Mark Stoops expects big year out of tight ends: "They'll be utilized."

No, this isn’t Groundhog Day. Yes, you’ve read similar headlines in the past about this being the year tight ends are used in the Kentucky offense. I’ve found one for every offseason in recent memory, that unit the “first off the bus” on game days in 2019 all the way through 2023 when Vince Marrow said it was “the best room I’ve had since I’ve been here 11 years, top to bottom.” It’s become a running joke in Lexington — all in good fun, obviously.

Last season, Jordan Dingle led the unit with 270 receiving yards on 12 catches, followed by Josh Kattus with 108 on eight with two scores, Izayah Cummings with 98 on four, Brenden Bates with 89 on four and Khamari Anderson with 11 on one to round out the group. That’s 576 total with just 29 total receptions and two touchdowns.

Health was a serious issue for that group in the spring, Kattus, Dingle and Bates all missing that valuable time before the unit dealt with nicks and dings throughout the season. Factor in Ray Davis’ explosion out of the backfield, the love-spreading to Dane Key, Barion Brown and Tayvion Robinson and the tempo cutting down on play totals, and it was kind of a perfect storm for that unit to take a backseat in the grand scheme of things.

What are the expectations going into next season? Well, with the core of Dingle, Kattus and Anderson back, along with the addition of high-profile signee Willie Rodriguez, it’s fair to understand where optimism could come from. Talent was never the question — again, circumstances were weird last go-round.

Running it back with high hopes is the plan.

“We feel very confident in that group and we feel like there’s a lot of playmaking ability in that group,” Stoops said Saturday. “They’ll be utilized. It’ll be different. We feel like there are good players there. You’ve heard me talk about this a lot, but it’s very true: If we can get some tempo going, get some first downs going, get some plays going, you’re going to see a lot of different touches from a lot of different people.”

Stoops’ comments come after new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan raved about the group to open spring ball, making it clear he had a plan for the tight ends in his debut campaign in Lexington. He’s no stranger to utilizing those pieces, previously coaching the position and finding a star in Hunter Bryant at Washington back in 2019.

“I think that’s the one position where you can find a guy that’s extremely good in the run game and create a bunch of opportunities for him in the pass game. We’re looking at opportunities there,” Hamdan said in March. “I think this tight end group is probably as deep as any other unit on the offensive side of the ball.

“We’re excited to find ways to continue to get them the ball.”

The top options are healthy and available, building momentum this spring after missing it last time around. Kattus in particular is a guy who is looking for a junior breakthrough after showing flashes in years one and two.

He’s standing out early, as made clear by the one-handed snag he pulled down in practice this week.

8️⃣4️⃣ making plays pic.twitter.com/ndpK6QJmqI

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) April 4, 2024

“I’m really excited, spring ball is a great time to work on your craft and things you need to improve on,” Kattus said of his bounce-back after missing last spring due to injury. “That’s the emphasis I’m taking out here, taking coaching points. After each practice, if there’s something I know I need to work on, we have that day off between that I can go out there and work on it each day. It’s a real key spot in your development as a player.

“Kattus is a dog. That’s one person I love to go against and hate at the same time,” JJ Weaver added.

For Stoops, he’s just excited to know what he’s working with entering a big year for the program with high expectations — tough schedule on the heels of a relatively underwhelming season, but a ton of talent lining the roster.

“You’d be surprised. You feel like you’re really deep, then that position takes a beating,” Stoops said of his pass-catchers. “You need some depth there.”

They’ve got it this spring.