AZTECS BELIEVE TIGHT ENDS WILL PLAY FEATURED ROLE ON OFFENSE
With Lindley at helm, SDSU plans to go with ‘12’ look more
San Diego State football coach Brady Hoke got a first-hand look last season at something he wants the Aztecs to feature prominently on offense this season — the tight end as a playmaking receiver.
“Like Utah,” Hoke said shortly before offseason practice began two weeks ago. “A little bit more 12.”
The “12” is slang for “12 personnel,” which is shorthand for an offensive formation that includes one running back, two tight ends and two wide receivers.
Utah has used it with great success. In last season’s 35-7 home win over the Aztecs, Utah tight ends Brant Kuithe and Dalton Kincaid combined for eight catches, 102 yards and a touchdown.
The past two seasons, nearly 40 percent of Utah’s receptions were by tight ends. It helps when you are exceedingly talented at the position.
Kuithe, a three-time all-Pac-12 tight end, and Kincaid were the Utes’ top two pass catchers in 2021 and regarded among the nation’s top 10 tight ends last season.
They would have been Utah’s top targets again had Kuithe not been lost in Week 4 to a season-ending knee injury. Kincaid led the team with 70 catches.
“It’s unique, especially in this day and age of football where the tight end is not really a part of everybody’s offense,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham told the Deseret News. “A lot of offenses don’t even have a tight end. But for us ... it’s a big part of what we do . ...
“The No. 1 objective of the offensive coordinator is to get the ball into the hands of the playmakers. And they’re two of the best playmakers.”
Hoke and new offensive coordinator Ryan Lindley have talked in recent weeks about identifying playmakers. San Diego State is without wide receivers Jesse Matthews and Tyrell Shavers and running backs Jordan Byrd and Chance Bell, all of whom graduated.
The Aztecs have been hit especially hard at wide re
ceiver, where former walk-on Mekhi Shaw (29 catches, 349 yards, 3 TDs) is the most experienced returner. Brionne Penny (12 catches, 168 yards) is next.
Meanwhile, SDSU welcomes back five of its six tight ends.
“They all have a specific skillset and have skills that they need to be on the field,” Hoke said.
They all have size, the smallest standing 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, but are largely unproven as ball catchers.
Senior Jay Rudolph and junior Aaron Greene each had only one reception last season. That was one more than sophomores Cameron Harpole and Gus McGee and redshirt freshman Logan Tanner.
Senior Mark Redman, a 6-6, 250-pounder who transferred from Washington last year, was far and away the top target in the group, catching 21 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns.
“Mark Redman is a guy who is a phenomenal football player,” Lindley said. “Really talented. We’re going to put him in positions to create matchup issues to be successful.
“There’s things Mark can improve on, but the things he can do really well right now we need to make sure we’re accentuating those strengths.”
Redman said he wants to improve his consistency and speed. He also needs to get better at coming away with contested catches.
“There’s definitely aspects of my game that I want to work on,” Redman said. “Consistency is a huge thing. I’d say some games were better than the others.
“You always want to get faster, bigger, stronger. Everyone says that but a big one for me is getting faster and being able to accelerate and get away from people in the pass game.”
SDSU has featured a runoriented offense for more than a decade. Wide receivers were seemingly an afterthought. And tight ends, well, they were good extra blockers.
When the ball has been put in the air, typically it’s been short and intermediate routes to wide receivers or within a couple yards of the line of scrimmage to running backs.
SDSU tight ends have averaged fewer than three receptions a game over the past eight seasons. This, even when the roster included talented tight ends — like Daniel Bellinger and Kahale Warring — who many observers believed were woefully underutilized in the offense.
Bellinger had 31 catches for 357 yards and two touchdowns in 2021. Warring had 31 catches for 372 yards and three touchdowns in 2018. That year, San Diego State’s tight ends caught 48 passes as a group.
By contrast, Utah tight ends caught 111 passes last season and 102 the year before.
The most passionate Aztecs fans are no doubt delighted to hear discussions that involve “12” personnel. Excuse them for not believing it until they see it.
SDSU’s Spring Game is March 23 at Snapdragon Stadium, providing the first opportunity to get a glimpse of how the tight ends are developing and the position is evolving in the offense.
It is still six months before the true test begins, however.
“When you get challenged, it’s a good thing,” Redman said.
“That means there’s a lot of people with high hopes for you.
“We hold ourselves to a high standard as well. We know the tasks that are coming for us . ... I take that as an honor and responsibility that we’ve got to step up and accept the challenge.”