#9 Kyle Rudolph 2009-10 Football Roster

CAREER: One of top tight ends in nation despite only being a junior … combines great size and strength with deceptive speed and tremendous ball skills when attempting to snatch football out of air … only sophomore named 2009 John Mackey Award semifinalist … of eight Mackey Award semifinalists, only Rudolph returns in 2010 … caught 62 passes for 704 yards with five touchdowns in his career … has started 22 of 23 career games played … established freshman receiving records at Notre Dame and became first tight end in Irish history to start every game in first season … had surgery on shoulder in offseason and was somewhat limited in spring practice.

2009 (SOPHOMORE): Participated in 10 games for Irish (did not play against Pittsburgh and Connecticut due to shoulder injury) … started nine of those contests (did not start at Stanford) … named semifinalist for John Mackey Award and was only sophomore to be named semifinalist … ranked third on team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, totaling 33 receptions for 364 yards and three touchdowns … 17 of his 33 catches resulted in first downs … hauled in four catches for 29 yards and a TD in opener against Nevada … set career high with 95 receiving yards against Michigan State including career-long 52-yard reception … named John Mackey Tight End of the Week following performance against Spartans … nabbed TD catches in back-to-back weeks against Purdue and Washington … his TD reception at Purdue occurred with 24 seconds remaining in game on fourth and goal to give Notre Dame 24-21 lead … TD reception against Washington came with less than two minutes remaining in regulation and gave Irish a lead … registered six catches (career high) against both Michigan State and Washington State … averaged better than 10.0 yards a catch in five games (Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Washington, Boston College) … voted by his teammates to represent tight ends on the Irish Leadership Committee … totaled 275:59 of playing time and made 57 special-teams appearances.

2008 (FRESHMAN): Started all 13 games for the Irish … hauled in 29 catches for 340 yards (11.7 avg.) and two touchdowns during rookie campaign … made his career debut in season opener vs. San Diego State and brought in his first career reception for five yards during the victory … became the first freshman to ever start a season opener at tight end for Notre Dame … posted his first multi-reception game (two catches for 29 yards) against Michigan State … both catches were for 10-plus yards and resulted in first downs against the Spartans … set then career-highs in receptions (three), receiving yards (32) and longest catch (19), while also recording the first touchdown catch of his career in win over Purdue … two of three receptions were for first downs, while the other went for a touchdown on a first and goal play against the Boilers … registered a career-high five receptions and then career-highs in yards (70) and long reception (29 yards) vs. Stanford … added his second career touchdown vs. the Cardinal … hauled in two catches for 26 yards against Pittsburgh … set a new school record for pass receptions by a freshmen tight end in a single season during the game against the Panthers … made his 11th career start and recorded three catches for 29 yards (9.7 avg.) against Syracuse … established a school record for single-season receiving yards by a freshman tight end during game against the Orange … caught four passes for a career-high 78 yards in Hawai[apos]i Bowl victory … had a 29-yard reception against the Warriors to set a career-best long reception.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Chosen to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio … named first-team All-American by USA Today after totaling 37 catches for 673 yards (18.2 yards per catch) and 11 touchdowns as a senior … placed on the Scout.com All-America first team … lone tight end among the 11 finalists for the high school Maxwell Award … one of five future Irish players placed on the EA Sports All-America third team … named the second-best player and top tight end in the Detroit Free Press[apos] Best of the Midwest Top 20 list … considered the No. 1 tight end in the recruiting class by Tom Lemming/CSTV, Rivals.com and Scout.com … rated by Lemming/CSTV and Rivals.com as the 20th-best prospect in the nation … ranked 21st in the country and No. 2 in Ohio by Scout.com … considered the 23rd-best player by Sports Illustrated/TAKKLE.com … No. 105 on the ESPN 150 list … received first-team all-Southwest Ohio as a senior after being named second team as a junior … named second-team all-state by the Associated Press following his senior year … caught four passes for 57 yards including two touchdowns to help Elder defeat Charlotte (N.C.) Independence, 41-34 in overtime, to end Independence[apos]s 109-game winning streak (at the time, Independence was ranked No. 3 in the nation) … gained 111 yards receiving and a touchdown to help the Panthers knock off Moeller … caught five passes for 120 yards and three TDs in Elder[apos]s 49-34 victory over Cleveland Benedictine … helped lead team to the playoffs where they lost in the first round to the eventual state champions … as a junior, caught 30 passes for 400 yards and seven TDs en route to earning first-team all-city and all-conference honors … an accomplished basketball player who played center for his high school team and was the conference player of the year three times and all-Southwest Ohio in 2007 … is the second-leading scorer in school history and became just the second Panther to surpass 1,000 career points … set the school record for most career rebounds when he corralled his 568th rebound on Jan. 11, 2008 … against Moeller (No. 1 in Ohio, No. 9 in the nation) on Jan. 25, 2008, scored 25 of Elder[apos]s 52 points as the Panthers almost upset the top-ranked team in Ohio, 58-52 … played for coach Doug Ramsey at Elder … born Nov. 9, 1989 … member of National Honor Society … son of Dan and Jamie Rudolph … oldest of three children … enrolled in Mendoza College of Business, majoring in management-consulting.

Rudolph[apos]s Career Statistics