We are breaking down the Notre Dame football prospects ahead of the NFL Draft which begins on Thursday, April 29th in Cleveland, Ohio. There will be no NFL Combine this year due to the pandemic. However, Notre Dame will hold its Pro Day on March 31st at 12:00 PM in South Bend.
Next up, a versatile pass-catcher who went out on a limb and bet on himself by leaving Notre Dame after just 3 years on campus.
SPECS
Name: Tommy Tremble
Position: TE/HB
Height: 6-4
Weight: 248
Hometown: Johns Creek, Georgia
STATS
| YEAR | REC | YDS | AVG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 16 | 183 | 11.4 | 4 |
| 2020 | 19 | 218 | 11.5 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 35 | 401 | 11.5 | 4 |
BIO:
Tremble was a 3-star prospect out of Georgia who took a redshirt in 2018 before bursting on to the scene with 49 yards and a touchdown in the 2019 opener against Louisville. He’d go on to have a few big catches early in the season but his production trailed off as 2019 wore on.
A similar story emerged in 2020 as Tremble totaled 104 yards in the first 2 games and then eventually lost steam as sensational freshman Michael Mayer became the primary target at tight end.
It was rumored that Tremble had his eye on the NFL heading into 2020 and off he goes after just 2 seasons on the field with the Fighting Irish.
STRENGTHS:
Hyper-aggressive and willing blocker. Leaves it all on the field with a manic physicality. The top blocking tight end for 2020 according to Pro Football Focus. Extremely versatile in the college game. He could be a split out receiver, in-line blocker, pulling H-back, or slipping into the flat for a pass. Above average to good athleticism. Tougher and more physical than his listed size. He’s shown flashes of being a productive pass-catcher.
WEAKNESSES:
Sometimes over-aggressive as a blocker and isn’t always under control, especially when pulling across the line of scrimmage. Average size. Physicality will be muted against bigger NFL defenders. Struggled catching the ball cleanly and lacked production as a receiver in college. May not be able to carve out a role as a receiver and maybe too small to be an impact blocker.
OVERVIEW:
Due to the pandemic rules, technically Tremble left Notre Dame with 3 years of eligibility remaining. If he had come back and caught 35 passes in 2021 and then left for the NFL it would’ve made plenty of sense. Instead, he leaves with just those 35 catches in 2 years and it’s kind of a wild decision.
Still, there aren’t that many great tight ends in the draft every year. Typically there are 2 or 3 impact tight ends and then there’s a jumbled mess of guys in the next tier where Tremble resides. It’s not quite like the running back position where even great college tailbacks can have difficulty getting drafted. If you have the tools and can convince teams you have a high ceiling you have a shot at going in the mid-rounds.
PREDICTION:
5th Round, 158th Overall to the Buffalo Bills
Some places have Tremble in the second tier of tight ends in this draft which could move him up to the early 3rd round while others have him closer to the 10th tight end which in most years would be a 6th round pick or possibly undrafted. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between?
The Bills took Dawson Knox 96th overall 2 years ago and so far he’s been serviceable while having a pretty similar college career to Tremble. Buffalo doesn’t have much money invested in this position and could add a versatile weapon for Josh Allen in the later rounds.
More Scouting Reports to Come:
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Ade Ogundeji
Ian Book
Aaron Banks
Robert Hainsey
Liam Eichenberg
Interesting stuff. I think I read or heard somewhere that Tremble got a 3rd round grade from the advisory committee, hopefully he goes up towards that range. I kinda get the feeling he will; The Athletic’s Dane Bruger has Tremble as TE4 and a third rounder and it seems like he’s popping up in the third round in many a mock draft.
I’m sure that committee couches itself in legalese and has language to make it clear that combine/medical performance can alter the ultimate draft stock, but that would be pretty crappy if they tell and underclassman he has a 3rd round grade when there is actually a chance he could be 6th round, 7th round, undrafted.
