Among the many expected changes to the Texas Longhorns football program augured by Tom Herman’s hiring as head coach in November 2016 was a return to prominence for the tight end position. In the decade or so since would-be standout tight end Blaine Irby’s career-altering injury early in the 2008 season, that position group had been famously snakebitten by injuries and a lack of development on the field, and hurt on the recruiting front by de-commitments from highly-regarded targets (Durham Smythe, Major Tennison), commits not passing muster with the NCAA Clearinghouse (Devonaire Clarington), and talented potential recruits who preferred to take their talents to established tight end factories like Stanford (Kaden Smith), Notre Dame (Brock Wright, Smythe), and Alabama (Tennison, Irvin Smith, Kedrick James) rather than the moribund tight end room at Texas.
2019 Recruiting: in-state tight end prospects
