‘He’s just so smart.’ This Kentucky football breakout candidate is making good on hype.
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Preview: Vanderbilt at Kentucky
Click below to read more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s preview coverage ahead of Saturday’s Kentucky-Vanderbilt football game scheduled for noon at Kroger Field in Lexington.
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Tight end was supposed to be one of the deepest positions on Kentucky’s football roster.
On the first day of preseason camp, offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello predicted four to five of the Wildcats’ tight ends would ultimately play in the NFL. With Scangarello bringing a version of the offense that showcased tight end George Kittle with the San Francisco 49ers, all those tight ends were expected to be popular targets for quarterback Will Levis.
Nine games into the season, three tight ends are still playing significant snaps for the Wildcats, but the tight end targets in the passing game have largely settled on just one player: redshirt freshman Jordan Dingle.
“He’s just so smart,” Levis said of Dingle. “He works his tail off. His attitude is as good as anyone else’s on the team. Very quiet. Doesn’t say anything unless it’s positive or adding to what’s being said at the moment. He’s established himself as the premier tight end on our team right now. I think that’s been pretty evident in these last few weeks.”
On the season, Dingle has tallied 17 catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns, but seven of those receptions have come in the last two games.
Only one other tight end has caught a pass in the last three games.
At Missouri, Levis converted two third downs with completions to Dingle, including a 17-yard gain on third-and-11 on the opening touchdown drive. He also hit the 6-foot-4, 236-pound tight end for a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
At Tennessee, the big play of Kentucky’s lone touchdown drive was a 24-yard over-the-shoulder pass from Levis to Dingle.
“That over-the-shoulder catch is a hard catch for a big man,” Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said. “He makes it look easy. Not everyone can make those catches. He’s blocking well and doing a lot of good things.”
Tight ends coach Vince Marrow describes Dingle as his Swiss army knife, capable of contributing in a variety of roles in the offense. That versatility has been on full display as Dingle lines up attached to the line of scrimmage, split out wide or in the backfield.
Dingle was a popular preseason pick as a breakout candidate for Kentucky, but the presence of multiple veteran tight ends on the roster made it hard to foresee him becoming so essential to the offensive scheme.
Senior Brenden Bates continues to play a prominent role but has been used primarily as a blocker in recent weeks. Senior Keaton Upshaw has not caught a pass since week three. Junior Izayah Cummings’s only offensive touch this season came on an end-around run at Ole Miss after emerging as a frequent target for Levis last season.
Kentucky’s second-most productive tight end at the moment is freshman Josh Kattus. The son of former NFL tight end Eric Kattus, Josh broke into the rotation thanks to his reputation as an elite blocker to aid a struggling offensive line. He recorded his first career reception in the win at Missouri.
“My dad has always told me play to the whistle, play to the whistle, play to the whistle,” Kattus said. “Each play I’m just going to give it my all. That’s all I can do. There’s a lot of talented football players out there, but I really feel like even though you’re not the biggest, the fastest, the strongest if you attack them and have that mindset that you’re going to go after them every play then you can be successful out there.”
Each of Kentucky’s five scholarship tight ends have eligibility remaining, but it is unlikely all five will be back with the Wildcats next season. UK holds commitments from Ohio prep tight end Tanner Lemaster and Pleasure Ridge Park hybrid tight end/wide receiver Jakob Dixon in its 2023 class.
Regardless of how the rest of the tight end room looks next season, recent performance suggests Kentucky has a strong nucleus to build around for the future.
“It says a lot about how good (Dingle and Kattus) are because those other players are good players too,” Scangarello said. “And they’re proven players. Bates has been banged up this year and it’s affected him, but they’ve earned that right just through solid play.
“Whether it’s blocking or route-running or pass-catching or the reliability, the availability, all of it, those guys have got a lot of grit. They’re really special, talented players. You could see it early on. I really feel like we’ve got two really special freshman players that are going to be a really big part of our future.”
Nexg game
Vanderbilt at Kentucky
When: Noon Saturday
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Vanderbilt 3-6 (0-5 SEC), Kentucky 6-3 (3-3)
Series: Kentucky leads 48-42-4.
Last meeting: Kentucky won 34-17 on Nov. 13, 2021, in Nashville.
This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 7:53 AM.
