Printer-Friendly Format     E-mail this article     John Carlson was the first Irish player drafted in 2008 when Seattle took him with the 38th pick overall.

Carlson selected with 38th overall selection and seventh pick in round two

April 26, 2008

Carlson Conference Call with Seattle Reporters 

NEW YORK - Former Notre Dame tight end John Carlson (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) was selected Saturday by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the NFL Draft. Carlson was taken with the 38th pick overall and was the first Irish player to be taken in this year's draft.

Carlson becomes the second Notre Dame tight end drafted in the last three years (Anthony Fasano, Dallas, 2006) and the earliest Irish tight end taken since Irv Smith was selected with the 20th pick in the 1993 draft by New Orleans. Carlson becomes the first Notre Dame player drafted by Seattle since quarterback Rick Mirer in 1993 (first round, second selection overall) and joins former Notre Dame running back Julius Jones with the Seahawks.

Carlson is one of the most prolific receiving tight ends in Notre Dame history recording career totals of 100 receptions, 1,093 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. His 100 catches are the second-most ever by an Irish tight end while his receiving yards total ranks third all-time at Notre Dame.

The Litchfield, Minn. native played in 47 career games, starting 31 contests for the Irish including all 23 games he appeared in over the last two seasons. Carlson recorded 87 receptions from 2006-07 and led Notre Dame with 40 receptions and 372 receiving yards in 2007. In 2006, he tallied 47 catches for 634 yards and four TDs while being named one of three finalists for the Mackey Award and a second-team All-American by SI.com.

Carlson was selected a 2007 team captain and was an exemplary student finishing his undergraduate career with a 3.633 cumulative grade-point average and earning a degree in history. He was named a first-team Academic All- American in 2006 and a second-team Academic All-American in 2007. Carlson received a post-graduate scholarship from the NCAA and was named a National Scholar-Athlete by the National Football Foundation this year. He was honored as the Westwood One/State Farm Student-Athlete of the Year in both 2006 and 2007 for the Irish football team and he received the Nick Pietrosante Award as the football player who best exemplified the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and pride of the late Irish All-America fullback.

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