Notre Dame has had recent success with tight ends being drafted and every year another steps up to fill the tight end role. Ben Koyack is no exception to this recent trend. Last season, he emerged as the offensive threat at the position. In his previous years, he was more of a backup tight end that was more known for his blocking than his catches and scores.
In 2015, Notre Dame had some very good receivers and Ben Koyack was an offensive factor. He caught the game winning catch versus Stanford in the back of the end zone. Let's take a look at Ben Koyack as he prepares to be in the NFL.
Ben Koyack was picked by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round. He's really more used as a backup tight end and probably won't be much of an offensive force. In 2014, Koyack only had two touchdowns. A weakness of his is his inexperience. Last season was his only year as a starter. In the other three years, he only started just three games.
One of his strengths is his blocking skills. Also, he has some of the best hand skills. He was used at Notre Dame on special teams on onside kicks because of his good hands. With some coaching he can become an offensive force.
There was a few games in 2014 in which Ben Koyack had an impact. The most notable game of his season was probably week six versus Stanford. That would be a week he would remember. He only had 28 yards on two receptions with a touchdown. That touchdown though was a difference. It was the game winner in the back of the end zone as time was expiring. Week 10 versus Navy Koyack had 54 yards on 5 catches and a touchdown. That's the most yardage Koyack had all season.
Ben Koyack did participate in the NFL Pro-Day and here's his statistics 40-yard dash: 4.76 and 4.82 seconds, Vertical jump: 30 inches, Broad jump: 9 feet, 8 inches, Short shuttle:4.52 seconds ,3-cone: 7.32 seconds, Bench: 16 reps of 225 pounds.
Since Koyack was only a seventh rounder, according to Adam Schefter, "No Notre Dame player was selected in 1st 5 rounds for the 1st time since 2000 and 3rd time in Common Draft Era (1977)." Mostly because it was a young class and a lot of them returned to college.