Notre Dame Nation can breathe a sigh of relief. Irish Illustrated broke the news on its Twitter account on Friday afternoon that Tyler Eifert will skip April’s NFL Draft and will return to South Bend in order to play his senior season.
January 6, 2012 12:20 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite
This couldn’t be better news for Irish fans. Early on in the process it appeared as though Eifert was a lock to return to Notre Dame, but things changed over the last week. There were even some who believed that the tight end was going into the draft despite being given a third round ranking. Today’s announcement puts those worries to rest though.
Many Irish players and new offensive coordinator Chuck Martin have visited in recent days, according to Irish Illustrated. Martin visited Eifert on Thursday to discuss how the tight end will be featured in the Irish offense in 2012. Dan Fox, Tommy Rees, Zach Martin and Chris Watt have also spent time with the soon to be senior.
Eifert’s decision to return instantly means that the Irish offense will better heading into next season. With Michael Floyd leaving for the NFL, Eifert will be the biggest weapon for whichever quarterback wins the starting job in camp. The tight end put up huge numbers in 2011, but those can be improved on in 2012.
Look for Eifert to get every preseason honor that can be bestowed to a tight end. If he stays healthy, Eifert should be the best tight end in the country come next season.
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