Tag: Tight end University

WATCH: Chiefs TE Travis Kelce breaks down route running strategy at TEU

#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce’s on-field instruction at Tight End University offered some unique route-running comparisons to basketball and playing piano.

Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has his teacher hat on at the third annual Tight End University (TEU), which is underway at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennesse.

His on-field instruction during the course of the three-day summit was centered around leverage, releases and running routes against defenders in man coverage. He hones in on explaining the blend of putting your own spin on things to get open, but also the element of timing things up with your quarterback.

“In terms of gaining leverage in man coverage route running, I’m thinking a lot about being a ball carrier on a basketball court,” Kelce said. “Like, in between the legs, going here, going here. I’m trying to break hips and open up, break his hip and get past his level. Things like that.”

Kelce provided some unique comparisons in his instruction to relate to the crowd of NFL athletes. That includes a little tidbit from a current Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach.

“There was an NBA coach, Phil Handy, that was talking about, ‘You can downshift and you can look quicker than you actually are,'” Kelce continued. “A lot of guys, when they’re dribbling the basketball, it’s all just 100 miles per hour. It’s not real purposeful — it looks sweet — but it’s not real purposeful. If you can somehow find a way to  (appear) quicker, it’s more threatening to that defender. . . When you play with the actual tempo of your routes, that’s what I was talking about with the pianist. Making sure that you’re playing your own melody, but you’re on that QBs time.”

The multitalented NFL star certainly has a career in show business after he decides to hang up his cleats. However, these clips from TEU are a reminder that he probably could pick up a career in coaching as well.

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Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau check in from ‘Tight End University’

The Saints’ Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau checked in from ‘Tight End University’ where they’re learning from the best:

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NFL positional summits have begun trending in recent years, whether it’s Von Miller organizing workouts with pass rushers or offensive linemen gathering for seminars — or even tight ends mixing it up. Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Greg Olsen have created what they’re calling “Tight End University” as an opportunity to gather tight ends from around the league, both young and old, so they can share information and work to develop their craft.

And the New Orleans Saints were well-represented this year with both of their top two tight ends making the trip. Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau hit it off quickly when Moreau signed with the Saints as a free agent this offseason, and the pair checked in on social media to share their experience so far from the Nashville event.

“Sweating crazy, nothing better with my guy,” Johnson grinned.

Moreau echoed his teammate’s sentiments, thumping himself on the chest and replying “Nothing better.”

How snaps are divided up between them promises to be one of the top subplots of the summer for New Orleans. Johnson led all skills position players in snaps played for the Saints last year, but Moreau was a favorite target of Derek Carr’s with the Raiders and brings an established connection. There’s certainly room for both of them in the lineup, and we’ll get a better idea which roles are envisioned for each player when the Saints regroup for training camp later this year. Hopefully they’re picking up some tricks of the trade at TEU.

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Chiefs’ Travis Kelce wins TEU Tight End of the Year Award

#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce was honored by his peers with the Tight End of the Year Award at the Tight End University Summit in Nashville, Tennessee.

Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce was honored by his peers at the third annual Tight End University (TEU) summit in Nashville, Tennessee.

The 75 tight ends in attendance were polled in advance, naming one active NFL player among them as the TEU Tight End of the Year. Kelce, despite being one of the players putting on the event, was selected to receive the award.

Kelce gave a pretty epic speech accepting the award, poking fun at some of his detractors to get things started:

“So, I led the league in drops,” Kelce began. “I can’t really block well, but you know what, I have a lot of fun playing the tight end position man. I do, I love it. And this is quite the honor. I’m sure you guys turn on the film and a lot of you guys question a lot of the shit that I do out there. A lot of it is just playing hard with the guys next to me. That’s all I can really say. It has everything to do with the game of football, baby. So, shout out to the squad. Shout out to TEU and this is quite the honor, man. Cheers!”

Kelce led all NFL tight ends in receptions (110), yards (1,338) and touchdowns (12) in 2022. He also, of course, has a new piece of jewelry after winning Super Bowl LVII with Kansas City. Now, he’ll add a trophy to the cabinet, which should have plenty of sentimental value given who awarded it to him.

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Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Greg Olsen’s Tight End University returns for a third year

#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce, along with George Kittle and Greg Olsen, welcome NFL tight ends to Nashville, Tennessee today for the third annual Tight End University Summit.

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During the 2021 NFL offseason, Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce teamed up with San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle and retired NFL TE Greg Olsen to create Tight End University (TEU). The ultimate goal was to provide a space for players at the tight end position to learn from each other and continue to advance the position as a prominent part of the NFL game.

Their inaugural TEU summit was a smashing success, which led to a second summit last year with over 80 NFL tight ends in attendance. Now, the trio will put on a third event from June 20-22 in Nashville, Tennessee at Vanderbilt University.

According to Kittle, this year’s event will feature 75 NFL tight ends in attendance. Josh Allen, Trey Lance, CJ Beathard, Sam Darnold and Nick Mullens will be among the quarterbacks in attendance. They have some special guests in terms of NFL legends with Rob Gronkowski and Jordan Reed coming to help teach the younger players in attendance.

