UCF Offensive Coordinator Gives Latest Update On Tight End Competition
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While the UCF Knights may not be retaining any receiving yards in the wide receiver room, they do get a little in the tight end room.
Offensive coordinator Steve Cooper took over the tight ends under coach Scott Frost's staff. He said there's been a good competition.
"Everyone's coming along, and they're working hard," Cooper said. "Now, here we are in the dog days of camp, you know, things get tough and we talk a lot about being 'all-day tough' in that position group specifically because they gotta do a lot of stuff, right? It's the run game, it's the pass game, it's protection, it's a little bit everything, and they're all coming along, but certainly each guy has his own skill set."
While a basketball player being amongst the room is a story in itself, there are two main contenders for the starting spot: one returner and one from the transfer portal.
1. Kylan Fox: The Returner
A four-star prospect out of Valdosta, Georgia, Kylan Fox spent most of his freshman season on the special teams unit, allowing him to see the field in 11 games last season. However, he did catch three passes for 22 yards, making him and running back Myles Montgomery the only returning Knights who recorded receiving yards last season.
Fox said he worked on being a better blocker and getting "more physical" with himself this offseason, highlighting his versatility as his distinguishing skillset.
"I've gotten bigger, got stronger, gotten faster, and worked on more things, and just ready to take on a bigger role this year," Fox said at Player Media Day on Monday.
Cooper said Fox is "developing," but praised him as a student of the game.
"The great thing about Kylan is he's interested in all layers of the game, offense and defense, so he asked a lot of really good questions," Cooper said. "He studies really hard in the playbook, like all the other tight ends do."
2. Dylan Wade: The Transfer
This season is a homecoming for Dylan Wade, an Orlando native out of Jones High School. He spent his first two collegiate seasons with Maryland, where he caught 29 passes for 374 yards and two touchdowns last season, averaging 12.9 yards per catch. One such touchdown catch came from a twice-tipped pass.
Cooper said Wade is 22 pounds heavier than when he got to UCF (he was listed as 236 pounds on Maryland's 2024 roster) and that he's "excited to see how he develops in the next couple of weeks."
"He is willing to do things and go to that dark place, and we're trying to make that more consistent with everyone in the room, and he's illustrated that so far," Cooper said.
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Cooper described tight ends as a lot like other positions in that "the more you do, the more you're going to play." He said a player can be a tight end if he can play at tempo, make decisions in real time and have the adaptability and dexterity to do that.
"Coach Clark gets to work with the offensive line for two hours a day on the base fundamental, which is blocking; tight ends are doing a lot of other stuff," Cooper said. "They're catching passes or playing special teams. So, you know, those reps are going to add up, and they certainly have shown that they're going to add up because we're a long, long ways away from where we started."
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Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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