Big Ten tight ends could steal the spotlight this fall.
The position could be a breakout one in the conference this year with many teams featuring a budding young talent at the position. From Bloomington to Madison to State College to Iowa City to East Lansing, players are ready to turn heads this season.
Let’s start with Indiana.
The Hoosiers area expecting a big bounce-back year from Ted Bolser, a junior who caught a meager 14 passes for 165 yards with a touchdown last season after grabbing 27 balls for 407 yards and five scores in 2010. The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder spent the offseason rebuilding his body to become a weapon in coach Kevin Wilson’s wide-open attack.
"Last year we were a run-oriented team with Tre (Roberson) running the option,'' Bolser told the Indianapolis Star. “We still have Tre, which is a good thing, but now we have an offensive coordinator who is a big pass-oriented coach. At the same time, I've really grown to love blocking. If I can do that to help our team get some Ws that's fine.''
To the north at Wisconsin and Michigan State, both teams have budding stars at tight end who they hope become more than a solid blocker and red-zone target.
Badgers junior tight end Jacob Pedersen was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award in 2011, given annually to the top player at his position in the country. The 6-foot-4, 242-pounder caught 30 passes for 356 yards with eight touchdowns last year, but amassed just four catches over the team’s final four games.
Spartan coaches are expecting tight end Dion Sims to finally reach his massive potential. The junior, who missed all of 2010 due to suspension and played sparingly in the second half of last season due to a broken hand, has 23 catches for 232 yards with six touchdowns in 27 career games. The 6-foot-5, 285-pounder will be a focal point of the passing games with an inexperienced quarterback and green receiving corps.
“It's his time now,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. “He goes in as the number one guy. And it should be exciting to watch him. But he has to stay healthy.”
Meantime in Iowa, coaches and fans are excited about the potential of tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz. The 6-foot-7, 265-pounder is an athletic freak that many project as the offense’s top option. Over his final four games last year, the junior tripled his productivity for the rest of the season, making 12 catches for 105 yards with three touchdowns.
Finally, in State College, many fans are expecting big things from the tight end position after coach Bill O’Brien took charge this spring. The former New England Patriots offensive coordinator helped make tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski stars in the NFL. Now, he will strive to get similar performances out of the Nittany Lions tight ends, including junior Garry Gilliam and freshmen Kyle Carter and Jesse James.
"They put a lot of time in, and they're going to be a big part of what we do,” O’Brien told the Scranton Times-Tribune. “We're going to have two tight ends in there and at the very least one tight end in there the majority of the time."
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