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Brandon Crum
Scott Donaldson

JAGUAR FOOTBALL POSITION PREVIEW – TIGHT ENDS

8/27/2021 12:18:00 PM

Date: 8/27
Position: Tight Ends
Position Coach: Rob Ezell

Returning Letterwinners (Key stats): Trent Tyre (11 games played, 11 rec., 85 yds, 19 lng, 7.7 avg., 7.7 ypg.); Brandon Crum (10 GP, 9 rec., 81 yds, 1 TD, 36 lg, 9.0 avg, 8.9 ypg); Jacob Hopper (10 GP, 1 rec., 8 yds, 8.0 avg., 0.8 ypg.); Cameron Hatcher-Owens (7 GP, 2 rec., 12 yds, 6.0 avg., 1.7 ypg); Destin Myers (5 GP)

Letterwinners lost (Key stats): None 

Returning Redshirt/Squad Members: (Yr., Hometown, Previous school): Todd Justice (R-Fr., Chelsea HS); Dustin Woodham (Fr., Wicksburg HS)

Newcomers (Yr., Previous school): Lincoln Sefcik (So., Northeastern Oklahoma A&M JC)

Miscellaneous Notes
-Four tight ends recorded at least one reception during the 2020 season. 
-Tyre was the lone player from the position group to play in all 11 games for South, and led the team's tight ends with 85 yards on 11 receptions.
-Tyre's 11 receptions marked the first time since the 2017 campaign that the Jaguars have had a player from the position group to eclipse double digits in the category (Andrew Reinkemeyer – 10).
-Former Jaguar tight end Gerald Everett caught five touchdown passes during the 2016 season, but since the position group has accounted for just five touchdown receptions.
-The player from the position group to record more than one touchdown reception was Maaseiah Francis (2) during the 2017 campaign.
-Crum – and honorable mention all-league selection a year ago – posted the lone score from the group during 2020 with a touchdown reception versus Georgia Southern. He also hauled in career-long 36-yard catch – the longest reception by a Jaguar tight end – in the game versus the Eagles.
-Hopper (10 games) and Meyers (5 games) primarily saw their time on the field blocking on the special teams unit, Hatcher-Owens played in seven games and recorded two receptions for 12 yards against Troy in the annual "Battle For The Belt" to end the season.
-Sefcik ranked among the top six tight ends nationally and among the top five junior-college recruits in Oklahoma by 247Sports as well coming out of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College.

Rob Ezell
- On the depth of the position group: "We're developing quality depth and have a lot of guys in our room that we can trust. I feel all of them will have a role. Some might have a bigger role in a game, but everyone of them have shown during fall camp that they can play, and there will be packages for all of them."
- On where he's seen the group make the most progression since the spring: "I think just the confidence they have in themselves, their abilities and their confidence in knowing what to do. Their confidence continues to grow each day. They just have to continue to build on that. If their able to do that, I think we're going to have a really good group."
- On the versatility of the group and how that will aid in both the running and passing games: "Each guy has his own unique skill set and fits those skill sets with different personnel packages to get them in the game and put themselves in the best position to execute what we need. We have a lot of different guys who are capable of doing different things. Their skill set will determine how we use them in a game."

Brandon Crum
- On the competition and depth at the position: "The competition has been really good for our group. Everybody's going to have a role out here. We've all been swapping out and taking reps so that everyone gets better at the end of the day."
- On the role the tight end position plays in the success of the offense: "I feel the tight ends are able to do everything that's needed of us. We can help out in both the run game and the passing game with our blocking and pass protections."
- On what he brings to the position group: "I feel that I'm pretty good at run blocking and pass setting. I feel that I'm getting better at running my routes every day."

Lincoln Sefcik
- On expectations the position group and the offense: "I feel that we're going to be pretty good offensively as long as we execute and play like we are capable of."
- On the versatility of the group and how that will aid in both the running and passing games: "I feel that a couple of us are capable of being threats in the passing game, as well as helping out with blocking in the run game. Coach Ezell has done a good job coaching us on our technique. He's showed me things that I haven't been taught before that have helped. He's helped us as a group improve our route running."
- On where he's improved the most since arriving on campus: "I'd say that my blocking is where I've seen the most improvement since I arrived. I didn't really have a good first day, but I've worked on improving my technique over the spring and summer, and during fall camp it's improved a lot."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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