Ja'Quain Blakely, 6-2, 255 - The spring game saw the return of the use of a lead blocker for the running back, and whether you want to call them a fullback or an H-back, they've made their reappearance. Blakely, who ended up missing the spring game, was in line to be one of the top options for that role along with Bumphus and Pope, and Blakely looks every bit the part. Athletic but stoutly built, Blakely looks like a blocker. His abilities as a runner or receiver out of the backfield are somewhat unknown at this point, so he may be relegated to the #2 role for the upcoming season. Blakely will eventually become the mold this staff will look for in the H-back/fullback spot.
James Brown, 6-3, 232 - Brown, a high school quarterback, is still learning as a tight end. He has good length and is building on that frame in order to better help at the position. Given his lack of blocking prowess, he's likely to find himself mostly filling a role as a receiver, or a flex tight end who can move into the slot and offer versatility as a #2 tight end. He's probably not going to have a big role on offense this season, but he may carve out a spot on special teams.
LaTrell Bumphus, 6-3, 260 - Bumphus was highly regarded as both a tight end and as a defensive end, but he came to Tennessee looking to make a name for himself on offense. Although he didn't make much noise offensively last season, he did play in 10 games, largely on special teams. Now, with the new H-back role on the offense, Bumphus looks the part and filled that role as the starter in that spot for the White team, but that may have been mostly due to Blakely being out. For now, it's fair to assume that Bumphus will be a backup option at both H-back and tight end while continuing his work on special teams.
Austin Pope, 6-4, 238 - Austin Pope is the second leading receiver at tight end for the Vols...with 9 career receiving yards. The good news is that Pope, despite serving as the starting fullback for the Orange team, had a nice 17 yard reception. In fact, he's shown the best capacity to be a productive player in that role. For anyone concerned about him running the ball in short yardage and goal line situations, it's worth noting that in high school he had 18 carries for 52 yards and 8 touchdowns as a goal line specialist, so this isn't a big change for Pope. It's going to take someone pretty special to overtake Pope for this job, and it seems like that guy isn't coming in this summer. Blakely is the biggest threat in theory, but Blakely's versatility in the role is questionable.
Jacob Warren, 6-6, 228 - Right now, Warren is really more like an oversized wide receiver than a tight end despite already putting on some quality weight as an early enrollee, and that's probably going to find him redshirting this season. That said, he has some nice upside as a flex tight end going forward. In his final two seasons in high school, he had 68 receptions for 1,138 yards and 17 touchdowns. In other words, he's a quality receiver at the tight end position. What he isn't yet is a ready blocker or physically capable of holding up against bigger linebackers and safeties in the SEC, but as he continues to grow and develop he should be able to develop into a weapon in the offense.
Eli Wolf, 6-4, 235 - A steadily growing and rapidly improving weapon for the offense, Wolf had a strong spring game with five receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. Wolf has played in 15 games, pulling down four passes for 56 yards in his limited playing opportunities. Now, there is a huge opportunity for the younger brother of four year Vol starter Ethan Wolf. Wolf was a productive high school wide receiver, and he continues to display those skills that allowed him to excel in that regard. He seems to be the most likely candidate to fit the flex role at tight end with his athleticism as he is not yet ready to be an in-line blocker.
Dominick Wood-Anderson, 6-5, 248 - Wood-Anderson is as close to what the staff is looking for at tight end as will be found on the roster this season. He has the size as well as the blocking willingness to excel as the primary tight end. Wood-Anderson had 43 receptions for 476 yards and 4 touchdowns during his time at Arizona Western, despite losing some opportunities as a freshman to then #1 JUCO tight end Jeremy Patton, who landed at Arkansas. Wood-Anderson, following in the same footsteps, ended up being the #1 JUCO tight end in his own cycle, but Wood-Anderson is a more well-rounded tight end. Look for Wood-Anderson to make an early impact, and likely quite a significant one.
No comments:
Post a Comment