Kyle Rudolph was the kind of blue-chip prospect Brian Kelly couldn't get at Cincinnati.
Not that he didn't try.
When Kelly left Central Michigan to take the Cincinnati job after the 2006 regular season, Rudolph was a junior tight end at Cincinnati's Elder High School -- and one of the top 25 prospects in the Class of 2008. Good enough to get scholarship offers from Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan. Good enough that Charlie Weis recruited him personally.
Rudolph committed to Notre Dame. But Kelly took his best shot, and Rudolph said it was an impressive one.
''Coach Kelly really preached to me about getting a hometown kid to stay in Cincinnati,'' Rudolph said. ''He definitely threw that hard at me, trying to get one of the bigger guys to stay home.
''And I really liked Cincinnati and everything they had to offer. I really liked the school and the coaches. But I had already made up my mind that I wanted to go away for school and go on my own and experience that.''
After three seasons at Cincinnati, Kelly finally caught up with Rudolph when he was named the Irish head coach last December.
''I definitely miss Coach Weis. He was one of our guys,'' Rudolph said. ''But at the same time ... I was excited when he [Kelly] was named the head coach. Everybody bought into the new system. Coach Kelly is great. All his assistants are great. And we're definitely excited for this fall.''
Two weeks into practice, though, Kelly said he still doesn't feel like he's coached Rudolph. The 6-6, 265-pound junior has been limited since suffering a hamstring injury during the team's first practice. But if Kelly is concerned, he's hiding it well. He joked about Rudolph being ''Wally Pipp'' when asked last week if sophomore tight end Tyler Eifert was taking advantage of extra reps in practice. And he promoted Rudolph as a likely ''Wildcat'' quarterback, should the Irish use that formation.
Rudolph is the most prominent player among the ''banged-up'' Irish.
''Nothing that concerns me going into Purdue,'' Kelly said. ''We've decided to shut [Rudolph] down through the weekend, because we're going to have Saturday off and come back full-go on Monday. We just think that's the prudent thing. We should have all hands on deck Tuesday or Wednesday.''
Kelly has seen enough of Rudolph over the last four years to know what's he's got -- a versatile, physical tight end who could flourish in the spread offense. Rudolph had 33 receptions for 364 yards and three touchdowns in nine games last year before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury against Navy. He was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award honoring the nation's top collegiate tight end.
Most teams don't use tight ends in the Wildcat, but Kelly has done it with success at Cincinnati. And Rudolph is an intriguing candidate.
''Did you ever try to tackle Kyle Rudolph?'' Notre Dame offensive coordinator Charley Molnar said when asked about the possibility of using Rudolph there. ''He's 6-6, 260, and he's very fast and strong and doesn't seem to have much fear. I think that would be an advantage in itself. If we can thin out the defense and create one-on-one ... nobody's going to arm tackle him. Nobody.''
Rudolph seemed surprised when asked about it this week. And excited.
''Yeah, I heard that,'' he said. ''I'm definitely excited. Anytime I get my hands on the ball and a chance to make plays, I'm excited. I've got a pretty strong arm.''
Rudolph is one of several ''Weis guys'' at Notre Dame who still keeps in touch with his old coach.
''I communicate with him and [tight ends coach Bernie] Parmalee and all our old coaches that I had good relationships with,'' he said. ''He's just checking up on me, making sure I'm working hard. He was always tough on me and expected a lot. He just wants to make sure I'm headed on the right track and working hard every day.''
He doesn't spend much time ruing why things didn't work out.
''You have to win football gams here,'' he said.
And like his teammates, he's embracing the change at Notre Dame and the infusion of excitement that Kelly and his staff have brought.
''If you look at his past success, he's won everywhere he's been,'' Rudolph said. ''He doesn't accept anything less than winning. He expects that out of us every day.''
NOTES: Legendary Irish coach Ara Parseghian, 87, who won national championships in 1966 (9-0-1) and 1973 (11-0) during his 11 years as head coach, attended practice on Thursday and spoke to the team.
Many of the players had never heard Parseghian talk, said coach Brian Kelly, who was 12 when Parseghian won his second title.
''It was really cool to be on the field and have him come out and take control of the huddle,'' Kelly said. ''This is not a guy who doesn't have an aura about him. He walked out there, took over the huddle and talked about toughness -- mental toughness and physical toughness. What it takes to win. It was a great message.''
- Center Dan Wenger (concussion), inside linebacker Anthony McDonald (hyperextended knee) and nose guard Ian Williams (infected toe) were the other injured starters.
Comment at suntimes.com.
NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE
Sept. 4 Purdue 2:30 p.m.
Sept. 11 Michigan 2:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 at Michigan State 7 p.m.
Sept. 25 Stanford 2:30 p.m.
Oct. 2 at Boston College TBA
Oct. 9 Pittsburgh 2:30 p.m.
Oct. 16 W. Michigan 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 23 vs. Navy* 11 a.m.
Oct. 30 Tulsa 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 13 Utah 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 20 vs. Army** 6 p.m.
Nov. 27 at USC 7 p.m.
*--At East Rutherford, N.J.;
**--At Yankee Stadium, NYC
2010 COACHES POLL
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Florida
4. Texas
5. Boise State
6. Virginia Tech
7. Texas Christian
8. Oklahoma
9. Nebraska
10. Iowa
11. Oregon
12. Wisconsin
13. Miami
14. Penn State
15. Pittsburgh
16. LSU
17. Georgia Tech
18. North Carolina
19. Arkansas
20. Florida State
21. Georgia
22. Oregon State
23. Auburn
24. Utah
25. West Virginia
Photo: Darron Cummings, AP / Kyle Rudolph had 33 receptions for 364 yards and three touchdowns last season, including this one at Purdue.
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