The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Keystone graduate looking for big season
Kentucky tight end, Keystone graduate drawing comparisons to NFL’s Tamme
Being mentioned in the same sentence as Jacob Tamme is an honor for any college tight end.
It’s also something that Kentucky’s C.J. Conrad will need to get used to. Why? Because the junior tight end is entering the 2017-18 season after posting a year that had not been seen by the Wildcats since Tamme.
“It’s honestly humbling to be compared to him (Tamme),” Conrad said. “He’s the man when it comes to Kentucky tight ends. It’s one of those things where people mention how my season was last year and how it’s comparable to him and it’s still just weird to think. I don’t know if I’ll get used to it, but it definitely means that I’m doing things right.”
As a sophomore, the former Keystone Wildcat tied for second on the team in receiving touchdowns with four.
He also ranked fourth in catches (19) and receiving yards (262) while starting in 11 of the 13 games he played.
Not only that, but he made some history along the way:
• First Kentucky player with three receiving touchdowns in a game (Week 3 vs. New Mexico State) since Dicky Lyons Jr. in 2007.
• First Wildcat TE to top 100 receiving yards in a game since Tamme in 2007.
• The 133 yards he had against new Mexico State ranks him third in Kentucky Wildcats single-game history for a tight end, and the most since James Whalen registered 151 in 1999. The scary part? Conrad knows that the year could have been much better for him.
“I did some good things, but there were plenty of places that I could easily grow,” Conrad said. “There were some passes that I
should have caught. Some routes I could have been better on. Things like that.
“I’ve been working on those things. I’ve been working hard and I’m excited to see what I can do this season.”
Conrad is not the only person to see the potential that this season could hold.
On July 11, the National College Football Awards Association released its preseason John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List, and Conrad was one of the 55 players on the list.
It is a familiar place for Conrad, as it is the third time he has been named to the preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award, presented annually to the nation’s top tight end.
Familiar is a word Conrad was not afraid to use when describing the upcoming season. And with good reason. After all, this will be the first year he has the same offensive coordinator (Eddie Gran) and quarterback — whether it be redshirt junior Drew Barker (injured in Week 3) or redshirt senior
Stephen Johnson, who went 5-3 as a starter last year.
But Conrad didn’t leave the familiarity there.
“It actually feels a bit like my time at Keystone,” Conrad said. “We were 5-7 in my freshman year (at Kentucky) and 7-5 last year. Now we get to see what’s coming this year.
“When I was at Keystone, we were 0-10 my first year, 5-5 my second year, 7-3 my junior year and 8-3 and in the playoffs my senior year. We kept moving in the right direction, and I feel like that is what we are doing here.”
The feeling of familiarity will be something that will be important for Conrad as he works to come back from an unfamiliar situation: injury.
During the winter, Conrad had surgery to fix a labrum tear. The surgery caused him to miss the spring — something he had not experienced before.
“I’ve had surgeries before and been injured, but I’ve never had an injury force me to miss a large chunk of
time before,” Conrad said. “That was tough for me. I mean, it was good for me to still be there and seeing everyone else practice, but not being on the field was hard.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever appreciated my health and the game more than when I was finally able to the field in June.”
Conrad said that he is expecting a big year personally, but also a big season for Kentucky, which last year qualified for a bowl game (TaxSlayer Bowl) for the first time since the 201011.
“I don’t have specific goals in mind for myself, but I want to get more involved in the passing game,” Conrad said. “I just want to keep moving forward and keep getting better. I don’t have any specific numbers in mind, but I just want them to be better — both my numbers and the team numbers.
“I think this year could be a really great year. Everyone is focused and we have a lot of returning talent. This year should be a fun one.”