Notre Dame lands three of the best players in the country in the PFF College 101
Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer was one of the best players in college football in 2022. It’s hard to say exactly where he stacked up against the others, but Pro Football Focus took a stab at it on Friday with the release of the publication’s PFF College 101, which names the top 101 players in the country.
PFF rated Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams of USC as the best player in college football. No shocker there. He electrified week in and week out. Notre Dame saw it first-hand in the regular season finale. Mayer was elite in that game though, too. He had 8 catches for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns in what was ultimately his last act in a Notre Dame uniform.
PFF ranked Mayer as the ninth-best player in the country in 2022.
“Mayer has been arguably the best tight end in the country for the last two years, going for over 800 yards in both seasons,” PFF wrote. “He led all tight ends this year with a 92.5 grade. Not only is he a weapon in the passing game, but his 82.1 run-blocking grade was third among all tight ends in the nation. The Irish will certainly miss Mayer, who presented a mismatch against almost every college defense.”
Despite losing out on the Mackey Award to Georgia sophomore Brock Bowers, Mayer was the nation’s top tight end according to PFF. Bowers, a back-to-back national champion with UGA, came in on the list at No. 13. He was preceded by two places by Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt, who led all offensive tackles in the country with his season-long PFF grade of 91.4. His 91.0 run-blocking grade was also the best among all tackles nationwide.
“He did all of that as a true sophomore, making Alt one of the top prospects in the 2024 draft,” PFF wrote.
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Notre Dame landed one more player in the array of 101 selections. Freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison checked in at No. 85.
“The true freshman Morrison was an absolute ballhawk this past season, recording six interceptions — tied for the most among Power Five players,” PFF wrote. “He also allowed only a 29.2 passer rating when targeted, which ranked fourth lowest among FBS cornerbacks. For comparison, spiking the ball every play nets a 39.6 passer rating.”
The Notre Dame ties don’t stop there. Wake Forest graduate transfer Sam Hartman, who is on campus in South Bend and enrolled in classes for the spring semester, made the list at No. 71. He was 11th among quarterbacks who made the cut.
“Hartman, following a 2021 breakout, was just as good in 2022, adding 39 more touchdowns to his college resume,” PFF wrote. “He raised his completion percentage by five percentage points to go along with a 71.2% adjusted completion rate. Hartman will get another year to add to his college stats but will do so in a Notre Dame uniform. Expect big things out of the Fighting Irish offense next season with this caliber of a quarterback.”
PFF College 101 top 10
- QB Caleb Williams, USC
- RB Blake Corum, Michigan
- DL Jalen Carter, Georgia
- RB Bijan Robinson, Texas
- QB Bryce Young, Alabama
- WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
- QB C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
- DE Will Anderson Jr., Alabama
- TE Michael Mayer, Notre Dame
- QB Drake Maye, North Carolina
