Date: 8/21
Position: Tight Ends
Position Coach: Chad Huff
Returning Letterwinners (Key stats): Zac Crosby (10 GP, 1 rec, 11 yds, 11.0 avg, 1.1 ypg, 1 TD), Khameron Taylor (11 GP, 5 rec, 67 yds, 13.4 avg, 6.1 ypg)
Letterwinners lost (Key stats): Andrew Reinkemeyer (6 GP), Collier Smith (12 GP, 3 rec, 48 yds, 16.0 avg, 4.0 ypg)
Returning Redshirts/Squad Members (Yr., Hometown, Previous school): Rylee Brown (R-Fr., Moss Point, Miss., Pearl River [Miss.] CC), Destin Myers (R-Fr., Spanish Fort [Ala.] HS)
Newcomers (Yr., Hometown, Previous school): Nick Thompson (Jr., Madison, Miss. Holmes [Miss.] CC), Brandon Crum (Fr., Auburn [Ala.] HS), Todd Justice (Fr., Chelsea [Ala.] HS)
Miscellaneous Notes
-South returns two letterwinners at the position from last season.
-Zac Crosby and Khameron Taylor recorded six of the three receptions recorded by the position group a year ago.
-Crosby's lone reception during the 2018 season was his first career reception – an 11-yard touchdown catch that tied match-up with Memphis less than a minute before the half.
-The touchdown by Crosby was also the lone score registered by the group.
-Both tight ends averaged over 11 yards per catch with Taylor averaging 13.4 yards per reception.
-Junior college transfer Nick Thompson was ranked among the top 15 tight end prospects in the country according to 247Sports.com.
-Freshman Brandon Crum saw action as a defensive lineman, offensive lineman and tight end while lettering three times at Auburn High.
-Two former Jaguar tight ends are currently active in National Football League training camps: Gerald Everett (Los Angeles Rams) and Wes Saxton (Seattle Seahawks).
Assistant Coach Chad Huff
- On his expectations for the group this season: "I'm real excited about the group we have this year with the guys we have returning in Zac Crosby and Khameron Taylor. They both had a really good offseason and a good summer. They are a year older and with their familiarity of our offense, we should be able to expand that position more than we did last year. These guys have come in here and gone to work with our newcomers – Nick Thompson, Brandon Crum. Crum has done a good job of picking up the offense this summer and done some really good things on the field during camp. I feel he's a guy we can use this season as well as a true freshman. We have some other guys who are also working really hard.
"This group comes to work every day, they're physical, they're guys who are athletic enough to move out in space and do some things for us that will give our offense to go from a run set to a pass set without necessarily changing a lot of units in our offense."
- On the growth and development of Crosby and Taylor: "They are both a year older in this system and they've gotten a lot more mature. They've grown as players and gotten stronger in the weight room. They've gotten faster and they are continuing to work on their physical abilities such as staying attached on blocks and playing hard. If we can continue that mentality moving forward, they both have a chance to be really successful."
- On the strengths Crosby and Taylor bring to the group: "Their physical ability to play in the box and their size. They're both strong enough to hold up in the box and they are both athletic enough to get out in space and be utilized in our passing game in play action, and make some explosive plays down the field. I'm looking forward to their continued development and how they come to work. If they'll continue to progress, I believe we'll give ourselves a chance to be successful with the way the offense uses the tight ends."
Zac Crosby
- On what the tight ends do well: "I feel like we're really complete this year. We've got players that can block and go make plays in the passing game. I feel that's going to help out our offense a lot this year because we're really complete."
- On competition at the position: "This summer a big emphasis of our group was to push each other and make each other better. We've really focused on that coming into camp and will continue to focus on that throughout the season because that's how we're going to continue to make each other better."
- On the tight ends having a larger role in the passing game: "We've been working on our involvement in the passing game and just controlling what we can control. I know the coaches will put us in the best position to help us win, so I really feel like we are going to take a step up and make some plays for the team."
Khameron Taylor
- On how he hopes to impact the team this season: "I just want to help the team anyway possible in order to win games whether that's blocking, catching passes or whatever. I'm just eager to help us win because we really want to win; we're tired of losing."
- On what he feels the position group does well: "We're very versatile. All of us have the ability to run, block and catch, so the ways that they are able to use us in the offense are unlimited. We're just ready make the best of every opportunity that we have out there."
- On what he's done to improve himself as a player: "I've worked on my technique – my pass catching, my route running – because I've always been a block-first type of player."
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