It’s well documented that the tight end position has been underutilized non-existent on the Longhorn football team for the last handful of years. In a new offense do Texas fans have reason to think the position will yield more production under under Shawn Watson and Joe Wickline?
With the first game just around the corner, fans are starting to get major clues that the answer to that question is a resounding “yesâ€. For example, Strong recently shared his paradigm on tight ends and their role in his offense:
“The tight end position is a very critical position in our team and within our offense because there are different sets and different formations that we use. A tight end is a very valuable player.â€
With that in mind, and the complete lack of production at the position for the last several years, the obvious question is who will fill that role this season?
We know it won’t be senior Greg Daniels…not at least for the first few games, maybe more. Strong announced that Daniels would undergo a scope on his knee and will miss an unspecified number of games. Daniels had 3 grabs for 28 yards last season, which was good enough for second among Texas TE’s (John Harris led the team with 5 catches, 141 yds, 2 TD’s in 2013).
Unless co-offensive coordinator Shawn Watson decides to go with JUCO transfer Blake Whitely, which is possible but not likely, either MJ McFarland or Geoff Swaim will get the nod as the starter in the first game. Which one, however, remains uncertain.
There appears to be no clear separation between McFarland and Swaim as alluded to by Strong when he said the staff was “waiting to see where they are with them.†Strong did mention that MJ (McFarland) “had an outstanding spring†but followed up that statement by saying that the staff still has a lot of evaluation to do at the position.
Whiteley, a JUCO transfer from Arizona Western Community College, has tremendous upside but appears to need more time to learn the offense. Coming out of Arizona Western, Whitely was recruited by several Power 5 conference schools and was the first official commitment to Charlie Strong in January of this year.
In his one season at the JUCO level Whiteley caught 8 passes for 67 yards and 2 TD’s (Arizona Western went 2-10 last year). But there is good reason to be bullish on the true sophomore – as a senior at West Vancouver Secondary, Whiteley caught 76 passes (1,228 yards) and had 18 touchdowns.
Reason for Optimism?
Texas fans only need to look at the past to see the future. In Strong’s offenses at Louisville, tight ends were consistently productive. In 2010, Strong’s first year with the Cardinals, TE Cameron Graham led Louisville in receiving yards (470) on 40 receptions with 5 touchdowns. Last season at Louisville, TE Gerald Christian hauled in 28 passes for 426 yards and 4 touchdowns. 2011 and 2012 were also fairly productive for Louisville tight ends – Josh Chichester caught 28 passes for 393 yards and 2 TD’s in 2011 and Ryan Hubbell caught 14 balls for 239 yards and 2 TD’s.
Conversely, the leading TE’s, statistically, in each of the past 4 seasons for Texas:
Texas 2013 – John Harris (TE)
5 receptions, 141 yards, 28.2 average per catch, 2 touchdowns
Texas 2012 – DJ Grant (TE)
14 receptions, 125 yards, 8.9 average per catch, 2 touchdowns
Texas 2011 – DJ Grant (TE)
16 receptions, 180 yards, 11.3 average per catch, 3 touchdowns
Texas 2010 – DJ Grant (TE)
10 receptions, 47 yards, 4.7 average per catch, 1 touchdowns
To label the statistical differences between the two as stark is a gross understatement. Neverthelss, it is clear that Strong and Watson place value on the position. Fundamentals like solid blocking, catching passes, and eliminating drops will go a long way in helping the coaching staff identify a contributing tight end.
Is it too early to expect the next David Thomas, Jermichael Finley or Pat Fitzgerald to manifest himself this season? Probably so. The key to the tight end position in 2014 will be finding someone the coaches, and more importantly David Ash, can depend on.
