Big Ten tiers: Is Gophers' TE Jameson Geers being overlooked?

Dominant Penn State tight end Tyler Warren is now with the Indianapolis Colts, and the door is wide open for a leader at the position to emerge in the Big Ten. There's plenty of talent around the conference, and for this exercise, we'll tier each team's TE duo heading into the 2025-26 season.

Proven stud

1. Jack Velling/Michael Masunas, Michigan State

With 36 catches for 411 receiving yards and one touchdown last season, Velling trails only Purdue to Ohio State transfer Max Klare in returning production. He followed Jonathan Smith from Oregon State to the Spartans last offseason, and he has proven himself in the Big Ten. Masunas is a bit of an unknown, but he's behind the most proven tight end in the conference.

Related: Big Ten tiers: Where do the Gophers' WR portal pickups stack up?

Potentially great

2. Kenyon Sadiq/Jamari Johnson, Oregon
3. Luke Reynolds/Khalil Dinkins, Penn State
4. Max Klare/Will Kacmarek, Oregon State

The three duos in this tier likely have higher potential than Velling, but they've yet to prove themselves. Johnson has the potential to be a breakout star for Oregon after transferring from Louisville, Reynolds could be the next great tight end at Penn State and Klare was an intriguing addition for the Buckeyes from Purdue, but was it just empty stats last year in West Lafayette?

High floor, low ceiling

5. Jameson Geers/Frank Bierman, Minnesota
6. Addison Ostrenga/Zach Ortwerth, Iowa
7. Lake McRee/Walker Lyons, USC

This tier includes players who have proven themselves, but they don't have as high a ceiling as the group above them. Velling and Klare are the only returning tight ends in the conference to have more yards than Geers last season. It's hard to rank Iowa's tight ends much lower than No. 6, and McRee/Lyons is a duo the majority of the conference would be happy with.

Potentially solid

8. Marlin Klein/Hansen Hogan, Michigan
9. Kenny Fletcher Jr./Colin Webber, Rutgers
10. Luke Lindenmeyer/Heinrich Haarberg, Nebraska
11. Decker DeGraaf/Quentin Moore, Washington

This group consists of tight ends who have experience in the Big Ten, but they don't have the same level of production as players in front of them. I could see all four of these duos end the season in any order, but I'd be pleasantly surprised if they climbed up to the next tier.

Transfer portal wildcards

12. Dorian Fleming/Leon Haughton Jr., Maryland
13. Holden Staes/Riley Nowakowski, Indiana

Fleming had an incredibly productive season at Georgia State last year with 49 catches for 558 yards and six touchdowns, but the Big Ten is a different beast. Indiana's tight end room consists of two transfers; Staes is on his third school after stops at Notre Dame and Tennessee, and Nowakowski comes from Wisconsin.

Unproven

14. Tucker Ashcraft/JT Seagreaves, Wisconsin
15. Tanner Arkin/Cole Rusk, Illinois
16. Hudson Habermahl/Jack Pedersen, UCLA

This tier consists of players who have the potential to be solid contributors, but they're far too unproven to be any higher on the list. Ashcraft showed some potential last season with the Badgers, but he had only 12 catches for 82 yards.

Meh

17. Christian Moore/George Burhenn, Purdue
18. Alex Lines/Hunter Welcing, Northwestern

There are far too many questions about the tight ends in this tier to put them any higher. A lack of any serious production or even experience place them both at the bottom of this list.