A lot of changes are coming to Alabama football this fall under new head coach Kalen DeBoer, specifically in its tight end room.
Primarily under the offense of former Alabama football coach Nick Saban, tight ends were more predominately used as blockers. However, under the new offense of DeBoer, Nick Sheridan and Bryan Ellis, who is in charge of the group, tight ends are expected to be expected to play a bigger role in the Crimson Tide’s offense, and CJ Dippre is ready for it.
“I’m super excited for coach DeBoer’s new offense,” Dippre said following Alabama’s sixth practice of fall camp. “Historically, tight ends in his offense get the ball a lot. The room usually has two, three, four guys play, a lot of balls thrown that way, so I’m really excited to see how I fit in once we get moving.”
Looking at the numbers, its clear how DeBoer utilizes tight ends in his passing offense. Last season at Washington, he had Jack Westover who made 46 receptions for 433 yards and four scores as a part of Heisman Trophy runner-up Michael Penix Jr.’s receiving arsenal.
When speaking to the media last week, DeBoer called the group a “critical” part of his offense.
“They’re critical, really critical,” DeBoer said. “One tight end, two tight ends, they give us extra gaps in the run game, they can help us in protection, they’re guys that can stretch the field and make some big plays that way. They have to know the whole offense. They have to know the protections, the routes, the run-blocking schemes. They’re all really smart guys that have caught on quickly.
“All the moving pieces we want to do with them, we haven’t held back at all. It’s a critical piece of our offense. It always has been, going back 20-plus years. Having that guy that doesn’t just control the middle of the field, but can get vertical, stress you to the sidelines,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/theyre-critical-alabama-footballs-kalen-190010251.html
Author : The Tuscaloosa News
Publish date : 2024-08-07 19:00:10
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