SOUTH BEND — Both Mike Denbrock and Marty Biagi had visible reactions when Ian Premer’s name was mentioned to them after Notre Dame football’s Thursday, Aug. 6 fall camp session.
The Irish’s offensive coordinator and tight ends coach’s description of Premer was about as glowing as it gets this early into a freshman tight end’s collegiate career.
“He’s an athletic freak and tough as nails,” Denbrock said. “Everything we believed he would become and has become as a player when we started recruiting him has come true to this point.”
From Great Bend, Kansas — a town with a population of less than 15,000 — Premer stands at 6’6” and weighs 245 pounds. He was the Sunflower State’s top-ranked recruit and was ESPN’s third-ranked tight end in the Class of 2026. He was also named Kansas’ 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year, and Premer was First Team All-State in both basketball and baseball.
While Premer did not get any first-team reps on offense during the first day of fall camp, he was active with the third team and special teams units. He functioned mostly as a blocking tight end in non-position-specific drills, not running much more than short-yardage routes otherwise.
“We have to get him some experience; we have to see what he can handle from a knowledge standpoint, what he can execute at a high level consistently, then see where he falls in the mix as we go through camp,” Denbrock said.
Denbrock said the tight end room as a whole has Premer’s same “tough as nails” identity, led by senior Cooper Flanagan, who handled most of the first team reps. He also emphasized the importance of that group being a focal point of the passing game this season, filling in the gap for New England Patriots third-round draft pick Eli Raridon.
Premer’s primary function early on seems to be as a shield for the punt unit and a blocker on field goal attempts, roles in which special teams coordinator Marty Biagi said Premer earned by giving attention to detail and staying in the moment throughout the summer.
“He was in my office a ton this summer, because he wanted to be, which says a lot,” Biagi said. “With his size, his frame, his athletic ability, I definitely like that he’s able to already be on that unit. It’s the most important play in football.”
Biagi said when a freshman asks to spend a lot of time in a coach’s office, that allows the staff to learn early on what that player’s learning style is and the best way to coach them on and off the field. Although Biagi knows Premer has higher ambitions than serving on the special teams unit one day, he listed a few examples of players who began their Irish careers doing just that before moving into more prominent roles years later — such as linebacker Drayk Bowen, wide receivers Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison, and safety Adon Shuler.
“It tells you about their drive and hunger. Everybody nowadays talks about wanting to come in and play early, and normally they’re talking about offense or defense — that’s why they came,” Biagi said. “For him to constantly want to meet and spend just some little time, that’s what’s really impressive.”
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Huge Notre Dame freshman tight end Ian Premer tough to miss early
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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By Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
