Film Room: Josh Kattus

The dice are hot over at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. After landing three high-caliber commitments over the weekend, the Wildcats got back into Ohio to score another recruiting win for Vince Marrow in the Cincinnati area.

Josh Kattus is a mid-three star prospect out of Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller. The son of a former Michigan and NFL tight end, Kattus will be bringing tremendous positional size and an impressive pedigree to the Kentucky football program. The top-40 prospect in the talent-rich state of Ohio had 10 Power Five offers to go along with some Ivy League looks from Princeton, Yale, and Penn.

It is now time to step into the KSR Film Room to see what type of player Marrow will be adding to his position room. Kattus is a big boy blocker at the point of attack that punishes defenders to go with some impressive ball skills for a player his size in the passing game.

We’ve all heard about the wide zone scheme that Liam Coen is bringing from the Los Angeles Rams to Kentucky. The outside running scheme calls for more from the offensive line, but the tight end will be heavily involved as well. With the offense planning to use plenty of 11 and 12 personnel, the tight end will help anchor the wide zone while also being heavily utilized in other run schemes. Kattus has been very good at exceeding in the outside zone while playing for Archbishop Moeller.

On both clips above, the offense runs a version of the wide zone. On each rep, Kattus lined up as an in-line tight end leading the way. In the first clip, lateral agility is shown off by the young tight end as he gets moving laterally and easily takes on a knifing linebacker. Kattus uses great hand placement by landing his right hand on the back of the shoulder pad and it allows the offensive player to drive the defender out of the play. In the second clip, the leg drive is shown as Kattus does another great job with hand placement getting into the defender’s chest and finishing off the blocks with a pancake nearly 10 yards down the field.

Blocking is the best part of this three-star prospect’s game, but it is not just found inside. Kattus is split out a lot and logs plenty of snaps in the slot. The offense calls for him to make blocks on the perimeter and the young player delivers consistently in space.

Kattus does a very good job playing in control and keeping a wide base. The tight end does not look uncomfortable and keeps a good tracking distance between him and the defender. He lets the action of the play develop and that brings the defender to him. The left hand comes out too wide, but the right-hand placement is perfect. The power takes over once locked on, and another pancake block is delivered.

Kattus had a limited role in Moeller’s pass game recording just 12 receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns as a junior. The route tree is small, but some good things show up on tape.

The tight end consistently ran a pop pass route up the seam that we’ve seen Kentucky have some success with in the past. Elsewhere, there were a lot of slants ran out of the slot. Also, the big guy would line up wide in the red zone to win some one-on-one jump ball situations. No matter where he lined up, Kattus does a great job attacking the football and is a very natural pass catcher. The ball skills are evident with the impressive one-hand snag. With the ball in his hands, the tight end is extremely tough to tackle.

Both Brenden Bates and Carrington Valentine came from the Archbishop Moeller program, and each is on their way to having very successful careers at Kentucky. Specifically, the state of Ohio has been very good to the Kentucky tight ends room. Kattus is an absolute fit for a pro-style offense.

A physical blocker that has very solid technique and underrated athleticism to pull off many different types of blocks. The route-running appears to be limited, but sure hands show up on tape and the natural catch ability should transfer to the next level. At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, Kattus has the frame and play strength to contribute to a college team right now. Add in the impressive pedigree and there is a lot to like about this young tight end prospect.

The tight end position figures to be a very important one in the new offense, and Kentucky just landed a player with top-notch blocking skills combined with what should be a reliable possession weapon in the intermediate passing game.