#MIZCAMP17 - Tight End Position Preview
8/14/2017 3:46:00 PM | Football
Jason Reese emerges as senior leader in a room full of big, explosive athletes
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football returned to the Kadlec Practice Fields behind the Mizzou Athletic Training Facility on Monday following the first scrimmage of #MIZCAMP17 on Saturday. Today, as part of the position group preview, we take a look at one of Mizzou's deepest and most talented positions with the tight ends. Highlighted by big bodies and tremendous athleticism, Mizzou's TE group should be one of the most dynamic units in the SEC. But it's not all about pass catching for the group.
"The difference for us versus a lot of spread teams is that we are going to be run first," second-year tight end coach Joe Jon Finley said. "We play extremely fast, but we want to run the football. We cannot do that without the tight ends, especially in the SEC with the types of defenses we see."
That message from Finley and the coaching staff has resonated with the players in the tight end room. Luckily for Mizzou's coaching staff, that room is filled with rather large individuals who should help the offense in that run-first mentality. Every Mizzou tight end is at least 6-4 with three checking in at 255 pounds or more, highlighted by redshirt junior Kendall Blanton, who is listed at 6-6 and 265 pounds. Looking more like a left tackle than a tight end, Blanton has embodied the block-first scheme implored by the coaching staff.
"It's set in stone from day one, Coach Finley drills it into our head. We have to understand that if you don't block you aren't going to play," Blanton said. "We are a two-dimensional offense and we go run and we go pass."
With the tight end room predicating its success around run blocking, it is easy for the group to draw inspiration from Mizzou's quirky offensive line (previewed here). In looking at one of the most successful position groups on the team from a year ago, the tight end group picked up some of what made that group successful and brought that into the tight end room.
"Having a competitive nature and just being mean and nasty," senior Jason Reese said. "That's what we want to instill."
"There is nothing better than putting your guy in the dirt, getting a pancake block," freshman Albert Okwuegbunam said. "That's just as exciting as getting a touchdown."
But for a group that features plenty of big receiving targets, run blocking is not the only priority for the talented bunch. Mizzou's coaches made it a priority to bring the tight ends back into the passing game a year ago when Sean Culkin, Blanton and Reese gave QB Drew Lock three huge targets. Both Blanton and Reese return this season while Okwuegbunam should figure into the mix following his redshirt freshman season. The Tigers also have a pair of young options in Brendan Scales and Logan Christopherson.
Watch Mizzou's tight end position preview below to learn more about Mizzou's tight ends.
