Bill O'Brien reveals which tight ends have stepped up in Cameron Latu's absence

Alabama has to replace some weapons on the offensive side of the football, and that only became more true when tight end Cameron Latu went down with a knee injury early in training camp. Now, Alabama is looking for other tight ends on the roster to step up in his absence.

Latu emerged as a valuable weapon for Bryce Young last season, hauling in 26 receptions for 410 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 15.8 yards per catch. But with Latu now on the mend, other tight ends have a big opportunity to create bigger roles for themselves within the Alabama offense.

Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien has seen some good things early on in camp from the group, but he has also seen a tremendous commitment to return to the field from Latu.

“Yeah, I’ll start by saying Cam, it’s unfortunate what happened to him,” O’Brien said when asked about Alabama’s tight end room. “But he’s right – this is a guy that’s just a great guy. He’s in the training room that day working to get back. He’s been in there it almost seems like 12 to 15 hours a day, working hard to get back. So he’ll be back at some point.”

O’Brien on which Alabama tight ends have stepped up in Latu’s absence

Alabama has some other options at tight end, though Latu is the clear-cut top option. Sophomore Robbie Ouzts is one player that O’Brien has been impressed with so far, and he has also liked what he’s seen from JUCO transfer Miles Kitselman, in addition to a number of freshmen that have joined the fold.

O’Brien wouldn’t name any specific freshmen, but he noted the depth at the position as something that he remains confident in.

“I think Robbie Ouzts has really improved,” O’Brien added. “Robbie Ouzts is somebody that’s worked really hard to improve. And then Miles Kitselman the junior college transfer that’s come in, he’s a hard working guy. he’s getting used to the way we do things here, but I think he’s a guy that is a solid player that can help us.

“And then there’s a lot of young guys. Don’t want to get into all the young guys, but there are some young guys at that position that we really believe can help us too. So we’ve got a number of guys at that position that can take up the slack while Cam is out, and they just need to keep working hard and improving.”