Miami Hurricanes Football Preview: Tight Ends

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The Miami Hurricanes lost a ton of talent to the NFL Draft this past season. The Canes will have to replace Duke Johnson and Denzel Perryman, but they’ll also have to try and replace the production Clive Walford gave the Hurricanes during his tenure in Miami.

Walford was a third-team All-America last season and his production will be difficult to replace. But that’s how college sports work; someone leaves and someone else has to step up.

Now let’s take a look at some of the people that the coaches and fans will look to for big contributions at the tight end position this season.

Standish Dobard – Junior – 6’4 262 lbs

Standish Dobard is the expected starter for the Hurricanes come September 5th. The junior tight end from New Orleans is a very talented tight end and should be able to contribute for Miami this season.

Dobard recorded just 7 catches for 147 yards last season but that was in backup duties to Walford.

Coming out of high school Dobard was a four-star recruit and is probably the most talented tight end on the roster. Based on all the pictures I’ve seen of him in the off-season, he looks in shape and he looks ready to compete for the starting job.

One thing thing that Dobard needs to show improvement is the ability to hold on to the ball. He fumbled twice last season, which is a fumble every third reception. That’s not good.

It’s Dobard’s job to lose heading into camp, but there are other talented options on the team.

Christopher Herndon IV – Sophomore – 6’4 255 lbs

Christopher Herndon IV is the top competitor to Dobard for the starting job this fall. Herndon possesses great size at 6’4 and over 250 pounds, and he can also run a little bit.

There’s been some buzz on Herndon for quite some time and if he has a good fall, he could be the guy for the Canes against Bethune Cookman. It’ll also be interesting to see how many double tight end sets the Canes will use this season with Dobard and Herndon both out on the field together.

Herndon only appeared in three games last season and is still looking for his first career catch, but he shouldn’t have to wait long for his first catch this season as the Canes open up against Bethune Cookman and that’s always a good stat day for Miami players.

Herndon goes into camp as the backup tight end, but let’s see if he can take the next step and become the starting tight end sometime this season.

David Njoku – Redshirt Freshman – 6’4 240 lbs

David Njoku is probably the best athlete in this tight end group and he probably makes a team to be the most athletic on the team. Njoku was breaking records in high school at high jump and he’s just a physically gifted guy.

At 6’4 240 pounds Njoku has added enough strength to contribute this season. When I asked a friend that was at spring practices he told me that Njoku’s physical tools were there, but he still had some things to learn before taking the next step. I don’t see that as a bad thing because he’s just a second-year player and the Canes aren’t thin at the position, unless there’s an injury to one of the guy’s ahead of him.

The main focus for Njoku will be getting the football knowledge down this fall and then let his physical gifts take over for him. If/when Njoku puts it all together, he’s going to be a really good football player.

Jerome Washington – Redshirt Freshman – 6’5 262 lbs

Coming into camp, Jerome Washington might be one of the most intriguing players — at least to me. This is a guy that came from Gattaca Junior College and Mercer County Community College but is still considered a redshirt freshman and has full eligibility left.

Washington has a college-ready body and a good camp could give him some meaningful reps come the season. He’s still a bit of an unknown at this point, but he was a four-star coming out of JUCO so he definitely has some talent.

With the tight end position being pretty open right now, Washington is one guy to keep an eye out for during fall camp.

Jake O’Donnell – Junior – 6’6 258 lbs

Jake O’Donnell recorded his first catch last season against North Carolina and other than that he’s probably just a special teams body. He’ll get some reps in practice and he’ll be given a shot, but there is just too much talent ahead of him at this time.