Saturday, August 16, 2008

Less of a Factor

One thing that was a fixture in the Aggie offense the last 2 1/2 seasons has been the tight end in the passing game.

Nick Cleaver was a reliable target for Chase Holbrook, since Hal Mumme moved him from safety to TE in Cleaver's sophomore season. He is now gone though and the team could possibly see a reduced role from that position this year.

Actually, I think it's a certainty that this spot will see decreased significance on the field. NMSU is loaded at wide receiver and, while I like prospects Ryan Franzoy and Kyle Nelson, they're still a ways away from being effective fulltime on the field.

Cleaver was a good player there for the Aggies. His departure leaves a void, one that will be filled by one of the team's speedy receivers. Still, it will be a different look for a team that has grown accustomed to having a reliable tight end running routes underneath. I'm sure the talent out wide will make up for his loss, however.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree. The TE is not going to be use much. We are very very deep at WR, so we are either going to see 4 or 5 WR out there everytime. NMSU is going to pass a lot this year.

Anonymous said...

The TE spot was almost a non factor.
Cleaver had a down year last year and was fairly irrelevant.
Too many dropped balls and injuries.

Franzoy showed off some hands during the spring.
Nelson is good player but, a litle on the soft side.

I don't care who's our TE. As long as they can block and catch (and hold on to the ball) those 4-5 passes each game!