Spring Briefing: Is Kentucky Finally Going to Throw it to the Tight Ends?

It’s a Kentucky football fan’s favorite question. Will the tight end be a featured part of the passing offense?

The adoration for the position began when they became a reliable option for Hal Mumme’s Air Raid. James Whalen was an All-American. He was followed in succession by Derek Smith, whose connection with high school teammate Jared Lorenzen was one of a kind. Jacob Tamme was outstanding during the Rich Brooks era. Over his final two seasons, he caught 88 passes for 1,005 yards and eight touchdowns.

C.J. Conrad was the Tamme equivalent for the Stoops era. The four-star talent played as a true freshman, then caught 11 touchdowns over his final three years, even though he wasn’t a heavily targeted pass-catcher. Since then fans have been asking, “When is Kentucky finally going to use the tight ends?”

They’ve actually been used more than ever since Liam Coen brought a pro-style offense to Lexington, albeit primarily as blockers. The next group of tight ends has plenty of promise as road-graders and pass-catchers, albeit with lighter numbers in the 2025 season.

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The Tight End Room

Josh Kattus (6-4, 248, Senior)

He was one of the lowest-rated recruits in Kentucky’s heralded 2022 recruiting class, and now he’s one of the last ones standing. The Cincinnati Moeller product immediately made an impact for his nasty mentality in the trenches, then became a household name with a 70-yard reception vs. Louisville. The statistics have slowly diminished since that eye-opening freshman campaign, but last season he scored three touchdowns, including the game-winning fumble recovery in the end zone at Ole Miss.

Willie Rodriguez (6-4, 251, Sophomore)

The Covington Catholic product was a sought-after recruit that Tennessee tried to pry from Kentucky at the eleventh hour. An impressive athlete, he played in all 12 games as a true freshman and earned three starts. His first career reception was a 25-yard gain in the fourth quarter of a Top 10 win over Ole Miss. Rodriguez caught three passes for 53 receiving yards at Texas and appeared to create a connection with Cutter Boley in the process.

Henry Boyer (6-6, 265, Junior)

A former high school All-American, Boyer is a big-body tight end who spent the first three years of his career at Illinois. Primarily used as a blocker, you can think of him as an extension of the offensive line.

Mikkel Skinner (6-3.5, 220, Freshman)

Kentucky’s highest-ranked recruit in the 2025 class is not in Lexington for Spring Practice. However, he’ll bring a new skillset to the room when he arrives this fall. Unlike most athletes his size, Skinner can make plays in space. If used correctly, he can create mismatches in the passing attack.

Top Storyline: Can Kattus be a Leader for Kentucky?

Blue Collar culture is the name of the game this offseason for the Kentucky football program. In order to achieve a culture reset, you need to rely on the players who have been in the program and had success. There is no “face of the program,” but you can expect to see Josh Kattus front and center often.

Kattus has the intangibles that Stoops wants in his leaders. It’s hard to be a leader if you’re not performing well. After a surprising freshman season, he was penalty-prone as a sophomore, and then asked to be a superhero as a junior. We’ve seen what he’s capable of in flashes. A consistent Kattus at the line of scrimmage and in the middle of the defense can provide some much-needed stability for the offense that underwent drastic personnel changes this offseason.

What to Watch: Year Two Leap or Sophomore Slump for Willie Rodriguez?

Willie Rodriguez is not the first freshman tight end to wow Big Blue Nation with his combination of size and athleticism. He produced on special teams with big hits and even returned a kick for 20+ yards. When the ball was thrown to him, Rodriguez got a first down and then some.

Growth is the name of the game. Will the hype be too much for him to handle, or will he develop into the best of the bunch? Plenty of his predecessors popped in year one. The follow-up act is the hardest part. Hopefully for Zach Calzada, Rodriguez can become a steady, reliable target that can consistently turn 8-yard throws into 20-yard gains.

Bold Prediction: Kentucky WR Take Away from 12 Personnel

Kentucky tight ends combined to catch 25 passes in 2024, just 14.9% of the team’s receptions, but they were used often. The base package for the Cats was 12 personnel (2 tight ends). Kattus logged the fifth-most run-blocking snaps on the team last fall.

12 personnel became the primary package partly out of necessity. The numbers in the wide receiver room were light, and the tight ends could subsidize the inefficient offensive line play. In 2025, Kentucky will only have four scholarship tight ends on the roster, and one of those is a true freshman. There are a dozen wide receivers on the roster. Furthermore, tight end and inside linebackers are probably the two most injury-prone positions in football. This group will rarely be at full-strength.

Kentucky used 12 personnel as much as any team in college football last fall. You will certainly see Boyer and Kattus mixing it up in the trenches often, but Hamdan must curtail his personnel groupings with his roster, and frankly, they’ve invested more heavily at wide receiver than tight end. Expect to see the offense more spread out in 2025.