Tanner Koziol Makes Cut in Top 100 Players of 2025 Season

Another remarkable point in tight end Tanner Koziol's career.

Houston’s best weapon on offense this past season was ranked at No. 86 in ESPN’s Top 100 players of the 2025 season.

The Cougars will miss seeing him on offense connecting with quarterback Conner Weigman, but his career has made him one of the most attractive prospects in the entire 2026 NFL Draft.

After an outstanding year running routes and creating mismatches, Koziol is among the hottest names in the tight end class to have a breakout career in the NFL once a team elects to draft him. Throughout his year with Houston, he piled up 74 receptions for 727 yards with six touchdowns, averaging 9.8 yards per catch.

Success as a Tight End

The year 2022 was when it got started for him collegiately, where he caught a touchdown in four of his first five collegiate games and had a team-high seven touchdown receptions. Koziol was also tied for the fifth-most touchdowns in FBS by a tight end and tied for the second-most among all freshmen.

In 2023, the Bloomingdale, Illinois, native was a 2023 All-MAC third-team selection and a 2023 Preseason All-MAC (second team by Athlon Sports, College Football Network, and Pro Football Focus). That same season, he was the only pass catcher as a sophomore at Ball State with more than one touchdown reception.

Koziol also broke the Ball State single-season and career receptions record by a tight end in 2024. That season, he was also a 2024 All-MAC second team, 2024 All America by College Football Network (third team), and 2024 Group of 5 All-American by HERO Sports (first team).

In three years that the 6-foot-7 weapon played for Ball State, Koziol accumulated 163 receptions for over 1,500 yards with 18 touchdowns. After bringing a ton of success to that program, head coach Willie Fritz and Co. convinced him to play football for Houston.

During his stint with the Cougars, he was responsible for 30.5 percent of all the receptions on offense and was a part of the nation's top-10 in tight end reception leaders.

The highly impactful 4-star transfer had the longest reception of his career with a 50-yard catch and run. Koziol’s best game was on the road against Arizona State, where he posted seven catches for 100 yards with a touchdown.

Out of the 13 games he appeared in, 10 of the games he had at least five receptions.

As a senior, he went out with a bang, showing scouts that he wants to play football and not opt out, as other players do now, to prepare for the NFL Combine and NFL Draft. His decision to play in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl for Houston showed off his frame and strong hands with a season-high nine receptions for 76 yards and one touchdown.