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Tight Ends Having a Major Impact
10/22/2009 1:30:00 PM | Football
DURHAM, N.C. – Although David Cutcliffe is usually identified as a quarterback guru, Duke's second-year football coach actually began his career working with tight ends.
That's when the seeds of his offensive philosophy were born.
“It's kind of a comical story to me,” Cutcliffe said. “I was a young assistant at Tennessee. My first assignment was coaching the tight ends. The coordinator at the time decided that we were going to put in three wide receivers with two backs. I was sitting there looking at it and that doesn't include my guys!”
The young assistant coach knew he had to do something to make his tight ends relevant in the new Tennessee offense.
“I decided – and I did it on my own – to teach the tight ends everything that everybody did. Before that year was over, we started doing all those things. It kind of erupted into something we've really gone to bat with. I love those versatile athletes. They're big enough, physical enough to play right next to a tackle ... yet they can be wide, be in the slot and they can be in the backfield.”
Indeed, Duke's tight ends are emerging as key players in the Blue Devils rapidly improving offense. And the hallmark of their play is their versatility. So far this season, tight ends Brett Huffman, Brandon King and Danny Parker have lined up all over the field.
“They're hybrids for us,” Cutcliffe said. “They can line up at wide receiver. They can line up in the slot. They can line up at fullback. They can line up as a wingback. They know our pass protection schemes from the tailback and fullback positions. All of that is not easily done.”
It's taken Duke's tight ends a little more than a full season to grow into Coach Cutcliffe's system. A year ago, the veteran King was sidelined with an injury. Huffman was a redshirt sophomore who was playing for the first time. Parker was a true sophomore who had played just 20 offensive snaps the year before.
It's little wonder that Duke's tight end corps (which included senior Tielor Robinson) played such a small role in the passing game – combining for just 33 catches for 293 yards and one touchdown.
“Last season we didn't have Brandon playing with us,” Huffman said. “This year, having both of us for spring ball and [preseason] camp, Thad [starting quarterback Thaddeus Lewis] knows he can rely on us as a reliable target. It's been nice this year, getting more balls our way as opposed to last season.”
Through Duke's first six games, the three Blue Devil tight ends have already combined for 18 catches for 225 yards and five touchdowns. And even that number is misleading, since 11 of those catches have occurred in the last two games.
“It goes back to preseason,” Cutcliffe explained. “We had both of those starting tight ends – which they both are – were casualties in preseason. I think they're just now growing into what we thought they could be. We felt all along that they should be weapons in our offense. They know how to find seams. They're dependable. They're bigger targets than what we have at wide receiver. So they will play a part of what we're doing.”
King arrived at Duke in the summer of 2006, regarded as the gem of his recruiting class – a prep All-American who was rated the No. 2 fullback prospect in the nation.
“Duke was my first offer in the winter of my junior year,” King said. “After that, I got pretty much flooded – Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Minnesota, Syracuse – it was pretty much schools from everywhere.
“I didn't know what to think. It really came down to visiting and seeing where I was going to play and where I would be utilized.”
But it didn't take Duke long to switch King from fullback to tight end.
“About halfway through my freshman year, we had some injuries at tight end,” he said. “I wasn't being used as much as the coaches would like. We had Tielor Robinson at that point. Really, all I was doing was giving him breaks and [playing on the] goal line. Once we started having some injuries, they switched me over to tight end and ever since then, we haven't really used the fullback a whole lot, so it made sense for me to stay there.”
King blossomed as a tight end in his second season, when the 6-foot-2, 245-pounder caught 10 passes for 76 yards and four touchdowns. His experience at tight end and fullback made him a perfect candidate to play Cutcliffe's hybrid position.
“At first after the coaching change, I thought I might move back to fullback,” King said. “Then when I found out it was Coach Cutcliffe, I did a little research on his offense – the spread and the pro style offense. I was kind of skeptical. But I think it really turned out positive for me. Because the way he uses our tight end, isn't just a tight end on the line. We're in the backfield, we're out wide or as a wing ... the versatility is something that suits me well.”
King was coming to appreciate the new offense in the spring of 2008 – when disaster struck. On the last day of spring practice, he suffered a broken left clavicle, an injury that would sideline him for the entire 2008 season.
“It was pretty miserable, especially the way it went down,” he said. “I thought I'd had a pretty good spring. Just to have it happen like that on the last practice of spring ball, it was really frustrating. Just to get back now is really refreshing.”
The veteran tight end started this year as more of a blocker than a receiver. He was usually Cutcliffe's choice to line up at fullback when he used a tight end there. King caught just one pass for six yards in Duke's first four games. He spent most of the Army game at fullback, lead blocking for the tailbacks.
