As we continue our preview of the 2023 college football season in the Pac-12 conference, we are going to shift our focus from individual teams to individual positions. The last several weeks have been spent picking apart each school out west, finding where they improved the most over the offseason, and identifying what realistic expectations should be for them going forward.
You can see them all here: Arizona Wildcats — Arizona State Sun Devils — California Golden Bears — Colorado Buffaloes — Oregon State Beavers — Stanford Cardinal — UCLA Bruins — USC Trojans — Utah Utes — Washington Huskies — Washington State Cougars
Now we’re going to look at position groups as a whole in the conference. Whether it’s a quarterback or a linebacker, a punter or a safety, there are dozens of highly talented players out west. We want to go through them all, position group by position group, and highlight some of the most important names that fans should know at each spot.
— Quarterbacks — Wide Receivers — Running Backs —
Tight end is a position that has evolved over the years. Originally, the position consisted primarily of blockers who occasionally had the option to release from their block and be a check-down option for their QB. Nowadays, TEs are some of the most important players on the field. They are often their QBs favorite target, either due to the consistency they bring in short-yardage situations, their big play potential or a combination of the two.
Today, I examine the most important TEs in the Pac-12 for the 2023 season. Some teams have multiple representatives and some have none, both of which are indicative of how that team uses TEs, as well as how talented the team is in general.
Here are some names that fans should familiarize themselves with as we get ready for the season to start.