In Maryland football practices last season, tight ends rarely practiced catching the ball — despite that normally being a huge part of the job description. Instead, they focused on blocking and spent most of practices doing hitting drills. Their role never seemed to expand beyond that, being used to make paths for wide receivers and running backs, but never getting to use their own talents in the air.
This season, tight end practice under position coach Mike Miller in head coach Mike Locklsey’s system is completely different. The group is participating in catching drills and learning more about passing routes and ways to make an impact on the field.