Offseason inventory: A look at Texas' tight ends

After wandering the desert for a dangerous receiving tight end since the moments before Blaine Irby’s injury in 2008, Texas finally fielded a bona fide stud at the position. It didn’t come as a total surprise given Ja’Tavion Sanders’ lofty high school rating and clear receiving ability, but he was also a quality blocker in 2022 despite arriving to Texas quite raw in that regard.

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If you’re one of those who follows offseason inside information to glean how the next team might take shape, a huge team note last year was Sanders’ growth. It was around this time a year ago when Inside Texas started to hear and report about how hard Sanders was working. The proverbial light switch was coming on. Starter Jared Wiley had just left for TCU and the position was Sanders’ to lose. Rather than lose it, he put it in a chokehold by continuing to develop his game all offseason. In the process he began to emerge as a leader in the room.

Just as encouraging as Sanders’ growth was Steve Sarkisian’s usage of the position, though there were times Sanders probably could have been targeted more. That will likely work itself out with an offseason for Sark to re-examine his offense and further develop his young quarterback.

It’s not just Sanders returning. Fellow junior-to-be Gunnar Helm had some quality snaps, primarily as a blocker. Helm has more receiving ability than we’ve seen thus far, but it’s going to be hard to receive targets with Sanders on the roster.

Other than these two the position is pretty thin, but we aren’t forgetting about Juan Davis.

Let’s take a deeper look at the few tight ends on the roster and also a quick glance at the high schoolers who will arrive in late May.

JR Ja’Tavion Sanders

He went from 0-54 real quick. That’s his total receptions from his freshman to sophomore year. It wasn’t always perfect. He did have a couple of unfortunate drops that will probably go away with experience. He has perhaps the best hands on the team so any drops were likely a byproduct of other factors. 

Sanders should serve as a schematic force multiplier in the coming year. He’s now proven and one of the best tight ends in the country. Texas can easily flex between Sark’s preferred 12 personnel and the 11 personnel sets we saw more of in the Alamo Bowl. As a receiver, he can reliably get open and make plays after the catch. He uses his entire catch radius to haul in throws. He uses the entire field — down the seam, outside the hashes, screen game, etc.

Then there’s the blocking. As a jumbo receiver he was so rarely asked to block in high school. He put in a lot of work to become a quality perimeter blocker. Another offseason of S&C should better prepare him to go one on one with defensive ends.

Here’s a nice little clip.

Christian Jones and Ja’Tavion Sanders with some great blocks pic.twitter.com/pFEekunOPp

— Joe Cook (@josephcook89) September 18, 2022

Let’s enjoy him for one more year and hope he goes out with the Mackey Award.

JR Gunnar Helm

Helm is on a solid trajectory. Sure he only had five receptions this year but his blocking improved to the point Texas likely won’t need to reprise the Andrej Karic ‘heavy TE’ role unless the coaches absolutely want to for short yardage. 

Despite the meager receiving numbers, Helm can become a productive receiver, there are just other options ahead of him. A senior year with 25-30 receptions wouldn’t be that surprising. But before then, another year as the inline tight end with Sanders playing the more varied role with the lion’s share of targets.

Helm is a big, coordinated kid (see below). Another year of S&C should help him become one of the better blocking tight ends Texas has had since Geoff Swaim. 

Great to be home before camp 💰 pic.twitter.com/YNubxzarzG

— Gunnar Helm (@gunnar_helm) August 2, 2021

JR Juan Davis

When good info is absent we need to fill the gaps with fact patterns. Fact: Juan Davis is still on the team. Fact: Texas decided to not address tight end in the portal despite only having two players with real experience after losing Jahleel Billingsley. Fact: Other than Sanders, Davis will be the only tight end on the roster who is a dangerous receiver, even after the two signees arrive. 

Is Juan Davis about to get his chance? Probably, but we’ll need to learn more.

Davis is a bit of a tweener, and not between flexed and inline, but between flex tight end and receiver. He’s definitely on the small end of the scale of what could be considered a tight end at about 6-foot-2.5, 220 pounds.

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What he does have is quick twitch and flypaper hands. He also has a more clear route to the field with low numbers at the position. 

The Two Signees

Will Randle: Randle is the quintessential H-back, similar to Andrew Beck, who can do a little bit of everything. He has good hands as a receiver and want-to as a blocker. Will it translate to college? I have no idea, but guys like him come out of the woodwork all the time to become quality college players. 

His college career starts with the adversity of overcoming an ACL injury suffered this fall.

Spencer Shannon: Shannon is a sensational fit as someone who can aid Sark’s preferences to run the ball then throw it over the top. As a blocker he’ll have offensive tackle length with more mobility. He’s advanced as a blocker and should become a monster with S&C. He could play as a freshman. While he won’t be a dangerous receiver, he can become one that keeps defenses honest.

Puncher’s Chance

The staff is still swinging at five-star Duce Robinson. They do not believe they’re out of this recruitment so they must be getting enough feedback to at least stay engaged with the Phoenix stud. I remember being in awe of Mark Andrews’ high school film. Robinson is better as a high school recruit.

Summary

Numbers are only okay on the surface with the addition of the two signees. Texas is cutting it a little thin with only Sanders and Helm having real experience. However, we do think Sark will run more 11 personnel next season which does reduce the workload for tight end.

Sanders is an elite receiver who should be even better in 2023. He’s someone Sark will shape the offense around.