Date: 8/21
Position: Tight Ends
Position Coach: John Turner

Returning Letterwinners (Key stats): Rush Hendricks (12 games played, 2 rec, 4 yds), Ryan Onkka (12 GP, 1 rec, 2 yds, 1 TD), Wes Saxton (12 GP, 50 rec, 635 yds)

Letterwinners lost (Key stats): Jared Palmer (8 GP)

Newcomers (Yr., Previous school): Braedon Bowman (Jr., Scottsdale [Ariz] CC), Caleb Hayman (R-Fr., Gainesville [Ga.] HS)

Miscellaneous Notes
-Davin Hawkins lettered as a tight end last season but will play at inside linebacker this fall.
-DeMarrion Buford-Hughes earned a letter at safety a year ago, but moved to tight end prior to the start of spring practice.
-Wes Saxton — one of three seniors on the roster at the position — was selected first-team all-Sun Belt Conference after ranking in the top 10 in the league in both catches and reception yards per contest a year ago.
-In addition to being voted preseason first-team all-SBC, Saxton is on the preseason watch lists for both the John Mackey and Biletnikoff Awards.
-Rush Hendricks earned the Sun Belt Conference Male Postgraduate Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and was also chosen first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District IV; he's one of two individuals on the roster this fall working on his master's degree.
-Hendricks was credited with six tackles — all unassisted — as part of Jaguar special teams units.
-Braedon Bowman joined the program in January after earning first-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-America honors in 2013 at Scottsdale (Ariz.) CC after leading the team with 66 receptions for 1,030 yards and 13 touchdowns.

John Turner
-On his expectations for the position this year: "We have unbelievably high expectations; with Wes coming off the phenomenal year that he had last year — being an all-conference player — we expect that and even bigger things from him.  With the addition of Braedon Bowman, a junior-college All-American and great athlete, he's going to provide tremendous depth; he brings a little bit different aspect to the position since he is a receiver by trade, that allows him to run routes and do other things at an extremely high level.  And we have a lot of guys with a ton of experience, Rush Hendricks, Ryan Onkka, DeMarrion Buford-Hughes — we expect those guys to fill their roles within this offense.  The bar has been set high, and we're hoping to raise it even higher this year."
-On the team's flexibility at the position: "Each one of them brings a unique skill set, but they are all weapons in their own way.  Wes brings the total package from a blocking, receiving and route-running perspective, he's extremely talented as we well know.  Braedon is a receiver by trade who can run routes, but he has really embraced the blocking aspect of what we are asking him to do.  Rush, Ryan and DeMarrion are all going to have roles, we're going to ask them to block — and, Ryan might have the best hands of any of our tight ends.  These guys provide flexibility, we're going to be talented because of that."
-On how the team's experience at the position helps: "It so much fun to watch the film now because there are minimal mistakes.  In the past we were always learning and guys might make a mistake or two, but now these guys come out and know what they're doing.  They've been doing it for so long they have great mental preparation and focus, they all study hard because they want to contribute and do a good job.  Now it's fun to watch film and see them do things at the highest level possible."

Wes Saxton
-On expectations for Jaguar tight ends in the fall: "I expect us to play hard and not take any plays off.  We need to do whatever is necessary to help the team and make sure we execute every assignment."
-On how he tops his performance from last season: "I've set my goals higher than last year, I would like to have a better one than last season.  I can't control everything that happens, but I can catch every pass that comes my way and make every block.  The same goes for every other tight end, we need to be the best we can be at our position."
-On what preseason honors mean to him and how they affect him: "It's good to be honored by all those preseason magazines and to be chosen first-team all-Sun Belt, but I just want to win and get two rings.  They're nice to have, but at the end of the day all that matters is the team."

Ryan Onkka
-On his expectations for USA's tight ends this year: "I expect us to contribute a lot, we might not have the most depth at our position but we're all very skilled.  Coach [John] Turner has done a great job of coaching us, we are all ready to go with the ones or twos.  We expect a lot from our position."
-On how important it is to have the experience of three seniors at the position: "It's very important, Rush and I have been here for five years and Wes has been here for three.  We're definitely very experienced, which should pay off for us this season."
-On the team's flexibility at the position: "It's great, I love it.  We're different from most other tight ends; we're not a true tight end because we're in the backfield and we can detach.  Wes and Braedon are great receivers — they're good blockers too — but their main focus is on catching the ball."

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