BC Football Position Preview: Tight Ends

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PERSONNEL

Returners: Colton Cardinal (Sr. – fullback), Hunter Long (RFr.), Chris Garrison (RJr.), Jake Burt (RJr.), Korab Idrizi (Jr.), Ray Marten (Jr.), Patrick Brown (RFr.), Tommy Sweeney (Gr.)
Newcomers: Joey Luchetti (Fr.), Tito Pasqualoni (Fr.), Brendan Smith (Fr.)

Boston College’s tight ends room rivals the skill of the Eagles’ receiving corps and experience of the offensive line, but with perhaps an unprecedented depth. Six veteran returners have played regularly throughout their career; five of whom caught at least one pass in 2017. Sweeney leads the group with 67 career receptions as he led BC with 36 catches, 512 yards, and four touchdowns last season.

The Eagles have the ability to use a variety of tight ends in a wide variety of roles in their offensive schemes, including the use of Cardinal in the H-back spot. Garrison, who started two games at tight end in 2016 before a season-ending injury, has provided 20 career catches and started all 13 games in 2017.

Marten has played in 21 games, Burt in 17 and Idrizi 15. All three are strong blockers in the pass and run games and can contribute on the receiving side of the ball. Idrizi, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound product from Bergen Catholic (N.J.) has had a strong camp and is expected to play a major role in the offense going forward.

BY THE NUMBERS

#81 Garrison, Chris: 15 catches, 152 yards, 1 touchdown
#84 Burt, Jake: 1 catch, 5 yards
#85 Idrizi, Korab: 4 catches, 32 yards
#86 Marten, Ray: 5 catches, 42 yards, 1 touchdown
#89 Sweeney, Tommy: 36 catches, 512 yards, 4 touchdowns

Burt is similar to Sweeney as a “Y Tight End” that lines up next to an offensive tackle. Marten, who caught five passes last season, and Burt are typically on the field as an H-back in two tight end situations. Cardinal, who has primarily played on special teams throughout his career, has seen increased snaps in the H-back role on offense as a run blocker and receiver.

Long redshirted last season, but was prepared to play midway through the year due to injuries, but was ultimately kept off the field. A long, athletic, 6-foot-5 receiver, he has shown tremendous potential throughout the preseason. He played his prep ball at Deerfield Academy (Mass.) and was rated as the No. 4 player in the state by Rivals.

JUMBO PACKAGE

Luchetti, who has shown advanced ability as a true freshman receiver, ranked as the No. 2 tight end in Massachusetts and No. 67 in the country by 247Sports… he was the co-MVP of the Independent School League with 45 receptions and 582 yards at Lawrence Academy last year… Pasqualoni, the son of former BC defensive line coach and current Detroit Lions defensive coordinator, arrives on the Heights from East Catholic (Conn.)… led the team in total offense and scoring as a senior… the six-foot-six Smith played receiver at Phillips Academy (Mass.)… Brown redshirted a year ago after playing at Cathedral Catholic (Calif.)… part of two state I-AA championships teams and served as a senior captain on a perfect 15-0 squad in 2016.

QUOTES FROM THE STAFF

“A lot of people talk about our tight end position as a difficult position, both physically and mentally. The position has so many job descriptions, especially in our style of offense. A lot of coaches use the term ‘pro-style’ for our offense, and it is, but there are, in fact, many elements to what we do.” – Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Frank Leonard

“Korab is probably one of the tougher guys in the country. He’s very physical, but he’s also very bright. That’s what it has to be in that room – kids with intelligence because there are too many job descriptions. Ray plays that position just like Christian and Korab. They don’t have a lot of dialogue. There’s always going and always doing what we ask as coaches.” – Leonard

“The beauty of Tommy Sweeney is that we recruited him close to where he is now [physically]. He was six-foot-five-inches tall and a high school basketball player, and like most of the players in our room, he was in our camp. He showed us his physical attributes in the camp as a pass receiver, but we got him on the sled and the bags. We realized he could possess power as a run blocker. He’s certainly done that over the years, going from 220 pounds [as a rookie] to 260 pounds [as a graduate student].” – Leonard