Ertz extends tight-end tradition
Football has been a little hard on the Ertz brothers of Alamo. Shane had to give it up after two concussions. So did Nick after two back surgeries. Shane might try basketball at Northern Arizona, where he’s a freshman. Nick is playing three sports at Trinity-Pawling (N.Y.) School.
On the way is Jackson, who’s very athletic and almost 6-foot-3, even though he just turned 13.
At the moment, the one carrying the family flag is Zach, one of the central figures of Stanford’s 21-14 win over USC and possibly the best tight end in the country.
The Washington Huskies might have something to say about that when they host the No. 8 Cardinal on Thursday night at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Washington’s stellar tight end, Austin Seferian-
Jenkins, is fourth in the Pac-12 in catches with 6.7 per game.
Stanford, of course, has become Tight End U. in recent years with Jim Dray (Cardinals), Konrad Reuland ( Jets), Coby Fleener (Colts) and Ertz’s current stablemate, Levine Toilolo.
Ertz, a redshirt junior, could join the others in the NFL as early as next year if he decides to leave school with a year’s eligibility remaining. “Honestly, I haven’t put too much thought into it,’’ he said, adding, “I wouldn’t rule it out.”
For a tight end, he has surprising quickness out of his breaks. Just ask USC. In the fourth quarter of a tie game, he was split wide left and put a double move on cornerback Torin Harris. Cutting to the middle of the field, he caught the pass from Josh Nunes at the Trojans’ 17 and made a third move, to the post. Safety Jawanza Starling failed to grab him, and Ertz steamrolled toward the goal line, diving into the end zone with linebacker Dion Bailey on his back.
The 37-yard play was the decisive score in the upset of what was the No. 2 team in the country. It will be one of the plays that Stanford fans remember for years.
Meanwhile, theMonte Vista-Danville alum seems on his way to becoming the main man in the Cardinal passing game, just as Fleener was last year. Ertz leads the team in reception yards with 146 through three games. His nine catches are one behind team leader Stepfan Taylor.
Ertz’s hands are “absolutely” the equal of Fleener’s, head coach David Shaw said, and anybody who saw Fleener in action at Stanford knows what a compliment that is.
“Zach has uncanny body control, for a guy who’s 6-6, 250 pounds,” Shaw said. “That route (against USC) is usually for the 6-foot, 180-pound wide receiver that can make that triple move.”
The play, by the way, is called “Trojan.” It worked for a touchdown by Griff Whalen against Oregon last year. It requires such quickness and agility, Shaw said, that the only other tight end he has been around who could have done it was Todd Heap, now with the Cardinals. Shaw was an assistant coach with the Ravens when Heap was a two-time Pro Bowler (2002-03).
Ertz has developed his ability to separate himself from defenders, sometimes by leaning against them without drawing a flag. Earlier in his career, he received a couple of pass-interference penalties by pushing off with his hands. Shaw persuaded him that he can separate “just by using his feet and his athleticism.”
He also worked hard to improve his hands in the offseason, catching 100 balls a day off the Jugs machine, many of them one-handed. He has worked just as hard on his blocking.
“He wants to be a complete tight end,” tight ends coach Ron Crook said. “He wants to be just as dominating a blocker as he is a great route runner and pass catcher.”