Survey the current IU football roster and you’ll find all six tight ends have something in common.
They’re all freshmen.
“That room is really young,” coach Curt Cignetti said at Big Ten media day. “Really young.”
Yes, some are redshirt freshmen, or second-years if you prefer in this new age of five-year eligibility. But when it comes to meaningful experience, none of the six have much of it. That includes the spring, when injuries sidelined multiple players in the tight end room.
That’s about to change of course, and on Monday Cignetti named the three who have separated themselves over the course of the spring and summer.
“(Brock) Schott has had good moments, as has (Trevor) Gibbs,” Cignetti said. “From a blocking standpoint and a receiving standpoint, just trying to get them better because they are young, but we are going to be counting on (Andrew) Barker, Schott and Gibbs, for sure, then we will figure out that fourth one.”
All of Barker, Schott and Gibbs are from northern Indiana — Kokomo, Fort Wayne and Crown Point, respectively.
Schott (6-foo-3, 241 pounds) played in two games last year at Miami (Florida) and caught two passes for 24 yards. Barker (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) played in one game for IU last season against Kennesaw State. And Gibbs (6-foot-2 and 241 pounds) arrived on campus in January and required foot surgery, forcing him to miss spring practice.
Schott and Barker are the only two of the six who have played in a college game. And Schott is the only one who has caught a pass.
Blake Thiry (6-foot-4, 236 pounds) was with IU last year but didn’t see the field as he added weight and learned to play on the line.
A fourth tight end from Indiana, Parker Elmore (6-foot-4, 239 pounds) from Columbus has promise but is very young and missed his sophomore and junior high school seasons due to an injury and an eligibility issue.
And P.J. MacFarlane (6-foot-5, 205 pounds) just arrived on campus this summer.
It’s a very different scenario from last season when the Hoosiers could put three experienced seniors on the field in Riley Nowakowski, Holden Staes and James Bomba. And the year before that it was Zach Horton. Those veteran players provided a foundation from which Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan could build the offense.
They’ll have no such luxury this season.
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
