Who are the top candidates to take over as Kansas State football’s next tight end?

It may be a stretch to say that Ben Sinnott revolutionized Kansas State football’s tight end position over the past two seasons, but he certainly helped redefine what it could be in the Wildcat offense.

After catching 49 passes for 676 yards and six touchdowns last year as a junior, Sinnott entered the NFL Draft and was a second-round pick by the Washington Commanders. He left K-State tied for first in career touchdowns by a tight end with 10, ranked third at his position in career receptions with 82 and fourth in receiving yards with 1,138.

Now it is time for a new group to take over the position. And while any successor would be hard-pressed to match Sinnott’s individual receiving numbers — he also caught 31 passes for 447 yards and four scores in 2022 — K-State’s coaches like their options at the position coming out of the spring and heading into preseason camp.

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Kansas State tight end Garrett Oakley (86) fights for extra yards against Houston during their game last season at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

The most experienced by far is senior Will Swanson, who at 6-foot-5, 251 pounds was used more as an old-school blocking tight end, while sophomore Garrett Oakley is the more gifted receiver. Sophomore Brayden Loftin also saw some action last year in a backup role.

“It’s extremely important to the offense,” offensive coordinator Conor Riley said. “And as we get in and recruit tight ends and talk about that particular position, to me one of the things that makes our offense unique across the landscape of college football is the versatility that we can do with the tight ends.”

Here is a look at what the top tight end prospects bring to the position.

Related: Kansas State football: Five questions to ponder with Big 12 media…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/top-candidates-over-kansas-state-222237449.html

Author : The Topeka Capital-Journal

Publish date : 2024-07-07 22:22:37

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