This is a short one, I'll be following up with the kickers very shortly.
During the Art Briles era, Baylor recruited a tight end every so often, primarily to use as a blocker. Matt Rhule wanted to have the tight end be part of the offense, but it never seemed to work out. Between offensive line issues and the need to keep extra blockers, the tight end position got lost, although Rhule did bring in more tight ends.
There aren’t any walk on tight ends, and all five current Baylor tight ends are three star recruits.
Since a lot of colleges don’t run tight ends, it’s also become a position that can get recruited and transferred to another position.
This happened with two of Baylor’s tight ends.
2019 recruit Garmon Randolph is now a defensive end.
2018 recruit Bralen Taylor converted to defensive end then medically retired due to concussions
Christoph Henle
#87, Junior, 6’6”, 259 lbs
Henle came out of The Oakridge School in Arlington. He hasn’t used a redshirt, appearing in every game since he got on campus. He’s caught 27 passes for 91 yards in his career. While there were some attempts to target him, he has been more productive as a blocker.
Tyler Henderson
#82, Sophomore, 6’4”, 248
After redshirting in 2017, Henderson played in all thirteen games in 2018. He didn’t do much in the passing game, catching two for the season, one for eight yards and one for a loss of one yard. He sat out the 2019 season with an injury. From Kyle, TX.
Ben Sims
#86, Sophomore, 6’4”, 256 lbs
Sims played in three games as a freshman, and had been getting quite a few appearances in 2019, until he injured his knee. He was primarily a blocker, only having two receptions, one for five yards and one for no gain.
Sam Snyder
#85, Redshirt Freshman, 6’5”, 209 lbs
Snyder is out of Florida. He appeared in one game last year. Lightest of the tight ends.
Drake Dabney
Freshman, 6’6”, 230 lbs
Dabney is out of Cypress Ranch, TX. He had previously committed to Arizona, which makes sense. Kevin Sumlin still recruits Texas. He had 28 offers, including fourteen from P5 schools, four of those from the Big 12.
Summary
So, where does Baylor stand as far as tight ends go this year? It depends on several factors.
The talent appears to be available, although none of the existing players has proven to be a receiving threat.
How will Baylor play the tight end position? Shaw Bell, of course, is bullish, but he’s the tight ends coach. Jorge Munoz said he’d like to see tight ends included more, but he needs to see the talent.
We also need to see the blocking. Will the tight end be needed to shore up the offensive line? Will the running backs start blocking more? If the running backs start being used for receiving purposes, that will mean fewer passes for the tight ends.
We still don’t know what the offense will look like. They’re saying they’ll adjust to the talent, but they haven’t seen the talent on the field.
This is a young group. There are no seniors, one junior, two sophomores, one redshirt freshman and one true freshman.
So, the tight end position will definitely probably be better. Maybe.
During the Art Briles era, Baylor recruited a tight end every so often, primarily to use as a blocker. Matt Rhule wanted to have the tight end be part of the offense, but it never seemed to work out. Between offensive line issues and the need to keep extra blockers, the tight end position got lost, although Rhule did bring in more tight ends.
There aren’t any walk on tight ends, and all five current Baylor tight ends are three star recruits.
Since a lot of colleges don’t run tight ends, it’s also become a position that can get recruited and transferred to another position.
This happened with two of Baylor’s tight ends.
2019 recruit Garmon Randolph is now a defensive end.
2018 recruit Bralen Taylor converted to defensive end then medically retired due to concussions
Christoph Henle
#87, Junior, 6’6”, 259 lbs
Henle came out of The Oakridge School in Arlington. He hasn’t used a redshirt, appearing in every game since he got on campus. He’s caught 27 passes for 91 yards in his career. While there were some attempts to target him, he has been more productive as a blocker.
Tyler Henderson
#82, Sophomore, 6’4”, 248
After redshirting in 2017, Henderson played in all thirteen games in 2018. He didn’t do much in the passing game, catching two for the season, one for eight yards and one for a loss of one yard. He sat out the 2019 season with an injury. From Kyle, TX.
Ben Sims
#86, Sophomore, 6’4”, 256 lbs
Sims played in three games as a freshman, and had been getting quite a few appearances in 2019, until he injured his knee. He was primarily a blocker, only having two receptions, one for five yards and one for no gain.
Sam Snyder
#85, Redshirt Freshman, 6’5”, 209 lbs
Snyder is out of Florida. He appeared in one game last year. Lightest of the tight ends.
Drake Dabney
Freshman, 6’6”, 230 lbs
Dabney is out of Cypress Ranch, TX. He had previously committed to Arizona, which makes sense. Kevin Sumlin still recruits Texas. He had 28 offers, including fourteen from P5 schools, four of those from the Big 12.
Summary
So, where does Baylor stand as far as tight ends go this year? It depends on several factors.
The talent appears to be available, although none of the existing players has proven to be a receiving threat.
How will Baylor play the tight end position? Shaw Bell, of course, is bullish, but he’s the tight ends coach. Jorge Munoz said he’d like to see tight ends included more, but he needs to see the talent.
We also need to see the blocking. Will the tight end be needed to shore up the offensive line? Will the running backs start blocking more? If the running backs start being used for receiving purposes, that will mean fewer passes for the tight ends.
We still don’t know what the offense will look like. They’re saying they’ll adjust to the talent, but they haven’t seen the talent on the field.
This is a young group. There are no seniors, one junior, two sophomores, one redshirt freshman and one true freshman.
So, the tight end position will definitely probably be better. Maybe.
