The tight end position has become one that has become a lost art in the college game. Without the player being a freak athlete used as a big slot receiver, the days of using one in the offense are all but dead. Just look at the entire college football landscape, but will the Texas Longhorns be any different with Cade Brewer?
Brewer is your prototypical size at the position standing 6’4″ and 250 pounds. Given his size, Brewer is a perfect candidate to play a big slot receiver or line out wide for Texas. Especially given what the team is losing at wide receiver due to the seniors who are graduating. Texas has talent but Brewer has experience.
In the run game, Brewer is a good physical blocker so getting him involved in the run game is relatively seamless. He can block on the edge or as inline tight end even though that isn’t the best spot for him on the field. He is more of the spread offense type.
The key for Brewer is getting the ball in his hands and allowing him to use his athleticism in space. In high school, he showed off his leaping ability to showcase that he can be a handful in space. On top of the athleticism, Brewer’s size makes him an attractive redzone target for the offense. He can win the jump balls in the endzone to give Texas another option when trying to score and that makes the Longhorns that much more dangerous on offense.
The question remains on if new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will use Brewer in 2020. At Ohio State, the Buckeyes used two tight ends but it was more about the running back and wide receivers for Ryan Day’s offense.
While at Oklahoma State, Yurcich used current Dallas Cowboys tight end Blake Jarwin in a way that could be similar for how they deploy Brewer in 2020. During his time in Stillwater, Jarwin secured 41 passes for 616 yards and five touchdowns. His yards per receptions were 15, which is a number very feasibly obtained with an athletic tight end in Cade Brewer.