Kyle Rudolph

He was ranked 21st in the country and No. 2 in the state of Ohio by Scout.com.

He was also considered the 23rd-best player by Sports Illustrated.

He accepted a scholarship offer from Notre Dame over Michigan, Tennessee, and Ohio State.

Kyle Daniel Rudolph (born November 9, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings.

Also an accomplished basketball player, Rudolph played center for his high school team and was the conference player of the year three times and All-Southwest Ohio in 2007.

He is currently the second-leading scorer in school history and became just the second Panther to surpass 1,000 career points.

As a senior in 2008, he was named first-team All-American by USA Today after totaling 37 receptions for 673 yards (18.2 yards per catch) and 11 touchdowns.

He was placed on the Scout.com All-America first-team and was the lone tight end among the 11 finalists for the high school Maxwell Award.

He received first-team All-Southwest Ohio as a senior after being named second-team as a junior and was named second-team All-state by the Associated Press.

Following his senior season, Rudolph was invited to play in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl held in San Antonio, Texas.

He set the school record for most career rebounds when he corralled his 568th rebound on January 11, 2008.

Against Moeller (#1 in Ohio, #9 in the nation) on January 25, 2008, he scored 25 of Elder's 52 points as the Panthers almost upset the top-ranked team in Ohio, 58–52.

Rudolph was rated as the best tight end and 20th best overall recruit in the class of 2008 according to Rivals.com.

He was named the second-best player and the top tight end in the Detroit Free Press' Best of the Midwest Top 20 list.

He was considered the No. 1 tight end in the recruiting class and the 20th-best prospect in the nation by Tom Lemming.

As a freshman in 2008, Rudolph became the first tight end in Notre Dame history to start all 13 games as a freshman and the first freshman to ever start a season opener at tight end for Notre Dame.

He made his career debut in the season opener against San Diego State and brought in his first career reception for five yards during the victory.

In week 3, he posted his first multi-reception game (two catches for 29 yards) of his career against Michigan State, with both catches traveling for 10-plus yards and resulting in first downs against the Spartans.

The following week, he hauled in three passes for 32 yards, with a long of 19, while also recording the first touchdown catch of his career in the Irish' 38–21 win over Purdue.

In week 5, he registered season-highs in receptions (5) and receiving yards (70) and added his second and final touchdown of the season versus Stanford.

He hauled in two catches for 26 yards against Pittsburgh, setting a new school record for receptions by a freshman tight end in a single season during the game.

In week 11, he established a school record for single-season receiving yards by a freshman tight end during the game against Syracuse.

In the 2008 Hawaii Bowl game, he caught four passes for a season-high 78 yards.

His 29-yard reception against the Warriors also set a season-best long reception.

Rudolph finished his first year with the Irish with 29 receptions for 340 yards (11.7 avg.) and two touchdowns.

As a sophomore in 2009, Rudolph participated in only ten games with nine starts, missing three due to a shoulder injury and totaling 275:59 of playing time while making 57 special-teams appearances.

He was named semi-finalist for the John Mackey Award (presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end) and was the only sophomore to be named semi-finalist.

He hauled in four catches for 29 yards and a touchdown in the opener against Nevada.

In week 3, he set a then career-high with 95 receiving yards against Michigan State including a season-long 52-yard reception.

His performance against the Spartans earned him John Mackey Tight End of the Week honors.

He nabbed touchdown catches in back-to-back weeks against Purdue and Washington, with the first coming against the Boilermakers when there were only 24 seconds remaining in the game on a fourth-and-goal situation that sealed Notre Dame's win; the second touchdown reception against Washington came with less than two minutes remaining in regulation and gave the Irish the lead.

He was voted by his teammates to represent tight ends on the Irish Leadership Committee.

Rudolph ended the season ranked third on the team with 33 receptions (17 resulting in first downs) for 364 yards and three touchdowns.

Rudolph had his promising 2010 junior season derailed by a hamstring injury that ended his season after six games.

On September 11, he set a Notre Dame record for most receiving yards in a game by a tight end against Michigan with 164 yards on eight receptions, with more than half of the yardage coming after he hauled in the second-longest pass play in school history with a 95-yard touchdown.

He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was drafted by the Vikings in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.

He has been selected to two Pro Bowls.

He also played for the New York Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rudolph attended Elder High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he played high school football for the Panthers.

As a junior, he caught 30 passes for 400 yards and seven touchdowns en route to earning first-team All-city and All-conference honors.