2017 FB Preview: Tight Ends
8/20/2017 11:00:00 AM | Football
The 2017 Sam Houston State Bearkat football season is nearly upon us, and leading up to the August 27 kickoff vs Richmond, Bearkat Athletics will be taking a look at this year's Sam Houston roster.
This is the eighth of an nine-part preview, position-by-position of this year's squad. The Kats were selected as unanimous favorites to reclaim the SLC crown and boast five preseason all-Americans on the roster.
TIGHT END NOTABLES
Returning: Ragan Henderson, Daegen Fowler, Michael Mueller, Mark Fernandez, Cody Brewer
Newcomers: Josh Moore
HUNTSVILLE – The multi-pronged Bearkat offense is as diversified of an offensive attack as you will find in the nation, with weapons across the field. Included in that attack is a blue-collar group of tight ends who bring a rare combination of physicality and ball skills that could have a big impact in 2017.
With returners such as Ragan Henderson and Daegen Fowler the Bearkats were in great shape at the tight end spot coming into the season, but got even better with the addition of Missouri transfer Josh Moore who is making the move to the offensive side of the ball after spending the last two seasons on the defensive line at Mizzou.
The Kats and tight end coach Kyle Segler have high expectations from that trio to keep up their gold-standard mantra this season following the graduation of a pair of quality tight ends in Deon Hutchinson and Collin Rison who combined for more than 240 yards receiving and eight touchdowns.
Henderson will be someone the Kats will be counting on this year after a breakout junior season that saw him make an impact all over the field a year after missing the 2015 season with an injury. The fifth-year senior had three touchdowns as a true freshman in 2013 and contributed as a sophomore before his 2015 season was cut short, but found himself utilized as a jack-of-all-trades in his junior campaign.
“Ragan is a true five-tool player,” tight ends coach Kyle Segler said. “He's a coach on the field in the sense that he knows all the offense for all of the skill positions. He knows what the running backs, offensive line and wide receivers all do. I think for him to have that ability to be in all sorts of positions, it's a mismatch for teams. Because when he's in the backfield, that's a 250-pound freakazoid, and are you going to get in the way and tackle that? You saw last year lots of people turned that down.”
At tight end, he hauled in five catches and also had a number of quality returns as an upback on kickoff return, but surprisingly made a name for himself in the second half of the season out of the Bearkat backfield. A litany of injuries left the Bearkats shorthanded in the backfield midway through the season and Henderson's size and athleticism fit the bill as a possible answer, and he more than came through.
Henderson ended up getting carries in six games after Oct. 15, opening up with a 7-carry, 58-yard performance against Abilene Christian and eventually totaled 139 yards on the ground on 30 carries with five scores as the feature short-yardage back for the second half of the year.
That versatility, along with his intelligence and maturity, is something the Bearkats intend on utilizing this season. Henderson is a player who is not only good with the ball in his hands, but is also physical enough at 6-0, 250 pounds to do the blue-collar work that is asked of the position.
“He's is in a good place and I'm excited for him to have a big year,” Segler said. “He's been through a lot in this program, coming off the injury and he's a guy who is so easy to cheer for. He's well-liked by his teammates and is one of the most mature guys we have on our team, and it always makes you feel good as a coach to be able to look back and see the transitions of your guys who show up as an 18-year old kid and then see where they are four or five years later.”
Along with Henderson, the Kats also bring back Fowler, a physical tight end who continues to develop and fits the hard-nosed profile that Segler requires. He joined the Kats in 2015 from Lago Vista High School and took a redshirt before playing in 11 games at both tight end and special teams a year ago.
“Daegen is a throwback, true on-the-ball tight end,” Segler said “He's worked really hard to get to be the player that he is and nobody on this team would ever second-guess his work ethic. When I talk to kids in the recruiting process, those are the type of guys we want. The Daegen Fowler's and the Ragan Henderson's of the world that compete every day. He's going to be one of the better ones to come through because he just continues to work and is never satisfied.”
Segler likes the development he's seen from Fowler, who grew up in a slot-T offense at LVHS, an offensive scheme different than what the Kats and most Texas high schools feature today. Still, Fowler will likely have an impact on the field in 2017 as his physical nature has stood out in his two years with the squad and has been magnified in fall practice.
“He's not quite the five-tool guy like Ragan. We're not going hand the ball to him in the backfield, that kind of thing,” Segler said. “But having a physical presence like him who is going to be able to set the edge, dominate the line of scrimmage and do the isolation blocks that we ask our guys to do is huge. We ask him to be the physical hammer, and I think he is special in that role. It's very hard to find a guy like Daegen who can physically manhandle people and be a force on the line of scrimmage”
Along with those two primary returners, the Kats also brought in Moore, who has looked very good in fall camp as he transitions back to the offensive side after spending the last two years as a defensive lineman at Missouri. He was a dynamic two-way player out of Olathe North High School (Kansas), receiving high-major offers to play both tight end and on the defensive line before opting to stay near home and play on the defensive line in Columbia.
He saw time for the Tigers on the line each of the past two years, a role that Segler feels aids his ability to make an immediate impact on the offensive side for the Bearkats this year. At 6-4, 255 pounds, Moore profiles as an ideal tight end with a combination of size and skill that is hard to find at the FCS level.
“Josh is kind of that unique size and speed combo guy, and his background is as a defensive lineman is something that I think helps him play the tight end position because of the physicality of it,” Segler said. “It's impressive that it's been such a fast turnaround for him since he hasn't played tight end since high school, but you see him every day knocking the rust off from that transition of going from defense to offense, and I think he's taken it well.”
The addition of Moore gives quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe a big target to go with a plethora of quick wide receivers, making the Bearkat offense an even more dangerous group to deal with.
“We're going to be able to do a lot of different stuff,” Segler said. “The utility guys that we have between he, and Ragan and Daegen give us the ability to move them around in those spots and use all three of those guys and their skillsets in the best way we can, which is exciting.”
Along with the trio at the top, the Kats also have some quality depth at the position with Michael Mueller, Mark Fernandez and Cody Brewer, who is making the transition to tight end after initially joining Sam Houston as a quarterback.
Brewer took a redshirt last year, but possesses the physical tools to excel at tight end as he stands at 6-6, 250 pounds with a frame that should see him continue to grow into the role. Meanwhile, Fernandez and Mueller each have made significant strides since joining the group in the spring and could very well see time on the field this year not only at tight end, but in special teams.
“The thing with the other three guys, and the position of tight end as a whole is they are often guys who are just not a fit at other positions. And that's just a product of where football is at our level right now,” Segler said. “We try to find guys who have the body for it, who have the physicality and toughness to do it and then you try to cultivate those guys and develop them.”
“All three of those guys bring something different,” Segler said. “Obviously, Cody has the physical tools, but he's having make the transition from being a quarterback, while Michael and Mark are kind of the type of guys we have always had in this program at this position. Just guys who are tough. Lunch pail type of guys who aren't flashy and aren't going to light up the stat sheet, but they are going to go in and play great wherever we ask them to. They have developed as I have wanted to be able to be in a position to help us out, which says a lot about them.”
