Miami football legend Greg Olsen leads Tight End University

Miami football legend Greg Olsen who retired during the 2021 NFL offseason created Tight End University in April with future Pro Football Hall of Famer Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and Pro Bowler George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers. The creation of TEU came after other positions groups help similar gatherings.

Summits of pass rushers, offensive linemen and quarterbacks have occurred in prior offseasons. Tight End University is occurring Wednesday through Friday this week in Nashville. Among the TEs expected to participate in Nashville are Miami football alums Chris Herndon of the New York Jets and David Njoku of the Cleveland Browns.

Herndon and Njoku played together on the Miami football team. The tandem was exceptional for the Hurricanes in 2016. Herndon and Njoku combined for 71 receptions for 1032 yards and 10 touchdowns during the first season under former head coach Mark Richt in 2016. Njoku became a first-round pick of Cleveland in 2017.

Njoku left for the NFL after his redshirt sophomore season. Herndon returned as a senior in 2017. During Miami’s 2017 ACC Coastal Division Championship season Herndon had 40 receptions for 477 yards and four TD as the Hurricanes’ second-leading receiver. Herndon was a fourth-round pick by the Jets in 2018.

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In four seasons with Cleveland, Njoku has 112 receptions for 1,279 yards and 11 TDs. Herndon has 71 receptions for 796 yards and seven TDs in his three NFL seasons. Brevin Jordan who was a fifth-round pick of the Houston Texans in the 2021 NFL Draft is the latest TE from Miami to add to the legacy of the original TE U.

Behind Jordan is fourth-year TE Will Mallory. With Jordan moving on to the NFL, Mallory is expected to have a breakout 2021 season. Jordan finished his Miami career with 105 receptions for 1,358 yards and 13 TDs. Mallory enters the 2021 season with 43 receptions for 659 yards and seven TDs.

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Olsen has 87 receptions for 1,215 yards and six TDs in three seasons with the Miami football program. The Chicago Bears selected Olsen with the 31st pick in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Olsen spent four seasons in Chicago before being traded to the Carolina Panthers where he spent the next nine seasons.

Olsen retired following spending the 2020 season with the Seattle Seahawks. Olsen finished his NFL Career with 742 receptions for 8,683 yards and 60 TDs. During an appearance on Pardon My Take Olsen spoke about what led him, Kelce and Kittle to create TE U.

"“Here’s what used to piss me off as a tight end in the NFL. There’s one position in the NFL that gets all the I never played the position or even played the sport of football before.All these guys that never played tight end, yet alone football and then when they want to make the transition to try in the NFL, they are like ‘yeah, let’s just make that guy a tight end’. I always used to take offense to that. Every minicamp, every training camp, we’d have random guys on our team who never played football.I was like why was the point guard from Auburn was never made a safety? I’d be like, you guys have no idea how hard this sh** is.”"

Olsen made it a point speaking to Yahoo Sports that players who switch positions will not be invited to TE U until they have played the position in the NFL. Former Miami basketball player Jimmy Graham has been a Pro Bowl TE in the NFL but did not play football until his hoops career concluded with the Hurricanes.

Olsen leading TE U with Cincinnati alum Kelce and Iowa alum Kittle should help Miami continue to be TE U. The Hurricanes have continued to produce TEs even during mediocre seasons. Olsen is top 10 in receptions and receiving yards among TEs in NFL History. The experience and expertise Olsen brings at TE is exceptional.