Didn't want to include this in the "coaches on the class" piece because I had plenty on Niko Hea but thought it was interesting. A.J. Ofodile was asked whether the staff felt it had to sign a tight end in this class even though Daniel Parker and Messiah Swinson now give the team at least one in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 classes. He said yes. Here's why:
“It’s a necessity because just the nature of that position, there’s so many different skillsets, and guys tend to specialize in one or the other. The Holy Grail of tight end is to find that guy that blocks like a tackle and catches like a wide receiver, and if you get one of those guys, then you’re really lucky, but they’re few and far between. So most of the time at that position — and it’s not that a guy can either completely block and can’t catch at all, it’s just they’re strengths are to varying degrees. And so as you refill your room, as a young guy, (Hea) is exactly what you want. A guy that, skill-set wise, is probably a little more wideout right now, but you know has all of the markers and tools to be a guy that can be an effective blocker, too. So we kind of needed that in our room, and with Daniel being such an accomplished blocker … bringing in another young guy who’s more of a pass-catching specialist was right on time for us.”
“It’s a necessity because just the nature of that position, there’s so many different skillsets, and guys tend to specialize in one or the other. The Holy Grail of tight end is to find that guy that blocks like a tackle and catches like a wide receiver, and if you get one of those guys, then you’re really lucky, but they’re few and far between. So most of the time at that position — and it’s not that a guy can either completely block and can’t catch at all, it’s just they’re strengths are to varying degrees. And so as you refill your room, as a young guy, (Hea) is exactly what you want. A guy that, skill-set wise, is probably a little more wideout right now, but you know has all of the markers and tools to be a guy that can be an effective blocker, too. So we kind of needed that in our room, and with Daniel being such an accomplished blocker … bringing in another young guy who’s more of a pass-catching specialist was right on time for us.”
