Vince Marrow on Kentucky tight ends: "You cannot fall behind in that room. It's very talented."

On3 imageby:Nick Roush08/24/22

RoushKSR

The tight end position is always a popular topic during the Kentucky football preseason. That has only been amplified since Rich Scangarello arrived in Lexington, bringing with him a system that leaned heavily on the position in San Francisco. The hype train may be getting out of control, but Kentucky’s offensive coordinator doesn’t mind.

“I’ve been hyping those guys up,” said Scangarello. “Competition brings out the best, especially when you got qualities, the character that they have. They’re grinding, they’re improving, I’ve seen them get better. They’re smart and this offense is built for guys like that. I’ve really been pleased with their progress.”

Mark Stoops mirrored those comments on Monday’s Louisville kickoff luncheon. Tight ends coach Vince Marrow can’t wait to see what they’ll do once the season kicks off next Saturday.

“Just know this: we got five good tight ends in there,” Marrow said. “You read between the lines in what that can turn out to be.”

Jordan Dingle is a Swiss Army Knife at Tight End

Of all the talented tight ends, we’ve seen Jordan Dingle the least. The Wildcats were able to retain the former four-star prospect from Bowling Green’s redshirt by limiting him to just four games in 2021. He totaled two catches for 51 yards as a true freshman, but he might receive the most receptions of the group in 2022.

“How I want to describe Jordan is he’s a Swiss Army Knife. He can do it all, but he’s also a guy that’s actually physical. People talk about his catches, but he blocked very physical in the scrimmage,” said Marrow. “That’s the part that gets me, that he’s an all-around guy. To play for me, you gotta be an all-around guy.”

A player with a high football IQ, Marrow can line up Dingle at multiple spots on the field. Most of the players in his room have one specific specialty. Dingle has done a little bit of everything for the Cats in fall camp, particularly during Saturday’s second preseason scrimmage.

“He’s really to me, the most complete guy right now. When I say he’s ahead of those guys, it isn’t big separation, but it’s separation to the point where the other guys are good, but Dingle’s doing some really good stuff.”

Keaton Upshaw Plays Catch Up

Entering the 2021 season few athletes had more hype than Keaton Upshaw. Unfortunately, a preseason injury sidelined the big tight end before he could ever take the field. It’s taken time for him to get back into the swing of things, but the Cats have increased his reps to get him game ready by Sept. 3.

“He had a good practice today. He played the most snaps in the scrimmage Saturday and had two big catches,” said Marrow. “He’s still a little rusty because he missed a couple of days of practice. Keaton’s a 6’6” guy that’s athletic and he had a good practice today. You cannot fall behind in that room. It’s very talented. I know he’s that. He came out and had a real strong practice today.”

While most of the BBN’s focus is on the new tight ends making a splash, Izayah Cummings sometimes gets lost in the shuffle, even though he caught three touchdowns on 14 receptions last fall. During the preseason he’s been rotating in regularly with the entire tight end group. As the season draws near, Kentucky’s offensive coordinator is getting more creative with his play-calls to put Cummings in position to stand out.

“He’s one I’m not worried about.” Marrow said of Cummings. “You remember these guys from last year, in this offense right now I’m just playing guys and we can play four or five guys. There’s going to be times where we have specific plays for Izayah. I’m not worried about Izayah.”

Stay up to date with interviews, podcasts and all things Kentucky football by subscribing to KSR’s YouTube channel.

Discuss This Article

Comments have moved.

Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.

KSBoard

2024-03-28