Right Spot at the Right Time for Josh Kattus and the Kentucky Tight Ends

Kentucky football fans plea for the tight ends to be used more. That has been the case this year, just not exactly the way they thought they would see it.

A dramatic fourth-quarter comeback at Ole Miss was capped off with a tight end touchdown. It wasn’t a pass, but a fumble recovery for Josh Kattus in the end zone.

“It was unbelievable,” Kattus said on Tuesday. “I wasn’t really expecting it. I was just trying to block my guy and the ball happened to pop up. It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. My teammates were all there, surrounding me. I’m super thankful for them. It was a great team win, something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Obviously, No. 84’s number was not called on the Gavin Wimsatt run. But when the opportunity arose, he was ready to jump on it, quite literally.

“When I joke about it, I say the ball was there kinda in slow motion. Wow, ball,” he laughed. “It was kinda like the movies. ‘Wow, the ball.’ It wasn’t something I was expecting. It worked out and I feel like I knew after that play things were going to go our way.”

Josh Kattus felt like he was moving in slow motion right before he scored the game-winning touchdown at Ole Miss. pic.twitter.com/IbvdRapwMW

— KSR (@KSRonX) October 9, 2024

It’s the first time in all of his years playing football that Kattus can remember recovering a fumble. The lessons from his father paid off at the right time.

“It’s something my Dad has always told me over the years. Play hard and play to the whistle and try to be around the ball when you can because you don’t know when that ball’s going to come out. If you’re playing hard and you’re doing your job and you’re around the football, things like that can happen. That was my first time, but I guess it was a pretty big first-time fumble recovery.”

Full Circle Moment for Kattus and the Tight Ends

When fans ask for more from the tight ends, they want to see it in the passing game. Three players have combined for eight receptions, but they actually have been used more in the passing game, not as receivers but as blockers.

“They’re doing a good job,” said offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. “That position’s gotta get a lot of the dirty work done as you guys know. A lot of times from a matchup standpoint, they’re going against some of the best pass rushers in the country.”

As Adam Luckett recently pointed out, Kentucky used two tight ends on 51% of its snaps against Ole Miss, including 27 times on 40 first-half snaps. It wasn’t always pretty for the group. Kattus slipped and dropped a pass. He also let a few of those elite edge rushers get by him in pass protection. Despite the setbacks, he showed perseverance and it paid off by putting him in the right place at the right time, right when his team needed him the most.

“We’re playing in the toughest conference in the country,” said Kattus. “Things aren’t always going to go your way out there, but it taught me a valuable lesson, just to keep my head in the game. I appreciate my teammates being there. They got my back helping me do that. It all came full circle. God is good. It was a great team win.”

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