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We’ve learned a lot about Bret Bielema and his style of play through two seasons in the SEC. One thing we’ve learned is that he loves tight ends.
Arkansas has six tight ends on its roster, only two of those being upperclassmen. Four more tight ends are verbally committed to join the Razorbacks on National Signing Day. While it stands to reason that not all of those players will remain at tight end, nor will they all play, that’s a lot of tight ends.
Hunter Henry and A.J. Derby finished second and third on the team, respectively, in receiving. That’s not a surprise considering that in five of his seven seasons at Wisconsin, a tight end led the team in receiving.
Of the Hogs’ 187 total receptions as a team, tight ends accounted for 65 catches. That mark of 28 percent is up from the 24 percent of passes tight ends caught in 2013.
A tight end under Bielema and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney is the most versatile player on the field, doing things such as sealing the edge on outside runs, leading up to the linebacker on inside runs, downfield blocking on screens and lining up on the line of scrimmage and in the slot as a receiver.
The second-year head coach prefers to have two or three tight ends capable of excelling in all phases of the game. In his two seasons in Fayetteville, Hunter Henry has proven capable of that task, while A.J. Derby — a former quarterback — is the more prototypical pass-catching tight end.
Bielema and Chaney love to use two and three tight end sets, and mix up where the tight end lines up. Sometimes they’re split out wide, while other times they’re on the line of scrimmage. Henry and Derby even motioned into the backfield in some formations this season.
With Henry and a host of others returning to the tight end spot in 2015, along with the addition this winter of four-star prospect Will Gragg and a trio of other players expected to join him on National Signing Day, Bielema and Chaney are building a stockpile of heralded tight ends with which they can do many things.
Bielema has shown in two seasons that his offensive scheme fueled by size and power can win in the SEC. Now, he’s out to prove it.
One tight end at a time.
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
