Evaluating Arizona’s Tight Ends Performance Heading Into Bye Week
In this story:
The Arizona Wildcats offense looked sharp in its commanding 23 - 17 win over Kansas State, pushing the team to an undefeated 3 - 0 record for the first time in a decade and avenging its 31 - 7 loss in Manhattan last year.
Although the score may not reflect the dominance that Arizona had over its opponent last Friday, the statistics certainly speak for themselves, as 412 yards of total offense were gained over four quarters of football played.
Head coach Brent Brennan gave his team credit for staying strong and finishing the game after a nearly disastrous third quarter that saw a blocked punt and an interception.
- "I think every football game when you're playing against a program that's as good as you say, there's going to be back and forth, back and forth," Brennan said.
- "Those guys have won a lot of football games for a really long time. They're extremely well coached. They have good players. And so there's going to be back and forth. What I love is, I love the response, because we had two really ugly plays back to back, and then we responded in all three phases. And that's that is what good teams do, is when something goes wrong, you respond, and that's redline."
Through three weeks of football, the tight end group has been a big reason why the offense has been able to be such an unstoppable force in the running game.
While the blocking portion is there, the tight ends could do a better job of being receiving and being red zone targets for Noah Fifita, something that offensive coordinator Seth Doege wants in his up-tempo offense.
Grade: C
The Arizona Wildcat tight ends receive a C for the way they have blocked in a monstrous run game and not yet being available targets in the red zone for their star quarterback and staying resilient despite an injury setting them back on the first play of the season.
The group has also begun to shift more into a receiver role in some plays, as Doege said that he wanted them to be able to slot out more to spread the defense out.
Arizona lost its starting tight end, Tyler Powell, on the very first play of the season to a season-ending lower leg injury; however, Sam Olson has done a great job filling in for him as a more traditional, mechanical player.
Olson has just one catch for 5 yards and a touchdown in the red zone so far this season, and Keyan Burnett has yet to emerge as the passing threat he was meant to be, but that should change as the season progresses.
Cam Barmore has huge potential to be a threat in the rotation, but for now, it seems that he is filling in as more of a relief player.
Arizona has an opportunity to get the tight ends more involved and improve their skills during the bye week. It will travel to Ames next Saturday to take on the No. 12-ranked Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium at 4 p.m. (MST).
How would you assess the tight ends in the first three weeks of play? Please let us know by commenting on our X account and be sure to give us a follow while you're there.
Nathaniel Martinez and a set of shoulder pads at 7 years old. He later graduated from Pima Community College in 2023, where he began writing for the Pima Post. He is working to achieve a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Media Studies.