Auburn Football: Why We’ll See The Tight End Catch More in 2017
By Chris Roush
Here we take a look at Auburn football’s new offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsey, and how his position at Auburn may highlight the tight end position.
The signing of two tight ends in this year’s crop of new players for Auburn football, plus the hiring of Chip Lindsey as the new offensive coordinator, signals that the position will be used more in Auburn’s offense in 2017.
The only true tight end on Auburn’s roster this past season was Jalen Harris, and the 6-foot-4, 260-pound sophomore caught a grand total of two passes — both touchdowns. One was on the last play of the Sugar Bowl — the last play of the season.
And while Chandler Cox sometimes lined up at tight end, he’s more of an H-back or fullback and not your prototypical blocker and pass catcher. He caught just four passes in 2016.
In fact, the past few seasons have seen a steady decrease in how a tight end has been used by the Auburn offense. There was no tight end on the 2015 team, and the last pure tight end the team head, C.J. Uzomah, caught just 11 passes for 145 yards and three scores in 2014.
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The last real TE threat Auburn fielded was the now-deceased Phillip Lutzenkirchen, but despite his physical talent, he caught just 59 passes and had 14 scores over four years.
In fact, even the greatest tight end in Auburn’s history, Ed West, caught just 42 passes and had just two touchdowns while on the Plains from1980 to 1983 before his 14-year pro career, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Auburn has never consistently used the tight end as a weapon.
The latest recruiting crop, however, brings two beasts to the Plains who bring hope for all the Gronkowski lovers out there.
The first is Salvatore Cannella, a junior college player whose 6-foot-6, 230-pound frame will make him an ideal blocker and downfield pass catcher. Cannella was ranked the No. 2 JUCO tight end coming out this past year after recording 29 catches for 443 yards with seven touchdowns in 2016.
He has three years of eligibility remaining and chose Auburn over Texas. Cannella is already enrolled and practicing with the team.
The second is John Samuel Shenker, a three-star recruit from Moultrie, Georgia who was personally recruited by Lindsey. Shenker also has tight end size at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds.
Shenker is also familiar with Lindsey’s type of offense. His high school coach and Lindsey coached together at Hoover High School in suburban Birmingham. He caught 30 passes for 451 yards and two touchdowns last fall for Colquitt County and former Hoover coach Rush Propst.
Then there’s Lindsey. In his last two seasons as offensive coordinator at Southern Miss and Arizona State, the tight end was used extensively as an offensive weapon.
And let’s not forget that Lindsey was Lutzenkirchen’s high school coach in 2008, when the future Auburn star had a 1,000-yard season.
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The use of the tight end more in Auburn’s offense in 2017 also means that the defense will have to pay more attention to whoever’s lining up in the position, opening more holes for Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson.