Spring Football Position Preview: Tight Ends

It seems like just the other day we were talking about Brevin Jordan and Will Mallory as two promising true freshman with opportunities to contribute early.

It is now March and that duo of young tight ends are entering their first spring as Miami Hurricanes as experienced weapons, Jordan especially, and leaders on this offense. The two are still scratching the surface of what they could be in a productive offense.

Despite a year with truly terrible quarterback play, Jordan still managed to solidify himself and one of the best young tight ends in the country. Only two freshman tight ends, Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth and Wisconsin’s redshirt freshman Jake Ferguson, had more receiving yards than he did.

Jordan finished his true freshman year with 32 catches for 287 yards and four touchdowns. His 32 catches and four scores were the second most on the team, respectively, and his 287 yards were third most.

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As Dan Enos beings to implement his offense this spring, watch for Jordan to begin to take the next step in his development.

Mallory played in ten games in his true freshman season for the Hurricanes, but was sidelined for issues like an eye infection and then a knee injury that kept both he and Jordan out of the Pitt game, which Miami won 24-3.

He finished the year with five catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Mallory could be one of the guys to make a massive leap in production under Enos. Alabama’s tight end, Irv Smith Jr., was one of the nations most productive in 2018 as he caught 44 passes for 710 yards with seven touchdowns. Based on the size and athleticism Mallory brings to the offense, one could expect him to become more involved, especially that Enos has hinted the Canes will use two tight end sets.

Although Jordan and Mallory generate a majority of the attention in that room, Michael Irvin II and Brian Polendey provide a veteran presence and some much needed depth before 2019 signee Larry Hodges arrives on campus.

A knee injury sidelined Irvin II for the regular season, but he played in the Pinstripe Bowl against Wisconsin. It was his only appearance of the year.

As a sophomore in 2017, he played in 12 games.

His value as a blocker could get him on the field often, but I believe that placing him third on the depth chart is a virtual lock at this point. There are certainly much worse third tight ends than Irvin II around the nation.

Polendey is a 6-6 245 pound tight end out Texas that has yet to make any significant impact as a Hurricane. After appearing in six games a true freshman, Polendey played in just two games before a season-ending injury halted his sophomore year.

It is now up to tight ends coach Stephen Field to continue to develop Jordan and Mallory throughout the spring and help them meet their very real potential of being the best tight end duo in the ACC.