Tight Ends

[C1180]

UK seems to be recruiting several TEs. I like TEs because they are what I would class as Jumbo Athletes. Some can be moved to other position. Heck some of the bigger ones can be converted to very athletic OL. DE is another position where they can be moved and OLB in the 3-4 fronts. Athletic big men can be a big plus at a lot of positions.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Yep, they are usually pretty good athletes, UGA has converted a few recruited TE to OT over the years and they have worked out pretty well, but like you said they were awfully big TE to start with. One ended up playing OG with the 49ers for several years during Montana's time there and got himself some SB rings so it worked out pretty well for him. lol

 

[dcspurlock]

A buddy of mine who is a big WVU fan said Dawson likes to use his TE's the way New England uses Gronk and New Orleans uses Graham in that he moves them around and motions them a lot and tries to get mismatches in man coverage with them. Can any of you guys elaborate on that at all? Can Conrad or Long be athletic and elusive enough yet strong enough to beat a LB 1 on 1? Will they be able to do it this yr or will they need a yr or two? Any of the TE were recruiting fit this mold? TIA

 

[white10]

Originally posted by dcspurlock:
A buddy of mine who is a big WVU fan said Dawson likes to use his TE's the way New England uses Gronk and New Orleans uses Graham in that he moves them around and motions them a lot and tries to get mismatches in man coverage with them. Can any of you guys elaborate on that at all? Can Conrad or Long be athletic and elusive enough yet strong enough to beat a LB 1 on 1? Will they be able to do it this yr or will they need a yr or two? Any of the TE were recruiting fit this mold? TIA

Like Tamme, was used!!

 

[Rhavicc]

Well, Conrad played in a similar offense to the one described in high school. He switched up from TE to WR a lot, and was even a kick returner. I feel like he is athletic enough, but more importantly, the kid has very good hands.

 

[C1180]

IMO UK has 3 good TE prospects in Conrad, Hart, and Long. I however like the idea of loading up on those jumbo type athletes If you get too overloaded at the TE position move some to other positions.

 

[dcspurlock]

Originally posted by white10:

Originally posted by dcspurlock:
A buddy of mine who is a big WVU fan said Dawson likes to use his TE's the way New England uses Gronk and New Orleans uses Graham in that he moves them around and motions them a lot and tries to get mismatches in man coverage with them. Can any of you guys elaborate on that at all? Can Conrad or Long be athletic and elusive enough yet strong enough to beat a LB 1 on 1? Will they be able to do it this yr or will they need a yr or two? Any of the TE were recruiting fit this mold? TIA

Like Tamme, was used!!

Yeah I guess he's kinda in that mold. I'm under the impression though that Dawson will motion his TE out to the widest man, wider than the slot or WR and whoever the LB goes with is who the QB will target. Or in a 2 LB set get the TE out wider than the WR to bring a LB out and swing the RB opposite or draw/dive on the isolated single LB in the middle. Are any of our current guys that kinda threat I guess is what I'm asking? Will they require that kind of attention? Will Dawson even use them that way?

 

[mrschwump]

TE was allowed to fester for a decade by coaches who never seemed to have a plan for them. Very little thought went into recruiting them and nobody apparently wanted to include them in the O. Hopefully that's changing. Watching recent TEs try to run routes them attempt to catch passes was most painful.

 

[C1180]

Originally posted by mrschwump:

TE was allowed to fester for a decade by coaches who never seemed to have a plan for them. Very little thought went into recruiting them and nobody apparently wanted to include them in the O. Hopefully that's changing. Watching recent TEs try to run routes them attempt to catch passes was most painful.

The problem is most of them were not real TEs. They did not have the ball skills to be SEC TEs. They were jumbo athletes that should have been moved to other positions. The best thing that could have happened to Dupree is the coaching staff moving him from TE to DE. He wasn't a great TE but he was a great DE/ Jack LB. IMO he is a great example for the coaching staff to use when trying to move reluctant TEs to another position.

 

[Deeeefense]

Originally posted by dcspurlock:
A buddy of mine who is a big WVU fan said Dawson likes to use his TE's the way New England uses Gronk and New Orleans uses Graham in that he moves them around and motions them a lot and tries to get mismatches in man coverage with them. Can any of you guys elaborate on that at all? Can Conrad or Long be athletic and elusive enough yet strong enough to beat a LB 1 on 1? Will they be able to do it this yr or will they need a yr or two? Any of the TE were recruiting fit this mold? TIA

to me the key to having success at the TE position is to have a guy that is at least physically equally to the linebackers and strong safeties he faces but faster and longer. Those type of guys don't come along very often but when you have one, especially in a spread style offense he can be a game changer as it forces more man coverage which makes it easier for your downfield receivers to get open and it helps the running game as well since the TE is more than just a blocker. The Patriots, the Chargers and the Broncos are examples of pro teams whoes overall offense benefits from having monsters at the TE position. We have some good candidates but I'm not sure of any of them are going to be true difference makers - yet.