They’ll spend two of the three days in the classroom, going over everything from running routes to rest and recovery tips. They’ll also get out on the practice field for a day with some hands-on instruction in terms of technique and reading coverages.

Kelce spoke about mentorship and what’s ahead at TEU just last week:

“Oh man, I love it, man. We got the best tight end room in the league right now and it’s fun to be a part of just the grand scheme of things in terms of this offense and what it can do but coming to work and being around the tight end group, man, we got a fun group that just loves to play this game and wants to make plays no matter how they got to do it. Whether we’re blocking, whether we’re catching the ball down field or just finding a way to get somebody else open. And that’s the beauty of the tight end position is we’re pretty selfless and whatever you need we can do. The young guys, the guys that are kind of like still getting molded into this offense that you’ll see this year – any bit of advice I can give to anybody – and that’s kind of across the league – I’ll give nuggets of gold over here at Tight End U coming up next week or what I think are nuggets of gold (laughter). And it’ll be – I’m here to try to get everybody to be at their best and still got that confidence that what we do over here is always going to be, you know, number one.”

Head over to Tight End University’s Instagram page to find some information on the players across the NFL set to attend this week.

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Cowboys’ Jake Ferguson to attend Tight End University in June

From @ToddBrock24f7: The second-year TE will learn with and from the best at his position over the three-day event put on by George Kittle and Travis Kelce.

Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson will spend a few days this June learning with and from the best at the position as he embarks on his second pro season and bid to be the starting tight end in Dallas in 2023.

Ferguson has committed to attend Tight End University, the popular summit put on annually by NFL stars Travis Kelce and George Kittle, as well as former pro tight end-turned-broadcaster Greg Olsen. This will be the third year for the program, whose mission is “creating a space for players to learn from each other and continue to elevate the level of play at the position,” as per the official TEU website.

News of Ferguson’s attendance was confirmed in an Instagram post Wednesday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsooVrWpMwc/?hl=en

Last year’s TEU saw over 80 tight ends take part in a schedule that included classroom time as well as hands-on technique and strategy sessions. This summer’s program promises opportunities for invitees to “bond, collaborate with, and learn amongst their peers while participating in a variety of activities including film study, on-field drills, recovery, rehabilitation, and more.”

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Ex-Cowboy Dalton Schultz participated in TEU in both 2021 and 2022. At the time of writing, Noah Fant (Seahawks), Dallas Goedert (Eagles), Daniel Bellinger (Giants), Chig Okonkwo (Titans), and Pat Freiermuth (Steelers) have all confirmed they’ll be there this year. A full list of attendees has not yet been released.

Ferguson, the Cowboys’ fourth-round draft pick out of Wisconsin in 2022, caught 19 passes in his rookie season, amassing 174 receiving yards and scoring two touchdowns while playing on 37% of the offense’s snaps.

He’ll be jockeying for his place in Mike McCarthy’s new offense in Dallas alongside fellow second-year man Peyton Hendershot and second-round draft pick Jake Schoonmaker. No word yet on if either of them will also attend Tight End University.

TEU will be held June 20-22 in Nashville.

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LOOK: Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has his own ‘Kelce Light’ Bud Light cans

Bud Light has declared itself the official beer sponsor of Tight Ends everywhere and that includes #Chiefs TE Travis Kelce.

Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is enjoying his offseason. He recently appeared on episodes of ABC’s “Holey Moley” and this week the star tight end is one of the organizers of the second annual Tight End University Summit in Nashville, Tennessee.

Bud Light is back at Tight End University for the second year as a sponsor of the event, but this time they declared themselves the “Official Beer Sponsor of Tight Ends.” A press release says they’ve furthered their commitment to the position with the goal of “helping ensure tight ends get the respect they deserve – on and off the field.”

As a result, they’ve given each of Kelce, George Kittle and Greg Olsen some custom tall cans of Bud Light, with “Kelce Light, Kittle Light, and Olsen Light” inscribed on them.

Check it out:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bud Light (@budlight)

You can win personalized Kelce merchandise via Bud Light and Pins & Aces Golf Co. by following the instructions in the Instagram post from Bud Light linked above. Let us know what you think about the custom “Kelce Light” cans in the comment section down below.

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Jags’ Evan Engram to attend Tight End University this month

Evan Engram will be keeping himself busy during the Jags’ upcoming break and will be heading to this year’s TEU with many of the league’s top pass-catchers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had at least one player (Chris Manhertz) attend last season’s Tight End University meeting hosted by Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Greg Olsen. This season, they will have at least one player in attendance again in free-agent addition Evan Engram, who signed with the Jags on March 16.

The event’s official Twitter page confirmed that he’d be attending this year as it is set to take place from June 22 to 24 at Vanderbilt University.

(Note: The school they meant to tag was Ole Miss)

The event is one where several of the league’s top tight ends will meet to learn techniques from each other to help improve their craft on the field. Other notables who will attend include Mike Gesicki, Kyle Pitts, and Dalton Knox, to name a few.

