2005 Gopher Football Preview: Tight Ends

GopherHole.com is pleased to kick off its coverage of the 2005 Gopher football season with a look at the Minnesota tight ends. When people think about the Gopher offense, the two things that come to mind are the great running backs and the great offensive line. But what often goes overlooked when it comes to the running game are the contributions of the tight ends. The Gophers are blessed with two very good, run blocking, veteran tight ends that should be even better this year than they were last. On top of that, if the Minnesota passing game can find itself this season, the offense could also find itself with a couple of decent receiving threats as well.

Matt Spaeth

Entering his second year as a starter is junior Matt Spaeth. Coming into 2004 Matt was billed as an emerging star, and over the past season he showed glimpses of that potential. His receptions were a bit on the low side with only 24, but that seemed to be mostly a result of the offense just not going to him. In the games where the offense made a point to get him involved, Spaeth did a nice job and showed he was capable. Though he may not have seen as much action as some Gopher fans would’ve hoped, Matt was still voted honorable mention All-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media. All in all he had a very good sophomore season, which should lead to an exciting 2005.

This season expect Matt Spaeth to take a big step forward. Big number 89 is a perfect fit for the Gopher offense. The Gophers obviously having a running oriented offensive scheme, and there may not be a better blocking tight end in the conference than Spaeth. At 6’6″ 270 pounds, he almost amounts to a third offensive tackle on running plays. There are a lot of big tight ends that are good blockers, but what makes Spaeth special is he can go out and catch a pass about as well as anyone else at his position. He’s not going to beat any linebackers down the seam, but he does do a nice job of getting open on the short and intermediate routes. If the Gopher passing game can click this season, Matt can definitely become a 40 reception type of guy. If he can get his receiving totals up a bit this year, he could easily wind up being the best tight end in the conference.

Jared Posthumus

Opposite Matt Spaeth at the other tight end spot is senior Jared Posthumus. At 6’4″, 255 pounds, Posthumus has been a serviceable blocker during two years as a backup. His duties on the field have mostly been limited to blocking, at which he has steadily improved. Through three seasons Jared has just 4 receptions, but as we saw in the Toledo game last year he does have the ability to get down the field for the big reception. For the most part however, there just aren’t enough passes from the Gopher offense to pad the receiving stats of a second string tight end. If he ever needed to step up into the starting role, the Gophers have a nice luxury of having a fifth year senior with the experience that Jared has. But assuming Spaeth does stay healthy, look for Posthumus to play a similar role to what he did last season.

Depth

Established depth at tight end is something the Gophers don’t have. The only other returning (non-redshirt) tight end is senior walkon Kevin Salmen. Through 3 seasons, Salmen does not have a reception and has only seen action in 49 plays; nearly all of those coming in mop up situations. The Gopher coaches saw the void coming at this position, and wisely signed 3 tight end recruits in 2004: Tommy Leavitt, Sam Scroggins and Jack Simmons, and all three of those players redshirted as true freshmen last season. However, before spring practice Tommy Leavitt was moved to linebacker, and just recently Sam Scroggins announced he is transferring.

That leaves Jack Simmons as lone tight end of the future for Minnesota from that class. Simmons should be the fastest Gopher tight end, and thus will bring the ability to stretch the field that none of the others can. Many are hoping that Simmons can bring a similar vertical threat to the Gopher offense that we haven’t seen since Ben Utecht. Barring injuries, it’s doubtful that the Gopher will need to go farther down the depth cart than this, but should the need arise, Mason signed two more tight ends this past winter, Chris Mensen and Troy Rilley.

Last Year . . .

Receiving wise, 2004 was a pretty quiet year for the tight ends, especially after the previous few seasons. Matt Spaeth had 24 receptions for 298 yards and 4 TD’s, while Jared Posthumus had just 2 receptions for 57 yards. I really think the Spaeth has a lot more potential as a receiver than just 24 catches, but the struggles of first year quarterback Bryan Cupito along with the rest of the Gopher passing game put a limit on the numbers of all Gopher receivers. Run blocking was a different story, as both Spaeth and Posthumus did an excellent job. For the second consecutive year they helped lead the way for 1000 yard seasons from both Marion Barber & Laurence Maroney. Overall, the Gopher tight ends did an excellent job given what they were asked to do.

Around the Big Ten . . .

In a shift from the past several years, the Big Ten comes up a little short to some other conferences in the star tight end department. About the only returning TE in the conference that can match the credentials of Matt Spaeth is Purdue senior Charles Davis. Last year Davis had 34 receptions 416 yards and 3 TD’s, but with a new quarterback throwing to him I don’t know that he is a lock to become a lot better. Michigan senior Tim Massaquoi also returns. Somehow, Massaquoi was the first team All-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media last year despite managing just 18 catches for 184 yards with ZERO TD’s and being just an average blocker. Massaquoi could have a big season this year though with the absence of Braylon Edwards in the Wolverine’s receiving patterns. In the “He’s still around?” category, there is Wisconsin’s Owen Daniels. Daniels is primarily a receiving tight end, and he could have a big year with Badger QB John Stocco having a year under his belt. Another tight end who could really benefit from a stable quarterback situation is Ohio State’s Ryan Hamby. Many Buckeye fans expected him to blossom last year, but the Buckeye’s rocky quarterback situation held Hamby to just 178 yards receiving.

Bottom Line . . .

In my opinion, the Gophers should have the best group of tight ends in the Big Ten this year. Matt Spaeth has already started for the better part of two seasons (and still has two left), Jared Posthumus is an experienced senior who quietly gets the job done, and Jack Simmons could turn into one of the Big Ten’s more exciting young talents at this position. On the field, I really feel that the offense needs to get the tight ends involved. Minnesota has a couple of proven receivers with Ernie Wheelwright & Jared Ellerson, and they have a great running back in Laurence Maroney. For most teams, defending the Gopher tight ends could be an afterthought. In the Colorado State game last year, Spaeth proved that he can beat teams that fall asleep or get too concerned about defending the run. I hope that as the offense develops this year we’ll see more of that kind of production from Spaeth. At the very least though, the coaches can take comfort in the fact that Minnesota has two experienced blocking tight ends that can flank the inexperienced offensive tackles. That should help to keep the Gopher run blocking as good as it has been the past two seasons.

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