Notre Dame Tight End Michael Mayer Knows His Game Can, And Must, Get Better

Despite a brilliant freshman season and strong start in 2021 tight end Michael Mayer knows he can get better

When Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees mentioned in August that sophomore tight end Michael Mayer has the potential to be the best tight end in Notre Dame history, it seemed quite hyperbolic. Then Mayer turned in a career performance to open the season Sunday night in Tallahassee, and gave further credence to Rees’ high praise.

Mayer hauled in nine passes for 120 receiving yards and a touchdown to lead the Irish in receiving in the sophomore’s first game in front of a full-capacity crowd. It was the third straight game Mayer led the team in receiving dating back to last season, as Mayer also paced the Notre Dame offensive passing attack in the ACC Championship against Clemson and the Rose Bowl against Alabama.

For Mayer, the big night against the Seminoles was the culmination of a lot of hard work.

“I've been working towards it all of the summer and all of camp and I'm glad I got to kind of show the world what I could do and what I'm going to be going for this season, and I'm excited for more games,” Mayer said.

Mayer got the Irish off to a strong start on the first drive of the game, catching three passes, one of which he took 41 yards to the house. It was thus evident from the very beginning that Mayer and new Irish quarterback Jack Coan had a strong connection, and Coan targeted Mayer 13 times in the game, six more times than the next highest receiver (7 to Austin).

According to Mayer, that connection was almost instant.

“We had that connection the entire camp," Mayer explained. "We had that connection throughout the entire summer and I think that connections gonna stay there throughout the whole season.”

Mayer commended Coan for his play on Sunday, and emphasized that there’s much more to come.

“That dude knows how to compete. That kid’s a grinder,” Mayer said of his quarterback. “Obviously, I've never played with him in a real game and he's a great player and I'm so pumped to play the rest of the season with him now. He's capable of throwing like that and having a game like that every single game we play.” 

Mayer also noted that one of Coan’s biggest strengths is his “emotional mastery” and how he keeps his emotions in check.

Though Mayer set new career highs in receptions and receiving yards, the sophomore did drop two crucial passes on third down, including one that could have potentially set the Irish up with a game-winning field goal try at the end of regulation. According to Mayer, the drops had more to do with overexcitement than anything else.

“I knew what I did wrong, I'm hoping it's never gonna happen again," explained Notre Dame's star tight end. "I've been working on it. First game of the season, I was pretty eager and what I was doing was I was turning my head and running upfield before I actually caught the ball, I was just pretty eager.

“I'm gonna make mistakes," continued Mayer. "I'm human, and I feel like a big thing for me is I'm pretty hard on myself and one drop or two, I can't let it affect my whole game. I can't let it affect the next play and that type of thing. So I'm definitely hard on myself when it comes to drops and things like that, but I'm definitely very good at moving on to the next play too."

Moving on is important for Mayer.

“When it comes to drops, it's gonna happen, everybody drops a few balls here and there so I got to keep reminding myself that and learn from it.”

Outside of the great night receiving, Mayer believes one of his biggest areas of improvement from a season ago is in the trenches.

“I feel like Sunday I didn't really come out of the game that much," explained the Irish tight end. "I don't think I came out once and I feel like my blocking Sunday compared to last year was already improved and we've only played one game. I feel like my blocking has got tremendously better since last year.”

Mayer was prepared for the large work load, even joking post game that he could’ve played again on Monday, and knows he’s going to have to give extra attention to his recovery throughout the year.

“I think what I did well was getting my body ready for the game. I think that's what I'm going to have to do the entire season. If I'm playing that many plays, I'm definitely gonna have to take extra care of my body,” Mayer said. “I just want to stay healthy throughout the season.”

Mayer’s strong performance on Sunday also isn’t distracting him from the reality that his game must continue to get better, and it can get better.

“I have to block better, I have to catch better, I have to run better routes," Mayer said. "I feel like, no matter how many catches I have, or whatever I do, I always got to get better at every single thing. I mean, that's kind of the game of football, you're always striving to get better no matter what."

Further, when asked what people can expect from Mayer for the rest of the season, the sophomore standout got right to the point.

“Games like that. Every single game, I'm going to strive for games like that, except minus the two drops, obviously.”

With these types of mentalities, there’s practically no bounds to what Mayer will be able to accomplish for the Irish offense in both the run and pass games in 2021.

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