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Multiple Notre Dame football players land on two more All-America lists

IMG_9992by:Tyler Horka•12/07/22•

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Notre Dame players celebrate during the Irish's win over California. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Notre Dame had two of the best players in the country at their respective positions in junior tight end Michael Mayer and sophomore left tackle Joe Alt. That duo is raking in regular season awards.

Last week, Mayer and Alt were named Pro Football Focus first-team All-Americans. This week, CBS Sports and The Athletic awarded them the same honors. Senior defensive end Isaiah Foskey was named a second-team All-American by CBS Sports.

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Mayer, who will skip the upcoming Gator Bowl and enter the 2023 NFL Draft, will go down as the greatest tight end Notre Dame has ever had, and that’s quite a title considering the Irish have pumped quite a few elite ones into the NFL. He holds the all-time program records for receptions (180), receiving yards (2,099) and touchdowns (18) by a tight end. Mayer received a season-long PFF grade of 92.5, which was No. 1 among FBS tight ends.

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Alt is right there with him in that regard. The big, bruising tackle earned a season-long PFF grade of 91.7, which also came in first place among all FBS tackles. He started every game for Notre Dame and played a team-high 807 snaps. Like Mayer, Alt projects to be a first-round draft pick after his junior season. It would not be a surprise in the slightest if the Irish only get one more year out of the next-level talent.

Foskey should be on his way to the NFL, too. He could have tested the waters after the 2021 season, but he elected to return to Notre Dame to try to win a national championship. That goal was not realized, but he became the Irish’s all-time leader in sacks in the penultimate regular season game of the year vs. Boston College. If he follows Mayer to the upcoming draft, which is expected, he’ll finish his career with 26 sacks. Justin Tuck previously held the record of 24.5 since 2004.

Next up for Mayer: Thursday night’s College Football Awards show. Mayer could become the second Notre Dame player to win the Mackey Award, given to the best tight end in America, since its inception in 2000. He’d join Tyler Eifert (2012). Mayer, Georgia’s Brock Bowers and Iowa’s Sam LaPorta are the three 2022 finalists. The show starts at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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