During our run to the 2016 FCS National Championship, Jonathan Kloosterman was a big factor in our offensive gameplan.

I haven't done enough research on Cignetti's time at Elon to see if he utilized the TE more than we have in the past couple of years but thru 10 games this season our 3 TEs have caught 19 passes. Of course I'm thinking Percy would probably be the 3rd leading receiver if he wasn't hurt for most of the season. Vanhorse is currently the 3rd leading pass catcher with 21 receptions with Scott Bracey making his obligatory 1 or possibly 2 catches a game (BTW he's got 11 total for the season while missing 2 or 3 games).

It's great to have two studs like Antwane Wells and Kris Thornton leading the team with 58 and 64 catches respectively but what a dropoff to #3-5.

Totally agree here...Schor dominated because of his running and use of TE quite a bit over the middle..big chunks of yards and many TDs.. what has happened? Bug targets for Cole and underutilized

I came across some 2016 Frisco highlights the other day(or maybe watched them in hburg's thread, I don't remember) and was thinking the same thing. Someone like Kloosterman can be so huge for creating matchup nightmares and especially along with a good pass catching receiver like Vanhorse that'd make for a lot of strong targets to account for on big third downs and in the red zone.

Cheatham seems solid and like we should utilize him more, but would really be nice to land another star TE in the near future.

While I agree they can be huge matchup problems, I think some of it may be due to coaching philosophy. I think CC likes to use TE's as blockers first then receivers.

Another difference is that we have some pretty fantastic WRs this year, so that may be diminishing the role of the TEs as receivers a little bit. Thornton and Wells Jr. are a dangerous combo.
I was looking at the roster and we have 4 Freshmen TEs on our roster- Binkowski, Horton, Mitchell, and Bullock. That's a good sign for the future of the position.

Makes you appreciate the work Dean Cheatham, John Kloosterman and Dylan Stapleton did for the Dukes over the years.

Brian

(11-16-2021 10:32 AM)ParentofJMUMRDs Wrote:  Makes you appreciate the work Dean Cheatham, John Kloosterman and Dylan Stapleton did for the Dukes over the years.

Brian

The history of the most important players who played TE at JMU must also include Ed Perry, Mike Caussin and Tom Ridley. JMU has benefitted from some superior talent at the position.

(11-16-2021 10:32 AM)ParentofJMUMRDs Wrote:  Makes you appreciate the work Dean Cheatham, John Kloosterman and Dylan Stapleton did for the Dukes over the years.

Brian

It seems CC doesn't recruit those type of versatile TE's, guys that can block and catch. Maybe it's a block and possibly catch is a bonus. Maybe the trust isn't there yet with the newer TE's. I feel Clayton Cheatham is as good as his brother but maybe hasn't been given the same opportunities. I don't keep up with injuries but maybe Clayton isn't 100% healthy.