Film Room: Tanner Lemaster

Things have been quiet over the last month on the Kentucky recruiting front, but that changed on Friday when Kentucky added tight end Tanner Lemaster to the 2023 recruiting class.

The Southeastern Ohio recruit has been a target for Kentucky for quite some time and decided to seemingly end his recruitment in April with a commitment to the Wildcats over Cincinnati and Tennessee. Score another recruiting win for Vince Marrow as Kentucky remains committed to bolstering their tight end room yearly.

What will Tanner Lemaster bring to Kentucky? Let’s step into the KSR Film Room to find out.

The first thing that jumps out in person and on the screen when you see Tanner Lemaster is just the sheer size. The 2023 recruit is a legit 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, and looks like it in pads. With that frame, a certain amount of power is expected at the point of attack. The newest Kentucky commit can strike.

Being used off the ball, Lemaster comes in motion into the field and hammers the defensive end with a down block. The prospect flashes quick power at the point of attack which indicates that Lemaster appears to have a high ceiling as a blocker.

In Kentucky’s pro-style scheme, the Wildcats ask their tight ends to be unselfish football players. The scheme requires the tight end position to have versatility and complete blocks both with in-line and split alignments. These players must be able to latch onto blocks in space.

With trips into the field, Lemaster is the top blocker on the bubble screen concept. The play simply does not work unless the tight end can complete a block in space. Lemaster does a good job staying patient and takes on the defender as the play develops. Once locked on, Lemaster uses his power to drive the defender out of the play and creates an alley for free yards.

In the throw game, Tanner Lemaster is a bit limited as a prospect right now. The tight end is a big target but does lack some foot speed. That does not mean that he’s an inefficient target.

Running a slot fade, Lemaster gives his quarterback a big target with a large catch radius. Despite there not being a big window between the two defenders, Lemaster creates a catch by giving full extension and completing the grab in the air. This is a big target that can be a valuable weapon in situational — third down, red zone — football.

Heading into the 2022 season with new offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, it’s clear that tight end will be a valuable position. We should expect to see many two-tight looks with the offense using the position to help in pass protection, unleash the run game, be heavily involved in motion as eye candy for the defense, and also turn into a significant part of the passing attack. Therefore, this is becoming a position of need in every recruiting class.

After signing one tight end in consecutive classes, Kentucky backs it up with another in 2022. Tanner Lemaster is a prospect with great positional size with a high ceiling as a blocker. The Ohio native seems to be a scheme fit for a pro-style attack and continues the program’s commitment to maximizing tight end usage.