Georgia TE Jeb Blazevich a weapon waiting to be used
He boasts the size, the soft hands and the ability to run well after the catch that gets coaches excited and attracts the attention of NFL scouts everywhere.
So why was Georgia tight end Jeb Blazevich relegated to being college football’s version of the Invisible Man a year ago?

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New Dawgs coach Kirby Smart hopes to change all that while adding some much-needed punch to the Bulldogs offense and may have just the man to see to it in new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. The former University of Pittsburgh play caller is no stranger to involving tight ends in his offenses and he’ll have a gem to work with in Blazevich.
At 6-foot-5, 248 pounds, the junior tight end presents an inviting target because of his ability to physically overwhelm smaller defensive backs and consistently run by less agile linebackers.
Yet Blazevich’s numbers still dipped a year ago, falling from 18 catches for 269 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman in 2014 to 15 receptions for 144 yards and one score last fall. He failed to register at least one catch in three games and managed more than two just once, when he hauled in three passes for all of 19 yards in the Dawgs’ 20-13 win over Auburn.
Overall, Georgia tight ends combined for a meager one touchdown a year ago, despite a steady use of a lot of double-tight end sets and the flexing of tight ends out as receivers.
Former coach Mark Richt could never quite put his finger on exactly why Blazevich became decidedly less involved in the offense a year ago, although the Dawgs’ struggles at quarterback was clearly one reason.
Greyson Lambert (pictured below) was unable to breathe life into the passing game a year ago, often looking uncomfortable before dumping the ball off rather than going through his progressions and finding an open man downfield.
Georgia ranked a dismal 104th nationally in passing offense and didn’t have a pass play longer than 48 yards last season.

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Lambert was the best option, but it was readily apparent early on that tight ends never figured prominently in the passing scheme preferred by former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
Nobody needs to remind Smart just how effective tight ends can be when used properly. In spending the past nine years at Alabama before returning to his alma mater, Smart saw first-hand the critical roles tight ends can play while watching the Crimson Tide offense. O.J. Howard (pictured) dominated Clemson the national championship game, catching five passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

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So it wasn’t that surprising that he reached out to Chaney upon taking the job in December. A 30-year coaching veteran of the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and the NFL, Cheney arrived in Athens with a proven track record with tight ends.
Tight ends accounted for two of Pittsburgh’s top five pass catchers from last year, combining for nine touchdowns on their collective 37 catches.
But neither J.P. Holtz nor Scott Orndoff is anywhere near as talented as Blazevich, whom WalterFootball.com projects as a possible third-round pick in next April’s NFL Draft.
Georgia fans have to be excited about the myriad possibilities as the season nears, but no more than Blazevich himself.
OJ Howard just may have opened the door for SEC Tight Ends.. Known for their bruising running games and NFL ready WRs, throwing in TE’s into the mix will make any offense just that much more effective…
But I believe to properly utilize a TE, the QB needs to be under center.. Under center, defenses have to respect the run just a tad bit more than the Pistol or Gun…
I don’t think it took Alabama utilizing arguably their most talented [and blatantly their most underused] offensive talent, finally, in the National Championship game…for any good coach or team to realize the value of TE’s. This is undisputed among pro-style, power oriented OC’s. It’s a staple, a necessity…for such offenses to be optimized. I don’t think OJ or Bama taught any philosophical football lessons to coaches from Ark (where Chaney oversaw the emergence of Hunter Henry and Co.) or
programs that simply paid uncharacteristicly little attention to their TE’s last year…most to their own detriment. UGA under CMR got heavy use out of the position until last year—think Ben Watson, Leonard Pope, Arthur Lynch, Jay Rome/Blazevich…among others.
tdavismann you’re right in saying that. Coaches were shifting heavily toward that pistol and read option. in the pistol formation and read options, TEs are useless. They serve nothing more than an extra blocker. Alabama showed and proved that not only can you win, but u can do so without jumping on the National Bandwagon of “New Age Option Offense”. SEC Teams are tradionally smash mouth football programs.
The Tide showed they could win with 3WRs, 1TE and a RB.. Pretty soon the usage of the FB will re-emerge. What is to me True 1st and 2nd down offensive packages.
Now that DE or OLB can no longer commit to the run. Send the TE on a flare or out in the flats and run the back through the hole he departed from..
I wasn’t referring to a sprinkle of plays in which the TE gets a throw.
Adding and commiting to TE play every game forces a defense to change their game plan. OJ Howard was proof how if a defense isn’t prepared for the TE what can happen. A 6ft 5 player wearing all white, just doesnt go uncovered like that unless the defense had no clue.
So Coordinators like Kiffen who identify with that earn their checks.
Very well put. I agree 100 percent. It was very obvious Clemson had not gameplanned for Howard to be used the way he was, and for good reason, as he was rather silent all year. The problem was, they never adjusted and they paid dearly for it, with 200+ yards on a few BIG plays.
The reason they couldnt adjust is because that would have left a serious opening in their defense.. A sacrifice would’ve had been made. They chose to hope Kiffen didnt come back to the tight end, but he did…
I’m willing to bet, every pass play the TE was being set up for later or a route was included as a wild card route.