Texas has a deep tight end room with a lot of different skill sets to work with in 2025

Last season, Texas tight end Gunnar Helm saw 1054 offensive snaps according to Pro Football Focus. Juan Davis, often as the Longhorns’ second tight end, logged 409 snaps.

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Those numbers indicate that somewhere around 40 percent of the snaps Helm was on the field for featured a second tight end alongside him.

Texas loves to use 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, two wide receivers, one quarterback) and for a variety of reasons. In 2022, the Longhorns made use of 12 personnel with offensive lineman Andrej Karic wearing a number that allowed him to be an eligible receiver. Karic was rarely, if ever, targeted, but his presence alongside Ja’Tavion Sanders forced opponents to have to account for another gap in the Bijan Robinson-fueled run game.

2023 saw Malik Agbo step into Karic’s role, but Texas wasn’t as big on using the “heavy” 12 personnel grouping that season. With receivers like Adonai Mitchell, Xavier Worthy, and Jordan Whittington, the pass game was a threat that opened things up for Jonathon Brooks and CJ Baxter more than an extra O-linemen could. Plus, Texas still used regular 12 personnel often, with Sanders and Helm creating a formidable duo. Two tight ends created conflicts for opposing defensive backs in coverage, especially when Mitchell and Worthy were running deep.

The Longhorns used 12 personnel in 2024, with Helm and Davis as the two tight ends. Davis’ contributions were limited as far as statistics go. He finished with nine catches for 54 yards last season, and though he was viewed as essential personnel, didn’t make the type of impact as a receiver or as a blocker that Helm did.

There’s little doubt Texas is going to use 12 personnel again in 2025, even with receivers like Ryan Wingo, Parker Livingstone, DeAndre Moore, Emmett Mosley V, and others available. Jack Endries is the tip of the spear for Texas’ tight end room, but the variety of body types in Jeff Banks‘ position group should allow for the Longhorns to deploy 12 personnel in several different ways.

“They’re all coming along,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. “They’re all different body types in somewhat different phases in our program. Once we get through Saturday, I think we’re going to have multiple personnel groupings for 12. To the average fan, ‘oh, there’s two tight ends out there.’ I think we’re going to be really specific with what two tight ends are doing what when they’re out there together.

“It’s not just going to be 12 personnel and the first two guys run out. We may have two or three different 12 personnel groupings that we use in conjunction with who are the wideouts that are out there with them, too.”

Let’s define some terms, first.

The two tight end positions for Texas are Y and H.

The Y, which is almost always on the field for Texas, can line up in multiple ways. He can be on the line of scrimmage. He can be a “sniffer,” which has him just off the line of scrimmage. He can be in the backfield. He can split out away from the offensive tackles. This is the mainstay tight end you want on the field for most offensive snaps, conditioning permitting.

The H is the tight end that replaces a wide receiver when 12 personnel is deployed. The H is often off the line of scrimmage in 12 personnel looks while the Y puts his hand in the ground. The player who is the Y in 11 personnel looks sometimes switches to H in order to move around more freely and not be saddled with some of the blocking assignments that fits the other TE’s skill set.

So what might Texas have at TE?

Player	Height	Weight	Class	Primary fit in 12 personnel in 2025
Nick Townsend	6-foot-3	241 pounds	True freshman	H
Spencer Shannon	6-foot-7	252 pounds	3rd-year sophomore	Y
Jordan Washington	6-foot-4	264 pounds	2nd-year sophomore	Y
Emaree Winston	6-foot-1	237 pounds	True freshman	H
Will Randle	6-foot-6	240 pounds	3rd-year sophomore	H
Jack Endries	6-foot-4	236 pounds	4th-year junior	H or Y

What could Texas put on the field? The Longhorns could have Shannon line up by right tackle Brandon Baker while moving Endries around the formation. Texas could also have Washington line up by Trevor Goosby with Townsend moving around.

Endries could line up at Y in some 12 personnel looks, but those instances will likely be few in number. He’ll likely have a snap count similar to Helm’s from 2024 and be the only tight end on the field in most 11 personnel looks. When one of Shannon or Washington joins him on the field in 12 personnel, a selection that seems likely based off intel from the recent scrimmage, Endries will move to H and Washington or Shannon will line up at Y.

As Sarkisian mentioned, some of this is dependent on the wide receivers that’ll be on the field as well. But that dependence might be overstated. However, what if there was a third tight end? Banks didn’t squash that possibility during his time with the media just before camp. Though Texas hasn’t delved into 13 personnel all that often between the 20s, it has utilized it a time or two in goal line situations. And one of those tight ends has been an offensive lineman on a few occasions. This could be where Jaydon Chatman, who wore a receiver eligible number on a zip-up jersey last season, could factor in. Or another young O-lineman could become a tight end option in “heavy 12.”

Futures are bright for Townsend and Winston, but unfortunately Winston recently suffered a shoulder injury that might shelve him for some amount of time. Randle is looking for his first bit of playing time. All three of those players are looking up at Endries on the H pecking order, but could find some action this year.

Shannon has made the most of the opportunity to develop as a player and athlete over the past few years and finds himself as one of Texas two 12 personnel tight ends at the current juncture. Sure, he’s being pushed by Washington, but Shannon is also bringing up the competition level as it pertains to Endries.

The Longhorns have a wide array of options available at tight end. There are different body types in that room, meaning there are different fits. Piecing those fits together as part of the offensive fabric for Arch Manning is one of the Longhorns’ big tasks in camp. But that task should be a fun one for Banks and Sarkisian to sort through as the talent and experience available is tantalizing for the Longhorns’ offensive brain trust.