Miami football still top 5 sending tight ends to NFL
The Miami football program has an extensive history of producing tight ends. That has continued over the last five seasons in an article examining which school is TE U in that time frame.
Twenty tight ends from the Miami football program have been selected all-time in the NFL Draft. That history began with Jim Cox who was a second-round pick, 54th overall taken by the Miami Dolphins in 1968. The history of Hurricanes TEs taken in the NFL Draft has continued over the last five seasons.
David Njoku was a first-round pick, 29th overall by the Cleveland Browns in 2017. Cleveland traded up to select the 2017 All-ACC Honorable Mention TE. Njoku finished the 2017 season with 43 receptions for 698 yards, eight touchdowns and averaged 16.2 yards per reception.
Njoku and Chris Herndon IV gave Miami a potent double TE set that caused opponents mismatches. The current Hurricanes duo of juniors Brevin Jordan and Will Mallory has the potential to do the same. Herndon became a star in his own right after Njoku left for the NFL with two years of eligibility remaining.
Herndon caught 28 passes for 334 yards and two TDs as a junior in 2016. As the primary TE for the Miami football team in 2017 as a senior, Herndon had 40 receptions for 477 yards and four TDs. In an examination of which school produces the best TEs over the last five years, 247Sports ranked Miami fifth.
Who's the real Tight End U? It's probably who you'd expect, finds @bartonsimmons https://t.co/UooL43PEZi pic.twitter.com/55TWCmp89h
— 247Sports (@247Sports) June 14, 2020
"“So, we’ll call it Position U but we’re not interested in what happened decades ago. We’re interested in the here and the now. Specifically, we’ve looked at which programs have had the most success producing NFL Draft picks within the last five years.We measured that success by tallying the draft picks and assigning one point for a seventh rounder, seven points for a first rounder and the corresponding values in between.T-5. MIAMI (With Notre Dame)Points: 11Draft picks: 2First-rounder David Njoku back in 2017 and fourth-rounder Chris Herndon in 2018 put Miami on this list and both were significant upside developmental prospects.Both were mid-level three-stars with limited Power 5 recruiting interest that parlayed unique frames and athletic traits into the kind of modern-day athletic skillset that the tight end position is trending towards.Miami is likely to stay on this list with the guy it currently has on campus in Brevin Jordan, a more highly-recruited prospect that has emerged as one of the top tight ends in college football."
The rankings are done using a formula and not debatable. Past elite TEs from Miami like Greg Olsen and Jimmy Graham although still in the NFL fall outside the parameters stated in the article. While 247 mentions the ceiling Jordan has, Mallory is situated to have a collegiate career similar to Herndon.
Njoku and Herndon signed with Miami in the Class of 2014, like Jordan and Mallory were 2018 signees. Jordan and Mallory were higher ranked players as the number one and ninth-ranked TEs in the class. Herndon was the 32nd ranked TE and Njoku 66th in the Class of 2014. Herndon and Njoku far exceeded their rating.
Next. Miami Hurricanes almost still tight end U. dark
Mallory thrived with Jordan out injured in the final three games of 2019. In losses to FIU, Duke and Louisiana Tech, Mallory had 12 receptions for 206 yards. Mallory has 21 receptions for 330 yards and three TDs in his career. Jordan is likely to leave for the NFL Draft after the 2020 season. Mallory should excel in 2021.