Tag: Jayden Umbarger

Tale of the Tape: Top Receivers – Michael Mayer vs. Jayden Umbarger

Take this chart for what you will.

As talented as [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] is, Notre Dame’s best tight end ever remains just that – a tight end. That means he isn’t going to be as flashy or maybe even as fast as the top true receivers in college football. Then again, he doesn’t need to be with the numbers he’s put up this season and every season before it. He now stands alone on top of every prominent Irish tight end record.

Navy’s top receiver is Jayden Umbarger, but like with every offensive skills player for the Midshipmen, that should be taken with a grain of salt. The service academies are known for not throwing the ball nearly as often as more conventional college football programs. That means any Midshipmen receiver could have been on this chart, and the numbers would have looked similar. Umbarger just happens to be the player who has the honor of being on this chart.

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Notre Dame vs. Navy: First-Quarter Analysis

We have a game.

Some might have thought Notre Dame would just cruise to victory over Navy. If that’s going to happen, we haven’t seen it yet. In fact, the Midshipmen are showing they won’t just be pushed around at Notre Dame Stadium. Consequently, they have a 3-0 lead after the first quarter.

Neither team picked up a first down on the game’s first three possessions. On the fourth possession, the Midshipmen showed the first signs of life when they converted on a fourth-and-1, which was followed by a 32-yard gain from Jayden Umbarger on a reverse pitch. Four plays later, Tai Lavatai was successful at converting a fourth-and-1 in the red zone, but he then was sacked on back-to-back plays by Kurt Hinish and Jordan Botelho. Even after that disaster for the Midshipmen, who burned all three of their first-half timeouts on the drive, Bijan Nichols kicked a 49-yard field goal to open the game’s scoring.

The Irish sent their offense back onto the field, and things finally got moving, at least for a bit. After a couple of runs from Kyren Williams, Coan hit Deion Colzie for a 31-yard completion to the Navy 25-yard line. Though the Irish got into the red zone over the next three plays, they opted to go for it on fourth down. Coan was sacked by John Marshall, and the Irish turned it over on downs.

Hopefully, this is just a slow start.