UTC tight ends are a young group
The Times Free Press is taking a daily positional look at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team leading up to its first practice of the 2018 preseason next Wednesday. Today, we feature the tight ends:
Who’s back?
No one with experience. All-Southern Conference second-team selection Bailey Lenoir is gone, as is the graduated Malcolm Colvin, who started 20 games during his UTC career, including 18 of 24 the past two seasons. They were the only two tight ends who played for the Mocs last year, leaving a void at the position.
Who’s new?
Coaches have raved about the growth of 6-foot-2, 225-pound Jacob Webster, a walk-on who played in four games last season, mainly on special teams. Head coach Tom Arth said during the spring that Webster had become a “guy that we can count on.” They
were also high on Tennessee Tech transfer Jordan Gilberti (6-3, 240), who has three seasons of eligibility remaining. Boyd-Buchanan graduate and sophomore Jack Keebler (6-3, 225), Gage Upshaw (6-3, 235) from Baylor and fellow redshirt freshman Juwan Tyus (6-4, 200) should provide some solid receiving options, and coaches also brought in Logan Pitts (6-2, 210), who caught passes for 1,002 yards and 13 touchdowns as a high school senior last year at Alabama’s Hewitt-Trussville.
Strengths
The group has shown the ability
to be versatile, a staple of what Arth wants in a player. All have shown they can catch and block — both valuable components of the position, namely in the red zone.
Weaknesses
There’s no game experience on the roster. Only Keebler and Webster have played in a game, and any time spent on the field was primarily with special teams. A unit that features three sophomores and three freshmen must have someone step up as a leader.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.