If you all remember I did a series of articles in June of 2017 that looked at the departing starters from the 2016 season and who I thought would be replacing them for 2017.  With that I assigned a grade of “Upgrade“, “Downgrade” or “Draw‘.

What I’ll do first is look at each position, or unit, along the offense or defense as of today and write down who I think will be the starter and why it will be that guy.  Then I’ll assign a ranking of “Upgrade” if I see an upgrade in player quality, “Downgrade’ if I see a lessening of talent or “Draw” if I think we’ll match last year’s player(s) in the position or unit. 

Here is a piece on the TEs written by Not Rocket Science (NRS) who has been around forever and disagrees with me on a regular basis.  Well, this time I can return the favor.

A quick look at last year’s tight ends.

Matt Flannigan GP 9, 17 for 160 yards, 10.94 average, o TD

Chris Clark GP 12, 16 for 122 yards, 7.63 average, 1 TD

Tyler Sear GP 9, 1 for 10 yards, 10 average, 0 TD

Certainly nothing to write home about.  Watson either did not utilize the TEs or the QB’s simply could not find them in the progressions.  I also believe they were kept in to block more.  Clark and Sear were essentially playing their first years.  Clark seemed to have potential as a receiver.  Too bad he quit football.  Sear only had one catch but his blocking came a long way and he did well against VT and Miami.  Flannigan certainly was not an athletic guy and only played in nine games.  I think he was average.

This year’s group includes the following:

Tyler Sear SO – the top TE prospect in PA for his class.  Also, played hoops.

Will Gragg rsJR – top recruit coming out of high school.  Didn’t play much at Arkansas.  Caught some balls over the middle, shuffle passes, screen plays, blocks decent.  His highlights are below.  Go to 1:45 in the clip if you want to see his athleticism.

2017 highlights:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1foimGz9A2E

Grant Carrigan rsFR – Hugh kid.  Maybe an OL tackle in the future.

Continue reading “Upgrade, Downgrade or Draw for 2018’s TEs” →