Tight ends share the work; no clear number one


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The wide receivers have shone so far, as they know their rank on the depth chart.

Running back Saylor Lavallii has claimed the starting position after starter Zurlon Tipton went down, but it’s the tight end position that is a mystery as to who is the workhorse.

Sophomore tight end Ben McCord is one of the tight ends in the rotation.

“Right now, coach is rotating all of us tight ends,” McCord said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a run or pass, we all get reps in practice. The repetition gets us better at what we do. We have different people start each week.”

Head coach Dan Enos has split up the plays between four tight ends on the team, each receiving about 25 snaps a game.

“We play three or four guys there,” Enos said. “Connor Odykirk has caught the ball, McCord, Deon Butler and Mike Kinville have all caught the ball. I think they all do different things well. We really don’t have a number one guy.”

McCord leads the tight ends with four receptions on the year for 20 yards.

As a tight end, he hopes he opens the field up for his teammates, but sees himself in a role of receiver.

“My role, I’m hoping, is to open up the passing game,” McCord said. “I’m more of a receiving tight end. I can run block as well, but my role is to spread the field and get the guys off Titus Davis, Andrew Flory and Jesse Kroll.”

The offense hasn’t relied on the tight ends much this year, due to the receivers being a bright spot this season.

Enos acknowledged the lack of production from the tight ends, but knows that there aren’t enough footballs to go around.

“I think we have to get our tight ends more involved,” Enos said. “Especially in the passing game ... but it’s difficult at times. There aren’t enough balls to go around with all the wide receivers and tailbacks. When the tight ends are called upon, they will make big plays.”

The tight ends have had to deal with three different starting quarterbacks this season. McCord is comfortable with both Cooper Rush and Alex Niznak.

“Once you get a quarterback that you’re used to you can get a feel for them,” McCord said. “You get a feel for their passing game and it gets comfortable for the offense. I’m cool with Cooper Rush starting or Alex Niznak.”

As for moving forward, McCord is ready to have a breakout game against Toledo this Saturday with some personal goals.

“I honestly want to score two touchdowns,” McCord said. “I haven’t had one yet, so I want at least two. I’d like to have four or five receptions, and I want to make a big play on one of them.”

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