot-6, 263 pounds, has athleticism – he also plays lacrosse, where he was named the Great Western Lacrosse League Rookie of the Year. Reuland, 6-6, 255, has natural hands, honed from his time playing basketball, the sport he enjoyed the most growing up.

“Growing up, it was the most important sport for me,” Reuland said. “I had always loved football, but my parents wouldn’t let me play when I was younger because I was too big and would have to play with kids two, three years older.

“Sophomore year of high school, I said I was playing and I naturally had the athleticism and the hand-eye coordination. It just came naturally to me.”

That eventually led him to Notre Dame, to Yeatman and to their trip to Chicago.

 

[johnnd05]

Yeatman a two-sport star at Notre Dame

Last Updated: 8/23/2007 12:04:22 AM
By: Ben Ford

NOTRE DAME -- Will Yeatman's calf muscles are bigger than most people's biceps, and if you know anything about the work Yeatman puts those calves through on a regular basis, you know why.

A typical stretch during the spring might see Yeatman playing two games in three days with the Notre Dame men's lacrosse team and attending an Irish football practice on the fourth. But Yeatman, who's already a standout with the lacrosse squad and is now battling with classmate Konrad Reuland for the No. 2 tight end position on the football team, isn't going to grouse about having tired legs.

"There certainly are times when it gets pretty exhausting, but at the same time, I knew what I was getting myself into when I came to school here," said Yeatman, a sophomore from San Diego. "You can't complain too much. It has been hard at times, but there's so much support around the university, not only for myself but all the athletes, that they really help me get through it, whether it be academics or whether it be the understanding of both coaching staffs. That's certainly helped me out a lot."

It was that understanding attitude that helped convince Yeatman to come to Notre Dame. He always considered himself a lacrosse player first and a football player second -- he didn't play football in junior high to concentrate on his first sporting love -- but was looking for a place where he could do both.

Yeatman and his family sat down with Irish coach Charlie Weis and were assured that he'd be allowed to participate in both sports. Since then, Weis has shown up at several Irish lacrosse matches to cheer on his tight end.

"He has been supportive of it and I really have appreciated that, because there were a lot of schools that initially said, 'Yes, you can play both sports,' but pulled away at the last second," Yeatman said. "And he is, really and truly, a man of his word. I've really appreciated that, and he's lived up to that word."

While Yeatman's greatest successes so far have come on the lacrosse field -- he was an honorable mention All-American last season after starting all 15 games, scoring 21 goals and recording 25 assists -- he's quick to point out that he's not just playing football as a lark.

He made 36 catches for 527 yards on the football field as a senior at Rancho Bernardo High School and was one of the top 40 tight ends in the nation according to a couple of national recruiting services. Michigan and most of the schools in the Pac-10 Conference offered him scholarships, including USC, which tried to entice him away after he made his verbal commitment to Notre Dame.

"I said, 'There's no way,' obviously," Yeatman said of the Trojans' overtures.

All along, Yeatman had "no doubt" he could play major college football.

" A lot of people didn't know it because I was overshadowed by all the recruiting I got for lacrosse, but I had a lot of scholarship offers for football, all over the country, which people didn't realize," Yeatman said. "When I started getting that recognition after my sophomore season of football, I was kind of like, 'Wow. This is something I didn't even think of.' I'd always dreamed of playing Division I lacrosse. I got scholarship offers after my junior year, obviously, but when you start getting letters at an early age, you start realizing."

The 6-foot-6, 264-pound Yeatman, whom Weis calls a "big muchacho," played in all 13 football games for Notre Dame last season, but didn't catch a pass and wasn't on the field in many meaningful situations. He said he made his most improvement during spring practice, when he split his time between his two sports.

The football coaches made sure his transition was as smooth as possible.

"I wouldn't say I was playing catch-up at all, because right when I got there every practice they threw me in there just as if I'd been there the whole time," Yeatman said.

Lacrosse is one of the roughest sports you'll find outside of football, but it took Yeatman some time to transfer those skills to his tight end play. That's where he still has the most room for improvement, he said.

"I'm still trying to be as physical as I can and I'm far from that, far from accomplishing being a very physical player, but I think I've gained leaps and bounds from where I was last year," Yeatman said.

And as he continues to grow as player, you can bet those calf muscles will keep growing, too.

 

[Sureal]

Good read John!!! Lacrosse is a difficult sport and not as easy as people would think. A lot of hand eye coordination speed and agility is required.

 

[johnnd05]

Good read John!!! Lacrosse is a difficult sport and not as easy as people would think. A lot of hand eye coordination speed and agility is required.

Darn right. I still remember getting cut from the lax team in high school. Yeatman is a DAMN good athlete - it'll be really exciting to see him bring his skills to the football field.

 

[Sureal]

This is one position where we don't have to worry for a couple of years to come. This is nowtight end u and we do have the deepest pool of talent at this position in the nation.

Pretty soon they will be calling ND Quarterback U, Running Back U....

 

[gipper2nd@yahoo.com]

Correction, Sureal................N.D. has always been tight end U........since th e 70's! Some of you guys just aren't old enough to remember all of the great tight ends that N.D. has had !

 

[Sureal]

Correction, Sureal................N.D. has always been tight end U........since th e 70's! Some of you guys just aren't old enough to remember all of the great tight ends that N.D. has had !

Hey, then we're continuing tradition and it looks bright in the next coming years...