“All our tight ends have to know how to line up in the backfield,” King said. “Obviously, I'm a little more comfortable back there. I guess tight end is a little easier to get out [in pass routes], a little more opportunity. I know when I was playing fullback, we pretty much only ran two routes. There's opportunity for more open space, which I've had to get used to.”
Lewis suggested that the blocking prowess of the tight ends pays dividends in the passing game.
“When you have a guy like that who can do two things – block and catch the ball – the defense has to account for him,” the senior quarterback said. “Sometimes they forget about him. When you're covering the receivers, the tight end is always running free.”
That's what happened early in the Virginia Tech game, when King suddenly popped open behind the Hokies' secondary and converted the lapse into a 48-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring in the game.
“That helps a lot,” Lewis said. “When you see 22 [King] in the backfield, you don't know what he's going to do. Like against Virginia Tech – he blocked for a couple of plays, then he slips by the guy. If you've got a guy like that who can catch and run after the catch, that helps a lot.”
Safety Catron Gainey, who has to go up against Duke's tight ends in practice, appreciates what they bring to the table.
“I love them,” he said. “Huff, he's got real good hands. I remember as a freshman, he was coming in and making catches all over the place. King, he's a lot faster than he looks. He gets those legs moving and he's gone.”
Huffman started his career as a wide receiver at the famous football factory at Massillon, Ohio. He was still playing that position when he committed to Duke in the summer before his senior year.
“I committed to Duke with the idea of becoming a tight end,” he said. “Then my senior year of high school, we got a new coach and I put on some weight – not near what I have since – and I played a good amount of tight end.”
Huffman, who had offers from Cincinnati, Syracuse, Indiana, Illinois and Arizona State, had to get a lot stronger to play at Duke. He now packs 240 pounds onto his 6-foot-4 frame, but he still considers himself a better pass receiver than a blocker.
“In our offense, you absolutely have to do both if you want to get on the field,” Huffman said. “My stronger points are having good hands and pass catching. I knew I'd have to do both, so I've tried to elevate my run blocking too.
“[Tight end coach Ron] Middleton tells us, 'You want to get open in the passing game, you need to step up your run blocking. Coming off the ball hard will open you up off the line',” he said. “I've definitely seen benefits of that.”
Cutcliffe loves what the development of his tight ends has done for his offense.
“We had 10 people catching balls in the last ballgame,” he said. “I like being that kind of team for a lot of reasons. One, it makes it a little harder to scout you. And, two, when kids are involved like the tight ends, they are so much more motivated in practice. That's human nature. You want to involve as many of them as you can.”
Right now, three players are seeing significant action at the position – sometimes two at a time as one lines up at tight end and the other lines up wide, or at fullback or at wingback. Every once in a while, Duke even lines up in a traditional two tight end set – with two tight ends tight on the tackles.
“The obvious advantage is that once we get into the full swing and get all those guys developed, defensively, you don't know what we're coming out in,” Cutcliffe said. “It could be an I-formation or we could be in spread stuff. We could be in two backs or one back. And we're actually working on those guys running the football a little bit. They like that a lot.”
Cutcliffe expected to get major contributions this season from King and Huffman. Parker's play has been a surprise ... a pleasant surprise. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound native of Rockville, Md., caught his first career touchdown pass at N.C. State.
“Danny Parker is one of the most improved players since I've been here,” Cutcliffe said. “From the time we first looked at our guys until now, he's one of the most improved players of that group.”
All three of Duke's primary tight ends are juniors this season, so all three will be back next year. But, according to King, there are more young tight ends on the roster who are getting ready for their chance to play.
“Obviously with the older guys, people haven't seen a whole lot of that,” he said. “Jack Farrell, I really like him. He reminds me a lot of myself – physical, aggressive, he likes to hit. I really like how he plays. Kenny [Anunike], he gets a couple of plays a game. He's really coming along. He's probably one of the most physically talented guys.”
Farrell, a true freshman from Atlanta, is joined in his class by Orlando native Ryan Hall, who enrolled at Duke in January of 2008 after graduating from high school one semester early.
Anunike is a redshirt freshman from Galena, Ohio. He missed all of last season and last spring while recovering from knee surgery.
“People need to understand that,” King said. “Once he really gets a sense of the game right, I think he's going to be a very good player.”
It's a safe bet that Cutcliffe will put the newcomers to good use when they demonstrate that they're ready to contribute. As for now, his offense is taking advantage of King, Huffman and Parker.
