The tight end will be a Swiss Army knife of a position for FAU, as with the diversity of a Zack Kittley led offense there will be an opportunity to make an impact catching passes through the air and blocking in the trenches.
Last season saw an up and down usage for the tight end position, as early on in the year they were used sparingly and mainly in a blocking role, however once Chad Lunsford took over they became more frequented in the pass game. Last season’s biggest contributors Zeke Moore and Wyatt Sullivan have transferred and new position Coach Jajuan Dulaney will look to bring role stability back to the position.
With the loss of Moore and Sullivan, that will open the door for contributions from new pieces brought in through the transfer portal and Dulaney and Co have brought in tight end talent from both the G5 and P4 levels.
Returners
Redshirt Senior- Khalil Brantley, 6’2 225 pounds (announced medical retirement during Spring Camp)
Redshirt Senior- Liam Besecker, 6’3 250 pounds
Redshirt freshman- Kam Bell, 6’4 215 pounds
Outlook
Although there were some departures at tight end this offseason, there were a pair of returners in Kam Bell and Liam Besecker. In his freshman season, Bell played mainly a reserve role, however he did receive TE snaps in the season finale against Tulsa, earning a spot on the travel squad in doing so which shows potential heading into this season.
Brantley showed himself to be a valuable redzone target as well as a capable blocker under the previous regime so his medical retirement leaves a potential opening for Bell, both things that will be needed in a Kittley led offense and while Bell’s playing time was limited, the increase in Tight End usage that came under Lunsford may prove fruitful in his pursuit for playing time as well. Liam Besecker was a late addition to the roster last summer and the Temple transfer will have an uphill battle for playing time at tight end, however he may carve out a role on special teams.
Although it’s still unknown how big of an impact Besecker and Bell will make, retention at any position is a positive thing and both will have a chance to earn a role during the offseason.
New Additions
Redshirt Sophomore- Reid Mikeska, 6’5 260 pounds
Redshirt Freshman- Martavious Collins, 6’4 258 pounds
Freshman- Tamez Young, 6’4 218 pounds
2 big portal additions to the tight end room this offseason for FAU, as South Carolina transfer Reid Mikeska and UTEP transfer Martavious Collins head to Boca, each with a solid shot at earning a contributing role. Both Mikeska and Collins didn’t crack the field much at their previous stops, however both were highly recruited 3 star’s out of High School and they will look to reach their potential in a Kittley led offense.
At 6’4 250-260, both have the size to contribute in the trenches and through the air and with Bell being the only returner with any playing time, their path to playing time should be fairly easy as long as they have a solid offseason. The only freshman at tight end is Tamez Young, who was also a 3 star out of high school and with a brand new coaching staff, if he impresses during the offseason he can carve out a role as well.
With only 6 players and an overall lack of experience, there is a solid chance FAU looks to bring in another Tight end this offseason, however with a boatload of untapped talent across the board, it’s also likely we see a breakout player from the current group of tight ends as well.
Quotable from Jajuan Dulaney
On the focus this spring
“I think that through this Camp we’ve changed that mindset of where the running backs will fit in and what they can actually do what what can the tight ends do for this offense I think the tight ends can can provide a safety net for for the offense, I think that they can provide an element of physicality in the pass game and the Run game, just being able to open up get out wide and then very next play we’re right there in the count being able to run the next play whatever it may be, but with that being said there’s a lot of things that that goes with the mentality of it too you’ve got to have poised mentality,” Dulaney said.
On Martavious Collins
“Martavious is a guy that you know he came with me from UTEP and got playing time as a freshman you know a lot of 12 Personnel stuff getting there getting in there getting space and things and you know the biggest thing for him right now is the transition piece, it’s a completely different philosophy of offense in regards to the tight end so there’s a lot more that’s on your plate that you have to be able to put together. I mentioned before you know being able to line up outside and do those things and then coming right back inside and do those things in there as well, the biggest thing with him is just the consistency piece, I I’ve been preaching to my guys I’ve always been told one of my favorite compliments is ‘hey you’re a consistent guy,’ that’s a a great compliment, but there’s two sides of that, you want to be on the good side of that so the consistency piece of it is is something that we’re working on. All of these guys flash every day and I pay attention to the small things, the small details and that’s the thing that I’ve been talking about,” Dulaney said.
On Reid Mikeska
“When I was at Houston, our previous staff over there we actually took our shot at recruiting Reed back then, it was funny when when I saw he got in the portal I reached out and I text him sent the message and Reed Mikeska pops up I’m like oh snap I forgot I had this guy’s number, so it’s a bit of a connection there, but it’s it’s definitely great to have him here, I do think Reed has everything that it takes to step into that role you know he’s got the presence, he’s a big guy, there’s a physical presence that comes with being a leader at times but it’s about it’s about how you’re leading, that’s something that I’ve been talking to him about early on, you leading isn’t necessarily coming in and telling everybody what to do, leading isn’t necessarily coming in and preaching one thing and doing the other, sometimes you got to wrap your arm around this guy and take him separate or maybe it does take that for some type of guy, but the overall theme of leading is no matter what happens you have got to lead by example, no matter how you choose to go about it you have to lead by example no matter what,” Dulaney said.