Notre Dame’s offense has suffered another big loss.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph will likely miss the last three games of the season. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound sophomore hurt his left shoulder in the third quarter of Saturday’s 23-21 loss to Navy. Coach Charlie Weis said there is a muscle issue with Rudolph’s shoulder.
“Rudy probably won’t be back for the rest of the regular season,” Weis said. “(The doctors) feared the collarbone being broken, but that’s not it. They said Stanford is a possibility. I’m not a doctor, and I think that’s a reach. I think he will be able to practice again in December.”
Rudolph has 33 catches for 363 yards with three touchdowns.
Junior Mike Ragone will start at tight end for Notre Dame (6-3) when it travels to play No. 8 Pittsburgh (8-1) at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Ragone has mostly been used as a blocking tight end with his three catches for 39 yards coming in the last two games. Bobby Burger, who is returning from a neck injury, will be the backup tight end.
“Obviously, we wish we had Rudy in the offense,” receiver Golden Tate said. “He brings another dimension to our game, you know, up the seam whenever a team wants to double Mike and I.
“We also have Mike Ragone who stepped up last week and made some big plays for us. I do think we have depth, so I think we will be all right.”
Notre Dame isn’t as deep at tight end as it hoped to be at the start of the season, though.
Freshman tight end Tyler Eifert, a former Bishop Dwenger standout, is out for the season as he goes through rehabilitation for a bulging disc in his back. He played in one game, the season opener against Nevada.
Freshman Jake Golic hasn’t played this season, and it doesn’t appear Weis will use him even if Ragone or Burger are injured.
“In that case you either use linemen or you use receivers or backs,” Weis said if either of the healthy tight ends are injured.
Weis also said the absence of Rudolph will not dramatically change how the Irish use the tight end.
“You can do everything as long as you keep two true tight ends,” Weis said. “Where it becomes a bit crazier, when you lose one of those guys and now you’re back to the situation you were in last year where you got one useful tight end.”
Notre Dame will have two players back for Saturday’s game. Running back Armando Allen (ankle), who missed the last two games, and right guard Trevor Robinson (ankle), who missed last week’s game, are expected to start against the Panthers.