“The tight ends have done a tremendous job this year,” Lewis said. “The coaches have done a great job implementing them into the offense. Those guys have done a great job blocking and receiving. This year, being more of a passing offense, we actually give them more of a chance to get involved.”
That's when the seeds of his offensive philosophy were born.
“It's kind of a comical story to me,” Cutcliffe said. “I was a young assistant at Tennessee. My first assignment was coaching the tight ends. The coordinator at the time decided that we were going to put in three wide receivers with two backs. I was sitting there looking at it and that doesn't include my guys!”
The young assistant coach knew he had to do something to make his tight ends relevant in the new Tennessee offense.
“I decided – and I did it on my own – to teach the tight ends everything that everybody did. Before that year was over, we started doing all those things. It kind of erupted into something we've really gone to bat with. I love those versatile athletes. They're big enough, physical enough to play right next to a tackle ... yet they can be wide, be in the slot and they can be in the backfield.”
Indeed, Duke's tight ends are emerging as key players in the Blue Devils rapidly improving offense. And the hallmark of their play is their versatility. So far this season, tight ends Brett Huffman, Brandon King and Danny Parker have lined up all over the field.
“They're hybrids for us,” Cutcliffe said. “They can line up at wide receiver. They can line up in the slot. They can line up at fullback. They can line up as a wingback. They know our pass protection schemes from the tailback and fullback positions. All of that is not easily done.”
It's taken Duke's tight ends a little more than a full season to grow into Coach Cutcliffe's system. A year ago, the veteran King was sidelined with an injury. Huffman was a redshirt sophomore who was playing for the first time. Parker was a true sophomore who had played just 20 offensive snaps the year before.
It's little wonder that Duke's tight end corps (which included senior Tielor Robinson) played such a small role in the passing game – combining for just 33 catches for 293 yards and one touchdown.
“Last season we didn't have Brandon playing with us,” Huffman said. “This year, having both of us for spring ball and [preseason] camp, Thad [starting quarterback Thaddeus Lewis] knows he can rely on us as a reliable target. It's been nice this year, getting more balls our way as opposed to last season.”
Through Duke's first six games, the three Blue Devil tight ends have already combined for 18 catches for 225 yards and five touchdowns. And even that number is misleading, since 11 of those catches have occurred in the last two games.
“It goes back to preseason,” Cutcliffe explained. “We had both of those starting tight ends – which they both are – were casualties in preseason. I think they're just now growing into what we thought they could be. We felt all along that they should be weapons in our offense. They know how to find seams. They're dependable. They're bigger targets than what we have at wide receiver. So they will play a part of what we're doing.”
King arrived at Duke in the summer of 2006, regarded as the gem of his recruiting class – a prep All-American who was rated the No. 2 fullback prospect in the nation.
“Duke was my first offer in the winter of my junior year,” King said. “After that, I got pretty much flooded – Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Minnesota, Syracuse – it was pretty much schools from everywhere.
“I didn't know what to think. It really came down to visiting and seeing where I was going to play and where I would be utilized.”
But it didn't take Duke long to switch King from fullback to tight end.
“About halfway through my freshman year, we had some injuries at tight end,” he said. “I wasn't being used as much as the coaches would like. We had Tielor Robinson at that point. Really, all I was doing was giving him breaks and [playing on the] goal line. Once we started having some injuries, they switched me over to tight end and ever since then, we haven't really used the fullback a whole lot, so it made sense for me to stay there.”
King blossomed as a tight end in his second season, when the 6-foot-2, 245-pounder caught 10 passes for 76 yards and four touchdowns. His experience at tight end and fullback made him a perfect candidate to play Cutcliffe's hybrid position.
“At first after the coaching change, I thought I might move back to fullback,” King said. “Then when I found out it was Coach Cutcliffe, I did a little research on his offense – the spread and the pro style offense. I was kind of skeptical. But I think it really turned out positive for me. Because the way he uses our tight end, isn't just a tight end on the line. We're in the backfield, we're out wide or as a wing ... the versatility is something that suits me well.”
King was coming to appreciate the new offense in the spring of 2008 – when disaster struck. On the last day of spring practice, he suffered a broken left clavicle, an injury that would sideline him for the entire 2008 season.
“It was pretty miserable, especially the way it went down,” he said. “I thought I'd had a pretty good spring. Just to have it happen like that on the last practice of spring ball, it was really frustrating. Just to get back now is really refreshing.”
The veteran tight end started this year as more of a blocker than a receiver. He was usually Cutcliffe's choice to line up at fullback when he used a tight end there. King caught just one pass for six yards in Duke's first four games. He spent most of the Army game at fullback, lead blocking for the tailbacks.
