Miami football team expects to use tight ends more

Due to their issues on the offensive line, the Miami football team has had to keep their tight ends in to block more often than they wanted. Expect to see Brevin Jordan and Will Mallory used more as receivers in the final four games of the season.

Sophomore tight end Brevin Jordan has made a big impact as a receiver in his first two seasons with the Miami football program. Jordan has 61 receptions for 734 yards and six touchdowns in 17 games as a Hurricane. That is one game more than a full NFL season. Jordan leads Miami with 447 receiving yards this season.

The Las Vegas native is second with 29 receptions, two receiving TDs and 447 yards from scrimmage. Will Mallory has yet to make his mark with the Miami football program. He has eight receptions for 107 yards and two TDs in two years with the Hurricanes. Mallory has three receptions for 70 yards and a TD in 2019.

When offensive coordinator Dan Enos was hired by Manny Diaz to head the offense for the Miami football team in January he was lauded as using the tight end often. The Hurricanes woes on the offensive line have necessitated using Jordan and Mallory as blockers more often then he would like. Miami is 126th in sacks allowed in FBS.

Enos stated they plan to utilize the TEs more in the passing game in the future. Miami will face a good Florida State defensive line in Tallahassee Saturday. The Seminoles are 21st in the country averaging three sacks per game. Jordan burned Florida State with the game-winning 41-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter in 2018.

"“We would like to get Brevin out on every route structure, but with the way our games have gone, we don’t want to put our guys at risk with protection issues on early downs…Brevin is an outstanding blocker, so we will continue to use him in protection. As we get going, we will use him more and more in the passing game.We knew this Pittsburgh defense was going to be a difficult challenge and they were as advertised. We certainly want to get Brevin as many opportunities to get open and catch the ball as we can. With Will, it has been a little bit of bad luck to be honest with you.We have had him open a few times and we were unable to get it to him either because of an errant throw or a protection issue. We have a lot of confidence in Will Mallory to be a very good player here. He is a young player and will continue to develop.He is a really good player and he does a great job of preparing every week. There will be a game before it is all said and done when we say oh wow that was his breakout game. We are very happy with his progress.”"

After getting off to a hot start this season, Jordan has been held in check by Virginia, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh in the last three games. The Las Vegas native has six receptions for 77 yards without a TD in the wins over Virginia and Pittsburgh and loss to Georgia Tech. Mallory has not caught a pass since Central Michigan in September.

The sophomore from Jacksonville has yet to fulfill the expectations that the double tight end set he and Jordan would provide matchup problems for opposing teams. Jordan and Mallory have graded out as good pass blockers this season. The expectation when they came to Miami was a dynamic pass-catching duo.

Jordan has lived up to that promise and is on pace to exceed his numbers from his 2018 freshman season. Mallory has yet to accomplish much in the passing game. From Pro Football Focus via Inside the U, Jordan graded out with a 75.9 pass-blocking grade against Pittsburgh on seven snaps in pass protection.

Inside the U reported that PFF graded Mallory as helping in pass protection on 31 snaps this season with a pass-blocking grade from PFF of 69.5. Jordan and Mallory have provided Miami with critical help up front in pass protection. Next is getting them involved in the passing game together.