Tight End U Alive And Well At Miami And In The NFL.

Fourth quarter, quarterback N’Kosi Perry stood in the shotgun, trying to engineer one of the greatest comebacks in Miami school history. With the Hurricanes down six to their arch-rival Florida State, at the Noles 41-yard-line, Perry found freshman tight-end Brevin Jordan for a Miami touchdown, which ultimately proved to be the deciding points in a 28-27 victory.

Jordan’s score against Florida State is what we all expected from the Las Vegas native, and number-one ranked tight end in the 2018 class. Before and after the FSU game, Jordan has continued to show why he was rated so high.

Throughout the year, Jordan was put on several midseason freshman All-American teams, and made second team All-ACC. Jordan finished the 2018 regular-season second in the ACC for catches (30), second for touchdowns (4) and third in receiving yards (275).

Jordan’s fellow teammate and freshman, Will Mallory, another top-10 tight end in the 2018 class, also showed many flashes of what is it to come in the next several years.

Jordan saw the potential back when him and Mallory were still in their recruiting phases.

Mallory finished the season just with five receptions and a touchdown, though was limited due to multiple injuries. Mallory and Jordan both became go-to targets for quarterback Perry.

As we all know though, success at the tight end position isn’t anything new to the Hurricanes.

Years ago, not sure when, Miami earned the moniker “Tight End U,” and those who play the position for UM, and also those who once played the position at UM, are making sure the name sticks.

Ever since coach Todd Hartley took over the tight ends prior to the 2016 season, the performance at the position has only increased.

Under Hartley’s guidance and direction, David Njoku emerged as a top tight end in 2016, earning honorable All-ACC recognition with nearly 700 yards and eight touchdowns. Njoku was a first round draft-pick for the Cleveland Browns, and has quickly turned into one of the most talented tight ends in the NFL.

In 2017, Hartley then helped Chris Herndon become the next Miami great at tight end. Herndon gained second-team All-ACC with over 450 yards and four touchdowns. Prior to 2017, Herndon had only tallied three touchdowns in two seasons. Herndon was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth-round, and has become a favorite target for rookie quarterback Sam Darnold, leading all NFL rookie tight-ends in receptions.

Ever prior to Hartley’s arrival in Coral Garbles, tight ends were springing-out of Greentree on a yearly basis.

Greg Olsen, Erik Swoope and Jimmy Graham are all University of Miami products. With the exception of Swoope (basketball player), both Graham and Olsen put on the pads for the orange-and-green and shined.

We’re not even mentioning other former Canes like Jeremy Shockey, Bubba Franks and Kellen Winslow II.

With Herndon being drafted to the Jets this past April, the Hurricanes are tied with the most tight-ends to be drafted (6) to the NFL in the past 10 years.

2018 has possibly seen Tight End U shine brighter than ever, both at Miami and in the pros. Jordan and Mallory showed why they were so highly recruited, giving Miami fans tons of excitement for years to come. In the NFL, Olsen, Swoope, Graham, Njoku and Herndon are all in the top-30 when it comes to touchdown receptions by a tight end.

Olsen said it best, “If you play TE and go anywhere else you are crazy.”

GO CANES!