Gunnar Helm isn’t afraid of the moment.
When asked how life would be without all-conference tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders on the roster, the Longhorns senior didn’t flinch.
“I think at a school like Texas, I think the word ‘replace’ gets thrown around a little bit,” Helm said. “Most of the time we don’t really replace guys here. We just reload. We’ve got the talent to reload.”
That’s tall talk from a 6-foot-5, 250-pound veteran of 39 games who has made his mark on this offense more as a dependable blocker than as occasional pass catcher.
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Texas tight ends Spencer Shannon, front, and Amari Niblack go through drills during a spring practice in March at Denius Fields. Niblack, a transfer from Alabama, could emerge for the Longhorns as they look for production from the position now without Ja’Tavion Sanders.
The hope entering the fall on the Forty is that he, newcomer Amari Niblack and Juan Davis can combine to give the offense enough production from the tight end position to keep the wins coming after last year’s statement 12-2 campaign and CFP appearance.
They’re the most experienced tight ends on this roster and somewhere in there, some playmaking has to emerge. While the Longhorns are awash in talent at wide receiver, the reality facing quarterback Quinn Ewers and head coach Steve Sarkisian is the ultra-athletic Sanders doesn’t play here anymore.
While he was sometimes overlooked with so many pass-catching options on the offense, Sanders was Ewers’ security blanket, the one player Ewers would most often look to if a play bogged down. The two had a nice chemistry and Sanders’ reliability cannot be overstated, especially now that he’s playing for the Carolina Panthers.
The names who are replacing him…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/texas-jatavion-sanders-numbers-tight-194738245.html
Author : Austin American-Statesman
Publish date : 2024-08-11 19:47:38
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