(Notre Dame Football Recruiting News) –

Ben Koyack | TE
ESPN Grade 81 | Scout: ***** | Rivals: **** Top 100

Hometown: Oil City, PA| Oil City High School
Height 6’5″ | Weight 225 lbs.

Under Armour: Koyack outperformed the number one rated TE in the country, Jay Rome and was a force all week.  Runs great routes, has soft hands and surprising speed.  One coach called him a sure NFL player.

Scout: Koyack has wide receiver skills on a tight end frame. He has the agility to make a cut and run by a defensive back and the size to handle linebackers and defensive ends from a blocking standpoint. He gets downfield so quickly that he will be tough for linebackers to keep up with and too big for most defensive backs. Suffice to say, he’s a matchup problem in the passing game. He’ll need to continue to fill out for the running game – Scott Kennedy

ESPN Evaluation and Video: Koyack certainly seems to fit the part of a tight end and even his name sounds like the name of a good tight end. It takes more then a name though and this kid seems to have the tools also. He has good size and height and on film he displays the frame to be able to pack on plenty of more good size with time in a college weight program. He is productive in the passing game. He has good hands and is able to extend his arms and catch the ball away from his body. One of his real strengths is his ability to go up and compete for the ball. He will consistently high point the ball and with his size he can be a touch match-up for smaller defenders. He displays good concentration to catch the ball in a crowd. Also shows good body control and awareness of where he is on the field and is able to make catches along the sideline and stay in bounds. He has good and you could even say a bit of deceptive straight-line speed. He could stretch the field, but does not seem to have very long strides and may not present the same type of vertical threat at the college level. He is tough after the catch and will break arm tackles. He is also a productive blocker. Displays the ability to get hands on and move his feet and be able to create some push. Flashes the ability to get his hips under him and create some power when drive blocking. Flashes the ability to get hands on and move his feet and be able to seal on the edge. Does a solid job of getting up to second level and getting a piece of moving targets. Displays the tools and size potential to be a productive in-line blocker, but needs to work on consistency.

BuckeyePlanet:  Rising junior tight end Ben Koyack from Oil City, Pa., was in Columbus on Sunday for the Ohio State Advanced Camp. Koyack is one of the country’s top class of 2011 tight end prospects.  The 6-foot-5 and 230-pound Koyack has 18 scholarship offers including Penn State, Pitt and Florida.   Koyack ran the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds at West Virginia’s camp. At Notre Dame he ran a 4.61. However, Koyack was coming off a busy few days, had tired legs and did not run as well at Ohio State. He was timed in the 40-yard dash at 4.9 seconds at OSU. But Koyack did have a good shuttle time at Ohio State, 4.3 seconds, and Jim Tressel told him he looked fast at the Buckeyes’ camp.