Kentucky football expects lively competition among seven tight ends

Things are really, really tight at the tight end position at the University of Kentucky these days.

Seven players were listed there on the spring depth chart, and that has turned spring practice into somewhat of a revolving door for repetitions.

With no clear-cut No. 1 guy, having all the candidates battle on a daily basis is a good thing, according to tight ends coach Greg Nord.

"There's no time to take a play off when there's that much competition," Nord said. "Playing time is the greatest motivator there is. If you want to coast, it's easy to figure out that you won't be the first guy."

Four of the seven players saw action last fall. Senior-to-be Nick Melillo was expected to be the starter but suffered a high ankle sprain in fall camp and missed six games, finishing with one catch on the season. But Nord said Melillo has picked up right where he left off before he got hurt.

"Nick brings toughness to the group, more so than any of the guys," Nord said. "He's a good football player. Don't be shocked if he's the one that trots out there first."

Sophomore Jordan Aumiller took the No. 1 job early in the season and finished with 18 catches for 193 yards and a score en route to Southeastern Conference All-Freshman honors.

By the end of the year, it was another freshman, Tyler Robinson, who had emerged as the starter. Robinson had a career-high four catches and scored his lone TD against his home-state school, Tennessee.

Sophomore Anthony Kendrick, the biggest target of the tight ends at 6-foot-3, 261 pounds, had three receptions on the year.

With nobody getting the lion's share of the reps, each tight end has to make every play count.

"You might go in for a play, and then you've got to wait five or six plays to get back in there," Aumiller said. "But it's all good. We compete with each other, and it's pretty intense, so it makes you realize that you've got to do everything right. You better catch every ball or make every block, or Coach Nord is going to take you out."

Robinson agreed: "It's good for everybody. You've got to earn the spot. There's always pressure. You could start the day No. 1 (on the depth chart) but, by the end of practice, be No. 4. It changes day by day."

Two redshirt freshmen also are trying to get on the field. The UK coaching staff says it likes the athleticism of Ronnie Shields, a 6-5 239-pounder. Alex Smith was the highest-ranked member of the Kentucky recruiting class last year but has struggled to adjust to big-time college football. The list also includes walk-on Gabe Correll.

"Everybody will get a chance to show what they can do," Nord said.

The Cats are so loaded at the position that Coach Joker Phillips said the offense will rely on a lot of two-tight-end sets in the fall.

"We've got to take advantage of our best personnel," he said, "and we're probably deeper there than any other position on the team."

It's too early to speculate on how the rotation will shake out, but Nord said he'd rather have one or two tight ends emerge than rely on a three-, four- or five-player committee.

"You want a couple of guys to jump ahead and be better than the rest and, in my mind, I kind of think I know who that is, but I'm not telling them, and I'm not telling you guys (the media)," Nord said. "I want them all competing their tails off the rest of the spring."

Good day for quarterbacks

Quarterbacks Morgan Newton and Maxwell Smith had perhaps their best combined practice of the spring on Monday. Newton hit two downfield bombs for touchdowns to La'Rod King and Nik Brazley.

Phillips noted the Kentucky passing game struggled last spring before turning it on during the season.

"It is a process," Phillips said. "If you look at the way our spring practices looked last spring, especially in the throwing game it was horrendous. Then you look at the stats, and we were second in the league in passing yardage. We will continue to get better as long as the quarterbacks continue to study and progress the way we want them to. They just have to build on today. They can't go backwards. They have to build on what they did today."

Phillips continues to be high on the potential of Smith, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound freshman.

"He is still a freshman," Phillips said. "He is going to hold on to the ball a little bit longer than needed, and sometimes he doesn't realize the speed of which the game is played at this level. When he knows what to do and plays with great fundamentals (he is going to be good for us). The ball comes out of his hand as good as anybody we have ever had at this stage. As long as Max continues to progress, he will be a good quarterback here at Kentucky for a long time."

UK will practice Friday and Saturday, the last two practices open to the public. Phillips said the team will conclude Saturday's practice with a 25- to 30-play scrimmage that will focus on the passing game.

"One of our big emphases this spring is to make sure we come out of this thing feeling good about our passing game and becoming more efficient with these two quarterbacks," Phillips said.

This story was originally published March 31, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Kentucky football expects lively competition among seven tight ends."