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TE/H Depth Discussion


McLoofus

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Out of sheer boredom and prompted by a recruiting discussion, thought I'd start a TE thread since we have more depth, diversity and youth at that position than I can remember at any time recently (ever?).

John Samuel Shenker, JR- 6'3 248
Tyler Fromm, RS FR- 6'5 218
Luke Deal, RS FR- 6'6 251
Brandon Frazier, FR- 6'7 247
JJ Pegues, FR- 6'2 298

Also, we will be taking a TE in the current recruiting cycle. 

Shenker is obviously the guy about whom we know the most. He's more on the fullback side of the TE/H spectrum, but he has proven a very reliable pass catcher when called upon and an effective hand-in-the-dirt blocker. 

Fromm is on the longer and leaner side and projects as more of a pass catching specialist who might line up in the slot a decent amount. 

Deal is a big dude, and he's been discussed as a more of a hand-in-the-dirt blocker. It should be noted, though- and I just read this for the first time myself- that he passed for 742 and 8 and ran for 332 and 7 his senior year in high school. Could be another CJ Uzomah in terms of versatility.

Frazier looks like an NFL TE to me. His metrics speak for themselves but his film is even more exciting. Put simply, the guy can run and he can catch and then he can run some more. I won't say that he reminds me of Gronk, but gun to my head, I have to pick an NFL TE to compare him to? I mean...

Pegues: 6'2 298, runs a 4.79, was evaluated as the #6 athlete nationally in his recruiting cycle, projects as a TE (according to 247 and Auburn), could line up as a backfield Hback for us. Almost makes you giggle and shake your head.

 

That is a lot of exciting and diverse talent and athleticism at a position that has primarily just blocked for us the last 5 years. Barring non-graduation attrition, we've got all 5 for at least 2 more years and 4 of the 5 for at least 3 years. (Hard to imagine Shenker entering the draft early.) Finally, Morris has a history of using TEs and getting them drafted.

This could be a major, major development with our offense IMO.

(Mods, as always, feel free to delete if there's already a thread.)

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Shenker has impressed me a ton with his blocking. I think his pass catching could surprises a few too

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I love bringing in these big targets and hope it will open up the mid-range passing game. One question I have though: What position groups are we taking the scholarships away from? Because we suddenly have a lot more OL and TE than we had carried in the previous few years. 

I know we have to fix those positions at any cost, so overall it should be a good thing. Just hoping it doesn't impact the quality depth in other areas. 

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as i alluded to in the recruiting post, i love the depth but that is ALOT of freshmen to keep happy for 3 years.  hope we can!

i loved Ed West growing up

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Definitely will be interesting.  Almost the same problem we have at RB.  Tons of talent but only so many touches you can give each player.  I've got to believe one if not both of the true freshmen will be redshirted.  The new 4 game rule should let them see the field some this season though.  I could see Auburn lining up with 3 of these guys on the field at once.  One at HB, One to true TE, and one in the slot playing the Sal role.  My main concern is having enough practice time to install Chad's offense so we can use these guys out of the gate.  Wish we had another cream puff in week 2 before the Ole Miss game week 3.  

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6 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

My main concern is having enough practice time to install Chad's offense so we can use these guys out of the gate.  Wish we had another cream puff in week 2 before the Ole Miss game week 3.  

Good news is that out of LSU, bama, uga and us, we're the only ones bringing our QB back. In fact, they've all got quite a bit of rebuilding to do. 

Quote

The new 4 game rule should let them see the field some this season though.  I could see Auburn lining up with 3 of these guys on the field at once.  One at HB, One to true TE, and one in the slot playing the Sal role. 

Absolutely on the 4-game/redshirt deal. And we're talking about TEs, so they might not be expecting major game reps in their first year anyway. They're not 5* RBs or edge rushers. 

Love that point about 3 of them on the field at once. You could do that with the 3 guys who were already here- Shenker at H, Fromm at TE and Deal in the slot. Totally. Also, Pegues might be a dream come true as a short yardage H. 

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3 hours ago, TigerPAC said:

as i alluded to in the recruiting post, i love the depth but that is ALOT of freshmen to keep happy for 3 years.  hope we can!

i loved Ed West growing up

They won’t all be at the same position. One will probably be more of a slot, one will be at TE, and the other at H-back

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4 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Good news is that out of LSU, bama, uga and us, we're the only ones bringing our QB back. In fact, they've all got quite a bit of rebuilding to do. 

Mac is a proven commodity to me.  He may not be Tua but he’s still a good Qb.  LSU could very well be 4th in the West behind Auburn, Alabama, and TaMu.  Anyways TE look real real nice

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21 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

Mac is a proven commodity to me.  He may not be Tua but he’s still a good Qb.  LSU could very well be 4th in the West behind Auburn, Alabama, and TaMu.  Anyways TE look real real nice

That may be and I know they're always deep but they just had 4 offensive players- including 2 WRs- go in the first round. Gonna be work to do over there.

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  • 3 weeks later...

@bigbird, you were saying about not subbing the TE every other play?

