Spring Season Provides Time Needed for Revamped Tight End Unit

A pair of position switches gives the new tight end room time as they reidentify in 2021

Maryland’s tight end room a season ago featured a pair of proven commodities as Chigoziem Okonkwo flourished in the passing game as the team’s second-leading receiver, while grad transfer Tyler Mabry became a reliable blocking tight end to help seal the edge. Heading into the new spring season, Maryland will have to replace Mabry’s productivity, but a pair of position switches can make that possible.

Head coach Mike Locksley announced a trio of position switches in his first press conference ahead of fall camp, two of which included Tyler Baylor and Kam Blount moving from the defensive side of the ball to tight end to double the number of scholarship players for position coach Mike Miller. The move gives the Terps a trio of unproven products as they settle into the rotation, but the long-term upside in the room could be what boosts the offense.

Baylor showed flashes as a productive pass-rusher during his first two seasons of organized football at Good Counsel, but the mean-streak in his play was evident in each snap. Learning more about technique and hand placement through those first two seasons helped develop his game as he grew into his 6-foot-4 frame, but the in-state product arrived in College Park with the measurables to become the physical down lineman along the defensive line. After two seasons of retooling his body and adding good strength, Baylor has the measurables and strength to slide into the room as the ideal blocking tight end as he learns the intricacies of blocking to help

As for Kam Blount, he showed in high school he can be the offensive weapon. His soft hands were on display as he lined up at both quarterback and tight end for St. Charles (MD) to help serve as the next potential receiving threat behind Chigoziem Okonkwo. In addition to two interceptions and 42 tackles on the defensive side of the ball, the 6-foot-2, 216-pound Waldorf native posted 982 passing yards and eight touchdowns, and the twenty pounds added since joining the program gives him the thickness to absorb contact in the open field.

Although the disappointment lingers in response to the cancellation of fall sports, the added time gives both Baylor and Blount more time to ease themselves into the rotation. Ahead of the Terps first and only preseason practice, head coach Mike Locksley announced that Okonkwo would be held out of the fall season due to a medical issue, but the added time gives Okonkwo a chance to return as he leads the tight end room. Time will also aid redshirt freshman Malik Jackson as he gets more reps with his teammates, but the Terps’ room is in position to take advantage of the added time ahead of spring practice. As Locksley noted, the moves help “balance our team and give us the ability to operate our offensive, defensive systems the way we'd like to” and with guidelines in place for a new practice schedule this fall, the new tight end room will spend the coming months gelling together under Miller.