UConn loads up at tight end position (J. Fuller)

[huskymedic]

http://www.nhregister.com/sports/20140811/uconn-loads-up-at-tight-end-position

>>STORRS >> One quick look at the players committed to the UConn football program in the current recruiting cycle tells you everything new coach Bob Diaco thinks about the role of a tight end on a football team.

Four of the 13 players listed as UConn commits on the ****.com database are listed as tight ends, another one is a tight end for his high school team and three others are receivers ranging from 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-5 who could easily project to play that position at the college level.

Diaco has not hidden the fact that he wants an offense to feature multiple tight ends.<<

 

[DoctorWho85]

I wonder if Diaco is trying to find two differnt types of tight ends. Some to be put in for blocking in the run game and the occasional 3rd and short completion and then a couple tight ends to play the roll of someone like Jimmy Graham, where he lines up all over the field to create a nightmare match up for the opposing D.

 

[Dooley]

TEs are probably the most exploitable position on the field for an offense. What I mean is that, with the right TE, an offense can exploit many weaknesses in a defense. There aren't many LBs or Safeties that can man-up a big, athletic TE. Either the TE winds up being too fast for a LB or too big for a S/CB. You can move a TE all over the field by standing him up out wide or lining him up on a strong or weak side. We've even seen a few TEs line up in the backfield on various levels lately.

Diaco said it in his introductory press conference (and a few times since) that he knows what gives defenses fits. Changing the tempo of the huddle, quick snaps, mixing up an uptempo offense with a huddle-up slowed down offense, etc. TEs are another weapon that can give lots of defenses fits. It's no secret either: we're seeing more and more TEs drafted higher and employed more prominently in NFL offenses too. A basketball small forward sized kid who can run a 4.5 40 and can catch is awfully tough to defend.

 

[Confident Carl]

TEs are probably the most exploitable position on the field for an offense. What I mean is that, with the right TE, an offense can exploit many weaknesses in a defense. There aren't many LBs or Safeties that can man-up a big, athletic TE. Either the TE winds up being too fast for a LB or too big for a S/CB. You can move a TE all over the field by standing him up out wide or lining him up on a strong or weak side. We've even seen a few TEs line up in the backfield on various levels lately.

Diaco said it in his introductory press conference (and a few times since) that he knows what gives defenses fits. Changing the tempo of the huddle, quick snaps, mixing up an uptempo offense with a huddle-up slowed down offense, etc. TEs are another weapon that can give lots of defenses fits. It's no secret either: we're seeing more and more TEs drafted higher and employed more prominently in NFL offenses too. A basketball small forward sized kid who can run a 4.5 40 and can catch is awfully tough to defend.

I remember going to see UCONN play Rutgers in Piscataway back in 2012. Their tall receivers gave us fits:

Mark Harrison 6'3" WR
Tim Wright 6'4" WR
Brandon Coleman 6'6 WR
DC Jefferson 6'6" TE

Fast guys this tall are tough to defend!
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390443749204578052851145214698