This article directly addresses a lot of questions we've been asking. Really good stuff from AUNerd for noobs like me. Sorry for no summary but I'm on mobile and it's College and Mag and they deserve a click anyway.

https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/platform/amp/2020/6/17/21286693/auburn-football-why-is-auburn-stockpiling-tight-ends-chad-morris?utm_campaign=ausportsnerd&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&__twitter_impression=true

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I’ve not been the most critical of Gus on this board, but talent diversity has kind of been a problem for him lately. At WR, TE/FB, and RB, he’s gotten too “pigeon hole” with his players, subbing them in and out for specific plays. This slows down momentum, slows down tempo, and telescopes plays.

For example, most of Harold Joiner’s touches last year were passes where he’s run a route out of the backfield (and it’s usually the wheel route or some kind of screen) and he mostly only came in the game when that’s what we were doing. After one play, it’s back to the sideline. I’d like to see less of a “this guy is a blocker and this guy is a receiver” and more cross training. Sure, get joiner in space and throw him passes, but also hand it off to him on occasion. Maybe Deal is a better blocker. Still throw it to him once in a while. And for God’s sake, leave players in for full drives (or until they need a breather), not single plays.

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I am cautiously optimistic that we’re gonna see some fun from the TE position!

JSS is good and will likely be the starter.  
Frazier has the potential to become a legend!!!

I watched JJP destroy my WC Vikings in the playoffs this past year.  Dude is ridiculously huge and crazy athletic!!  I wouldn’t be surprised if he changes positions, but wherever he lands, he has the potential to be a nightmare for opposing coaches!

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On 5/27/2020 at 10:16 AM, McLoofus said:

Pegues: 6'2 298, runs a 4.79

I'm gonna assume that 4.79 is hand timed not laser. Either way very impressive.

 

Gus used to be known for using TE's well. His TE's would never lead the team in catches or yards in any given game. But he'd use them. Then he really dropped the ball on TE recruiting for a while, and after Uzomah we didn't have a particularly good TE for some time. I hope this season we can see him use some good TE's again.

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4 hours ago, AUpreacherman22 said:

I am cautiously optimistic that we’re gonna see some fun from the TE position!

JSS is good and will likely be the starter.  
Frazier has the potential to become a legend!!!

I watched JJP destroy my WC Vikings in the playoffs this past year.  Dude is ridiculously huge and crazy athletic!!  I wouldn’t be surprised if he changes positions, but wherever he lands, he has the potential to be a nightmare for opposing coaches!

I personally hope we can finally utilize a game breaker at the position. JSS is solid, but I guarantee you he doesnt scare anyone as a receiving threat. Like you, I'm hoping Brandon Frazier is what is being hyped up to be. We need a TE that can really burn defenses via the pass. 

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On 6/19/2020 at 9:03 PM, twilli13 said:

I personally hope we can finally utilize a game breaker at the position. JSS is solid, but I guarantee you he doesnt scare anyone as a receiving threat. Like you, I'm hoping Brandon Frazier is what is being hyped up to be. We need a TE that can really burn defenses via the pass. 

If you mean "threat" as in a big play guy, I agree. If you mean "threat" as in he's a guy that can pick up first downs and be useful in the red zone like most above-average TE/H guys, I disagree. Shenker can run the routes he's asked and catch the ball when it gets there. If the plays are called and the rest of the guys execute, then Shenker is a threat to hurt the defense IMO. That all said, I agree that Frazier is who I'm looking for to be the big play guy at TE. He just looks- physically and on film- like the kind of TE I've been drafting in fantasy football the last few years, lol. But man, do we have some options to think about with the other guys, too. 

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3 hours ago, McLoofus said:

If you mean "threat" as in a big play guy, I agree. If you mean "threat" as in he's a guy that can pick up first downs and be useful in the red zone like most above-average TE/H guys, I disagree. Shenker can run the routes he's asked and catch the ball when it gets there. If the plays are called and the rest of the guys execute, then Shenker is a threat to hurt the defense IMO. That all said, I agree that Frazier is who I'm looking for to be the big play guy at TE. He just looks- physically and on film- like the kind of TE I've been drafting in fantasy football the last few years, lol. But man, do we have some options to think about with the other guys, too. 

Yeah I meant a big play guy. Agree Shenker is a solid receiver but I feel we need a little more to be competitive with the SEC big boys. That or Nix becomes Nick Marshall 2.0 next year. 

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18 minutes ago, twilli13 said:

Shenker is a solid receiver

If you go back and watch, he was one of our best blockers too. 

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We have what appears to be a lot of talent at TE. Three tall TE's type Deal, Fromm, Frazer all three who are ideal targets in the Red Zone. Deal and Frazier are also big so can easily be hand in the dirt Blockers..  Shenker is just solid swiss pocket knife he can block and catch as TE and play HB/FB also. Pegues is a big boy he is a HB/FB you can give the ball to short yardage  situation and get it on his own, he is a load blocking, has good hands and pretty darn good speed who could catch a short pass and blow up the DB and turn it into a long play.

What Auburn's O has missed the most in last few years are plays designed for short yardage that we turn into big gains. TE's often get those type of one on one matchups where a safety or LB makes a mistake or TE gets a little behind or breaks a tackle and there is a lot of open green. I think we have some players who can do that now and once there is some open green can take advantage of it. 

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