“All our tight ends have to know how to line up in the backfield,” King said. “Obviously, I'm a little more comfortable back there. I guess tight end is a little easier to get out [in pass routes], a little more opportunity. I know when I was playing fullback, we pretty much only ran two routes. There's opportunity for more open space, which I've had to get used to.”
Lewis suggested that the blocking prowess of the tight ends pays dividends in the passing game.
“When you have a guy like that who can do two things – block and catch the ball – the defense has to account for him,” the senior quarterback said. “Sometimes they forget about him. When you're covering the receivers, the tight end is always running free.”
That's what happened early in the Virginia Tech game, when King suddenly popped open behind the Hokies' secondary and converted the lapse into a 48-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring in the game.
“That helps a lot,” Lewis said. “When you see 22 [King] in the backfield, you don't know what he's going to do. Like against Virginia Tech – he blocked for a couple of plays, then he slips by the guy. If you've got a guy like that who can catch and run after the catch, that helps a lot.”
Safety Catron Gainey, who has to go up against Duke's tight ends in practice, appreciates what they bring to the table.
“I love them,” he said. “Huff, he's got real good hands. I remember as a freshman, he was coming in and making catches all over the place. King, he's a lot faster than he looks. He gets those legs moving and he's gone.”
Huffman started his career as a wide receiver at the famous football factory at Massillon, Ohio. He was still playing that position when he committed to Duke in the summer before his senior year.
“I committed to Duke with the idea of becoming a tight end,” he said. “Then my senior year of high school, we got a new coach and I put on some weight – not near what I have since – and I played a good amount of tight end.”
Huffman, who had offers from Cincinnati, Syracuse, Indiana, Illinois and Arizona State, had to get a lot stronger to play at Duke. He now packs 240 pounds onto his 6-foot-4 frame, but he still considers himself a better pass receiver than a blocker.
“In our offense, you absolutely have to do both if you want to get on the field,” Huffman said. “My stronger points are having good hands and pass catching. I knew I'd have to do both, so I've tried to elevate my run blocking too.
“[Tight end coach Ron] Middleton tells us, 'You want to get open in the passing game, you need to step up your run blocking. Coming off the ball hard will open you up off the line',” he said. “I've definitely seen benefits of that.”
Cutcliffe loves what the development of his tight ends has done for his offense.
“We had 10 people catching balls in the last ballgame,” he said. “I like being that kind of team for a lot of reasons. One, it makes it a little harder to scout you. And, two, when kids are involved like the tight ends, they are so much more motivated in practice. That's human nature. You want to involve as many of them as you can.”
Right now, three players are seeing significant action at the position – sometimes two at a time as one lines up at tight end and the other lines up wide, or at fullback or at wingback. Every once in a while, Duke even lines up in a traditional two tight end set – with two tight ends tight on the tackles.
“The obvious advantage is that once we get into the full swing and get all those guys developed, defensively, you don't know what we're coming out in,” Cutcliffe said. “It could be an I-formation or we could be in spread stuff. We could be in two backs or one back. And we're actually working on those guys running the football a little bit. They like that a lot.”
Cutcliffe expected to get major contributions this season from King and Huffman. Parker's play has been a surprise ... a pleasant surprise. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound native of Rockville, Md., caught his first career touchdown pass at N.C. State.
“Danny Parker is one of the most improved players since I've been here,” Cutcliffe said. “From the time we first looked at our guys until now, he's one of the most improved players of that group.”
All three of Duke's primary tight ends are juniors this season, so all three will be back next year. But, according to King, there are more young tight ends on the roster who are getting ready for their chance to play.
“Obviously with the older guys, people haven't seen a whole lot of that,” he said. “Jack Farrell, I really like him. He reminds me a lot of myself – physical, aggressive, he likes to hit. I really like how he plays. Kenny [Anunike], he gets a couple of plays a game. He's really coming along. He's probably one of the most physically talented guys.”
Farrell, a true freshman from Atlanta, is joined in his class by Orlando native Ryan Hall, who enrolled at Duke in January of 2008 after graduating from high school one semester early.
Anunike is a redshirt freshman from Galena, Ohio. He missed all of last season and last spring while recovering from knee surgery.
“People need to understand that,” King said. “Once he really gets a sense of the game right, I think he's going to be a very good player.”
It's a safe bet that Cutcliffe will put the newcomers to good use when they demonstrate that they're ready to contribute. As for now, his offense is taking advantage of King, Huffman and Parker.
“The tight ends have done a tremendous job this year,” Lewis said. “The coaches have done a great job implementing them into the offense. Those guys have done a great job blocking and receiving. This year, being more of a passing offense, we actually give them more of a chance to get involved.”
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