It’s good to see that Engram will be using his time off before training camp well as he will get to learn a thing or two from the top players at the tight end position. That’s important because the Jags are undoubtedly expecting big things from him and are hoping he can be their TE1 heading forward.

Jaguars backup quarterback C.J. Beathard was also supposed to attend to help with workouts, but that seems unlikely now that he sustained a groin injury in organized team activities this week.

“Touchdown Jaguars!” will be published weekly, giving Jags Wire readers a new go-to podcast to hear the latest in news, rumors, and more. To stay up to date, subscribe via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and feel free to rate and comment. 

Chiefs TE Noah Gray to attend Tight End University later this month

#Chiefs TE Noah Gray won’t be missing this year’s @te_university summit.

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Travis Kelce won’t be the only Kansas City Chiefs tight end in attendance at the second Tight End University summit in Nashville, Tennessee later this month.

Last year, Chiefs TE Noah Gray took some criticism from the fanbase after he didn’t attend the inaugural summit. The reality is that Gray was double-booked, hosting a youth football camp in his hometown during the same weekend that the summit took place.

This time around, Gray isn’t double-booked. He’ll be in attendance as the best tight ends in the league gather to learn and share tricks of the trade. The Tight End University Twitter account has slowly been revealing some of the players who have RSVP’d to the event.

Kelce is again hosting this year’s Tight End University alongside George Kittle and Greg Olsen. He spoke a bit about the event at Chiefs OTAs in late May.

“To be honest, man, I don’t even see it as mentorship for me,” Kelce said. “I’m like a little kid at Tight End U, man. It’s just so much fun being around guys that are all working for the same thing. We’re all trying to do the same thing. We’re all trying to get better at the same craft. It’s fun just passing around the knowledge that I have, but also absorbing everybody else’s stories, what they’ve been through in their journey’s. Hopefully we get some new faces to speak this year and it’s going to be a blast, I already know it is. It was last year, and I’m pretty sure everybody is pumped for it again this year.”

Asked specifically about whether Gray and Jody Fortson would be in attendance this year, Kelce deferred to the players saying that both were invited. We have confirmation on Gray, but now we await word on Fortson.

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At least one Dolphin heading to George Kittle’s Tight End University

This will be his second year in attendance.

All of the participants have yet to be announced for George Kittle, Greg Olsen and Travis Kelce’s Tight End University program in Nashville, Tennessee, but we know at least one Miami Dolphin will be in attendance.

The event’s social media account posted this week that Mike Gesicki would be participating. This is the second year of the program, and it’s the second year that Miami’s top tight end will be there.

TE U, as it’s been called, is a three-day event where a number of talented players at the position gather to share their tricks of the trade with each other with the hopes that the position will continue to get better and receive more recognition leaguewide.

This year, the tight ends will work out at Vanderbilt University from June 22-24.

Olsen and Kittle mentioned earlier this week on the “Pardon My Take” podcast that they want to have more tight ends present this year than did in 2021. With that said, there’s a chance that other Dolphins receive the invite, as Durham Smythe, Adam Shaheen, Hunter Long and Cethan Carter could all benefit from working with some of the best in the game at the position.

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Jags QB C.J. Beathard set to join George Kittle and several others at TEU in June

C.J. Beathard will be joining his former Iowa and San Francisco 49ers teammate, George Kittle, for this year’s Tight End University event with many other notable players.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are currently in the second phase of their offseason workout program, which means one phase will remain before they take a break before training camp. However, as we’ve seen in recent years, many players find some way to remain busy when it comes to preparing for the season.

Players from around the league typically use the downtime before training camp to join players from around the league who play the same positions for what is labeled as “university” events. That will be the case for the tight end position as notables like George Kittle, Travis Kelce, and several others are in the process of putting together a Tight End University in Nashville for next month. And while it isn’t known if any Jags tight ends will be attending, there will be at least one player representing the team in quarterback C.J. Beathard.

In a recent interview with Pro Football Talk, Kittle told NFL journalist Mike Florio that Beathard would be one of the quarterbacks attending alongside Nick Mullens, Trey Lance, and possibly Zach Wilson and Josh Allen.

“I’ve got three [quarterbacks] confirmed for you,” Kittle said. “I’ve got my guy, C.J. Beathard. I’ve got my guy, Nick Mullens. I’ve got my guy, Trey Lance. He’s coming down to TEU. … Zach Wilson is at about 99 percent. He’s trying to decide if he wants to come back from Cabo or not. I was like, ‘Zach, you’re going to come back from Cabo.’ … And then the last one I’m working on: Josh Allen is trying to see if he can make it work.”

[H/T to 49erswebzone.com for this quote]

Kittle and Beathard attended the University of Iowa together from 2012-16. Both ended up being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 2017 and were teammates there until 2020. The Jags then signed Beathard in 2021, and he’s been their QB2 since.

Last year, Jags tight end Chris Manhertz attended the tight end gathering after signing with the Jags last Spring. It’s unknown if he, Evan Engram, or any other Jags tight ends will attend, but it shouldn’t be long before the list is revealed.