{"id":46775,"date":"2024-04-08T02:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=46775"},"modified":"2024-04-08T02:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T07:30:00","slug":"mark-stoops-expects-big-year-out-of-tight-ends-theyll-be-utilized","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/mark-stoops-expects-big-year-out-of-tight-ends-theyll-be-utilized\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Stoops expects big year out of tight ends: \u201cThey\u2019ll be utilized.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

No, this isn\u2019t Groundhog Day. Yes, you\u2019ve read similar headlines in the past about this <\/em>being the year tight ends are used in the Kentucky offense. I\u2019ve found one for every offseason in recent memory, that unit the \u201cfirst off the bus\u201d<\/a> on game days in 2019 all the way through 2023 when Vince Marrow said it was \u201cthe best room I\u2019ve had since I\u2019ve been here 11 years, top to bottom.\u201d<\/a> It\u2019s become a running joke in Lexington \u2014 all in good fun, obviously. <\/p>\n

Last season, Jordan Dingle led the unit with 270 receiving yards on 12 catches, followed by Josh Kattus with 108 on eight with two scores, Izayah Cummings with 98 on four, Brenden Bates with 89 on four and Khamari Anderson with 11 on one to round out the group. That\u2019s 576 total with just 29 total receptions and two touchdowns. <\/p>\n

Health was a serious issue for that group in the spring, Kattus, Dingle and Bates all missing that valuable time before the unit dealt with nicks and dings throughout the season. Factor in Ray Davis\u2019 explosion out of the backfield, the love-spreading to Dane Key, Barion Brown and Tayvion Robinson and the tempo cutting down on play totals, and it was kind of a perfect storm for that unit to take a backseat in the grand scheme of things.<\/p>\n

What are the expectations going into next season? Well, with the core of Dingle, Kattus and Anderson back, along with the addition of high-profile signee Willie Rodriguez, it\u2019s fair to understand where optimism could come from. Talent was never the question \u2014 again, circumstances were weird last go-round.<\/p>\n

Running it back with high hopes is the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel very confident in that group and we feel like there\u2019s a lot of playmaking ability in that group,\u201d Stoops said Saturday.<\/a>\u00a0\u201cThey\u2019ll be utilized. It\u2019ll be different. We feel like there are good players there. You\u2019ve heard me talk about this a lot, but it\u2019s very true: If we can get some tempo going, get some first downs going, get some plays going, you\u2019re going to see a lot of different touches from a lot of different people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stoops\u2019 comments come after new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan raved about the group to open spring ball, making it clear he had a plan for the tight ends in his debut campaign in Lexington. He\u2019s no stranger to utilizing those pieces, previously coaching the position and finding a star in Hunter Bryant <\/a><\/strong>at Washington back in 2019. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s the one position where you can find a guy that\u2019s extremely good in the run game and create a bunch of opportunities for him in the pass game. We\u2019re looking at opportunities there,\u201d Hamdan said in March. \u201cI think this tight end group is probably as deep as any other unit on the offensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited to find ways to continue to get them the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

The top options are healthy and available, building momentum this spring after missing it last time around. Kattus in particular is a guy who is looking for a junior breakthrough after showing flashes in years one and two.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s standing out early, as made clear by the one-handed snag he pulled down in practice this week. <\/p>\n

\n\n

8\ufe0f\u20e34\ufe0f\u20e3 making plays pic.twitter.com\/ndpK6QJmqI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) April 4, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited, spring ball is a great time to work on your craft and things you need to improve on,\u201d Kattus said of his bounce-back after missing last spring due to injury. \u201cThat\u2019s the emphasis I\u2019m taking out here, taking coaching points. After each practice, if there\u2019s something I know I need to work on, we have that day off between that I can go out there and work on it each day. It\u2019s a real key spot in your development as a player. <\/p>\n

\u201cKattus is a dog. That\u2019s one person I love to go against and hate at the same time,\u201d JJ Weaver added. <\/p>\n

For Stoops, he\u2019s just excited to know what he\u2019s working with entering a big year for the program with high expectations \u2014 tough schedule on the heels of a relatively underwhelming season, but a ton of talent lining the roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d be surprised. You feel like you\u2019re really deep, then that position takes a beating,\u201d Stoops said of his pass-catchers. \u201cYou need some depth there.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve got it this spring.<\/p>\n

The post Mark Stoops expects big year out of tight ends: \u201cThey\u2019ll be utilized.\u201d<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No, this isn\u2019t Groundhog Day. Yes, you\u2019ve read similar headlines in the past about this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46775"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46803,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46775\/revisions\/46803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}