Opportunities available for West Virginia young tight ends
This spring will be an important one for the tight end room.
That’s because there will be opportunities for those further down the pecking order to make a dent in the depth chart while the two starters are managed for health reasons.
Senior tight end Kole Taylor will miss the duration of spring practices as he recovers from off-season surgery. He played a total of 704 snaps last year and led the room in production with 35 catches for 444 yards and 4 touchdowns but will be limited to routes on air and no contact as he works his way back.
“You’ll see him out there running around in his jersey but he’s not going to be in full gear by any means,” head coach Neal Brown said.
That alone is going to open the door for some of the other options in the room.
The other blocking tight end in Treylan Davis also is expected to have the number of hits he takes reduced in order to preserve his health for the fall. Davis played 383 snaps and turned that into pair of catches for two yards but did the bulk of his work in the realm of blocking.
“We kind of know who he is, he’s changed his body this winter and was really productive for us last year, but he can take another step,” Brown said. “You only have so many hits in you, and we want to make sure we’re going to use some of those productive hits in you.”
As for the rest of the room, redshirt sophomore Will Dixon is in his third year in the program and has the potential to make an impact given the opportunity there. Dixon played just 11 snaps across three games last season but is now primed to make a dent on the depth chart.
“The guy I’m really intrigued by watching is Will Dixon,” Brown said.
A true freshman in Jack Sammarco also is going to have a chance to see more snaps than typical just because of the absence of Taylor on the field.
It will not only be an important spring for them, but the others will need to take a step, too. The door is opened for the younger players in the West Virginia tight end room and now it’s up to them to walk through it.
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