If your tight end room includes Pat Freiermuth, it is, by definition, a pretty strong room. But depth is crucial, too, so while Penn State believes it has an All-America-caliber player at the position, the coaching staff has also been busy working to develop the players behind him, none of whom have had an opportunity to gain much experience to date.
Tight ends coach Tyler Bowen said he’s been pleased with the progress that redshirt sophomore Zack Kuntz and redshirt freshman Brenton Strange have shown. Between them, the two backups have made only four catches for 30 yards to date, but they’ve both added weight in anticipation of having bigger roles now that Nick Bowers has graduated.
“A big part of their development has been physical maturity, but I’ve also seen both of those guys mature emotionally and mentally from a football standpoint since they’ve been on campus,” Bowen said. “I think that’s shaping up to be a very important position battle on our offensive unit this year with Nick Bowers leaving, finding a replacement. Obviously, we’re going to utilize multiple tight ends at the position, and I’ve been very pleased with Zack and Brenton, how they’ve approached it in the weight room, how they’ve approached it in the classroom. I think they’re both shaping up to have a pretty special practice session whenever we get that going. I’m excited for both of them, and that will be an important battle.”
The 6-foot-7 Kuntz is up to 254 pounds on Penn State’s recently released spring roster. That’s an improvement of 11 pounds from his listed weight last season and is up nearly 20 pounds from his weight in 2018, when he arrived at Penn State as a rangy 235-pound freshman out of Camp Hill, Pa.
Strange, a four-star prospect from Parkersburg, W.Va., showed up at Penn State weighing 211 pounds, Bowen said, but was listed at 242 on the roster that the team released last month.
“Even as an early enrollee freshman, I don’t think he missed a beat transitioning to the college level,” Bowen said, “whether that was school or practice. He’s got a very good work ethic.”
The Lions have also brought in a four-star true freshman in Theo Johnson, who arrived in January as an early enrollee before having to head back to his native Canada following the COVID-19 outbreak. Johnson was bothered this spring by a shoulder injury he received while practicing for the Under Armour All-America Game, but Bowen said he handled the setback well.
“He came in with a nice emotional maturity, and from that standpoint, I don’t think the transition from high school to college was a huge hurdle for him,” Bowen said. “His first semester, he shows up, he has some adversity his first week, and now he’s finishing the semester virtually. I’ve really been impressed with the way he’s handled it. The big thing for his development this spring is getting him up to speed from a playbook standpoint, and then also doing whatever he can do to be healthy and get as strong as he can in the weight room. He came in with a nice foundation, very similar to Pat from a physical maturity standpoint. He’s a year older coming out of high school with how Canadian high school works.”
As for Freiermuth, Bowen still sees room for improvement as a junior. In his first two seasons, Freiermuth amassed 69 catches for 875 yards and 15 touchdowns, with the latter stat tying Mike Gesicki’s school record for tight ends. He received second-team All-Big Ten notice as a sophomore, and he has higher goals for his junior year, whenever it begins.
“I just want him to continue improving, and I think he would tell you the same thing,” Bowen said. “The big things that we worked on last year coming into his second year were just details in route running. I would say he’s an above-the-line route runner at the tight end position when you look nationally. I think the biggest thing he’s focused on is, how can I be the best all-around tight end in the country? How can I be the best tight end in pass protection? How can I be the best tight end in the run game? How can I be the best tight end in the pass game? How can I be the best tight end on screens? Every facet of tight end play, he has the skill set to excel at. The big thing for him is putting it all together. He’s been able to put together little bits and pieces in his career. Now, being able to have a little bit of a toolbox to put it all together in and be the best all-around tight end in the conference and in the country, I think that’s his goal. We’re working on that in every area.”
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