BADGERS BY POSITION
Three talented, versatile tight ends provide options
MADISON – Paul Chryst’s affinity for using tight ends as others use their queen on a chess board is well known.
Chryst, preparing for his third season as Wisconsin’s head coach, prefers using multiple tight ends. He’ll line them up out wide, on the line of scrimmage and in the backfield. They’ll block, catch and serve as decoys.
UW in 2017 should field three tight ends capable of contributing in all three areas.
“We expect to be a big part of the offense,” said Troy Fumagalli, the leader of the group, “to take on that leadership role, always be out there and be accountable.”
Fumagalli, who will be a redshirt senior, capped his best season at UW with a dominating performance in the Cotton Bowl.
The former walk-on from Aurora, Ill., caught six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown in the victory over Western Michigan to finish with a
team-high 47 catches for 580 yards and two scores.
He entered 2016 with a combined 42 catches for 500 yards and one touchdown. He finished the regular season with 38 catches for 467 yards and a touchdown.
“I think every year you play you can get better,” Chryst said. “From the way you prepare physically in the off-season, to the mental preparation, to the broadening of your vision, to the broadening of what you’re asking yourself to do.”
Kyle Penniston and Zander Neuville, who moved to tight end from defensive end last August, should combine to give UW an effective trio of playmakers at the position.
Penniston played in 12 of 14 games last season as a redshirt freshman. He was used on the line as a blocker and showed promise as a receiver with six catches for 102 yards and two scores.
With Eric Steffes gone, Penniston should be the No. 2 tight end behind Fumagalli.
“Last year showed he can line up at a number of different spots,” tight ends coach Mickey Turner said. “Whenever everyone was healthy he was a little bit (farther) away from the ball. And when we had some guys banged up in a few games, he had to be in close. He actually did pretty well with some of that stuff."
The next step for the 6-foot-4, 244-pound Penniston:
“Can you do all of those things, but at a high level?” Turner asked. “He is a guy I challenge all the time to know a ton of stuff.”
Neuville, 6-5 and 258, developed into an outstanding blocker by the end of his first season at tight end.
His most noteworthy block came in the first half of the Big Ten title game, on Dare Ogunbowale’s 7-yard touchdown run.
UW deployed three tight ends, with Penniston off right tackle, Fumagalli on a wing to the right and Neuville on a wing to the left.
Penniston took out a defensive back; Fumagalli blocked down on the left end; and Neuville came in motion from left to right and flattened a linebacker to help clear path to the end zone for Ogunbowale.
“He is not afraid to hit people,” Fumagalli said.
Neuville played in 12 of 14 games last season but did not catch a pass. He is a fluid athlete who was a three-sport standout at Waupaca High School – football, basketball and baseball – and could contribute as a receiver this season.
“That was definitely one of my goals this spring, to show that I can be a threat in the passing game,” Neuville said. “Obviously, Kyle and Troy are great route runners. But if I can be a threat, too, that is only going to help the offense.”
Turner liked what he saw from Neuville during spring ball, his first at tight end.
“He is extremely strong and physical,” Turner said. “He learns exceptionally well. He is incredibly smart. He is hard on himself.
“He has made the biggest jump this offseason because he is learning the position. I’m excited about where he is at right now.”