I believe the NFL draft advisory board no longer grades out underclassmen past the second round. They only tell players considering leaving early “First Round”, “Second Round”, or “Neither”.
I’d have to assume that if Tremble received an advisory opinion it would have had to be “neither” but looking at the other TEs in the draft, obviously other than Pitts, he’s very competitive to be in that second tier, so I can understand why he left. Hoping for the best for him, but I agree that 5th round is probably the most likely landing spot.
I distinctly remember hearing 3rd round grade from the draft committee. Maybe what I heard wasn’t right, though.
Either way, I do think many here are sleeping on Tremble’s actual stock and status a bit though. Mel Kiper just said yesterday 3rd or 4th round with some talking about him sneaking into the 2nd round..Dane Bruger has him in the 3rd round. 5th round sounds possible but on the lower end of things for him at this point of the process.
Man, I’d love to see a GM defend picking Tremble in the 2nd round to its fan base. Anything is possible, I suppose.
I think that’s a big reach too. But Troy Niklas was a 2nd round pick for…being really tall? Idk, weird stuff can happen in the NFL, especially for the teams with multiple picks in a round. A lot of the analysts don’t seem that concerned about Tremble’s lack of college stats considering the physical attributes he’s bringing.
Niklas was actually a very good TE his JR year. He was a high ceiling, low floor pick, both largely due to his size and lack of experience.
He was a physical clone of Gronk at the height of Gronk’s powers. So yes, being really tall (and strong) probably helped him gain at least 1 round in the draft.
https://walterfootball.com/scoutingreport2014tniklas.php
But Niklas also exceeded Tremble in production (peak and overall) and development.
Niklas JR year: 32 catches, 498 yds, 5 TDs, 15.6 y/c.
Tremble career: 35 catches, 401 yds, 4 TDs, 11.5 y/c.
That’s somewhat fair. But still trying to paint a bit of a misleading picture IMO, since Niklas’ career was 37 catches, 573, 6 TD, 15.5 y/c, it’s not like you omitted anything of meaning from Niklas.
But that still ties into my point that the NFL will see potential beyond the stat line and that’s a big reason why many of the so called experts and mock drafters have Tremble in the 3rd round range.
Dawson Knox (38 career college catches, 0 TD’s, only 15 catches in draft year) is another example of a TE getting drafted pretty high (3rd round) based on limited college production. And he doesn’t have the size of Gronk comparisons of Niklas.
UW’s Drew Sample, who is a less athletic version of TT, went in round 2 a couple of years ago. But of course, it was the Bengals who drafted him, and they’re grade-A morons (full disclosure: I’m a reformed ex-Bengal fan).
Yeah, lots draft on pure upside. I think the fact Niklas only had 1 year or production actually helped. People saw his huge jump as him quickly developing as a TE after a pos change and thought he would stay on that path.
If Tremble shows great speed/agility at the combine/pro day, then he could jump. It only takes one decision maker to take someone too early. I wouldn’t be absolutely shocked if Tremble went late in the second round (ever since the Bears traded up for Trubisky, nothing shocks me in the draft), but I would be very disappointed if my fav team drafted him there.
I am a Pats fan, who desperately need TE help. So I’m actually hoping they get him late in the third round, which I would consider a slight overdraft, but I’m OK with it because we get so few ND guys.
This is a player I really liked at ND and am sad to see him leaving early. I loved watching the games where Dungy (I think it was him) would point out Tremble’s excellent blocks.
Probably the worst thing to happen to him was Mayer coming in…that took away his chance to be the key pass catching TE which could have built up his numbers. I think the later rounds is where I would expect him to go, some team will love his willingness to be an aggressive blocker and versatility to line up in the backfield or to split out wide.
There are more than a couple TE’s that have surer hands than Tremble. Let’s not forget too that he was pushed aside in the pass game by a true freshman, albeit a real good one. Good blocking TE’s are not that hard to find. Tremble is going to have to have great measurables at pro day.