Boden Groen impressing at tight end, getting first team reps
Boden Groen’s transition from Rice to Kansas has gone smoothly, especially for how quickly everything happened. Groen went in the spring transfer portal and landed with KU in mid-May.
After recovering from a season-ending shoulder injury last year, the transfer tight end is feeling healthy and already making an impact in fall camp. He said working with Matt Gildersleeve helped the transition.
“Summer was great,” Groen said. “I really loved the summer program. Sleeve did a great job. He’s got a great program. I enjoyed that. It was great just getting that step up in resources. I was able to put on some extra weight, get my body composition a little bit better with everything we have available here.”
Catching on fast after arriving
Groen, who appeared in only a few games last season due to injury, is already seeing reps with the first-team offense. He credits a strong summer and returning healthy has been a big key.
“Through my first week, I was happy with how I came out,” he said. “I felt like I did pretty well for knocking the rust off and getting back into it after a while. It’s really a blessing. The medical staff at Rice and the doctors down there did a phenomenal job on my shoulder, so I feel great.”
Groen, who was productive at Rice, says the adjustment has more to do with the structure of practice than learning a new playbook.
In 2023 he ranked second among all tight ends in the AAC. He pulled in 39 catches which ranks sixth all-time at Rice.
“We kind of ran everything there was in the book at Rice,” he said. “It’s just adapting to how practices are run, different individual drills, the flow of everything. These guys have been great bringing me along.”
Kansas tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator Matt Lubick liked how Groen arrived and the fast progress he made. Playing three years at the division one level helped and he caught on rapidly to the system.
“Boden has made tremendous progress,” Lubick said. “He was not here in the spring. He got here in the summer, and to his credit, he’s picked it up way faster than I thought. He’s done a great job. We’re repping him in the first huddle, and he hasn’t missed a beat.
“He’s been very mentally sound. He’s physical, he’s athletic. We knew he would be a good football player, but the fact that he’s picked it up so fast and he’s able to rep with the ones is pretty impressive.”
There is talent in the tight end room
He is impressed with his new position group and talent in the room.
“These guys are all really good,” Groen said. “Everybody knows their stuff. Everyone’s really consistent. Usually, you go into a room and see that there’s a slacker or somebody like that. We’ve got nobody that’s checked out.”
Groen hopes to help the Kansas offense in his final year of eligibility. He believes he has the ability to do that.
“You know, I’ve caught a lot of balls,” he said. “I think I run pretty good routes. I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I think I run pretty good routes. I’m not afraid to stick my face in there and hit some people. I pride myself on that too.”
He got hooked up with Kansas through a connection on the Rice staff. He started the process with Kansas General Manager Rob Ianello and everything developed from there.
“The old wide receivers coach at Rice is best friends with Coach Ianello, so he was kind of big in getting me here,” Groen said. “I really liked the offense and how all the schemes were run.”
