Post by bear38 on May 27, 2015 13:49:07 GMT -5
SoCon Football 2015: Ranking The Top 5 Tight Ends
By SoCon John
GREENVILLE, S.C. —The Southern Conference has had its share of well recognized tight ends over the years. Some of the league’s best tight ends in recent memory have come from Furman, having produced the likes of Paul Siffri (1988–91), Luther Broughton (1993–96), Trent Sansbury (1998–2001) and Colin Anderson (2009–12).
Furman, however, is not alone in having produced some of the league’s elite tight ends over the years, as former members Marshall and Appalachian State and current members Wofford and Chattanooga are all programs that have had tight ends that have been highly productive in past seasons.
One of the former Marshall tight ends that comes to mind is Brian Dowler — son of former Green Bay Packer tight end of Boyd Dowler — who was one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the golden age of Southern Conference football back in the late 1980s and early ‘90s.
At Appalachian State, guys like Jeff Vollmer (1992–95), Frank Leatherwood (1995–98), Daniel Wilcox (1997–2000) and Daniel Bettis (2002–06) were all talented pass-catchers as well as being solid blockers. Chattanooga has probably the most recent standout come through the league as a pass-catching tight end, in Fayshal Shafaat (2011–14), who finished his career as the program’s best pass-catching tight end and one of its best pass-catchers in school history.
This season, the league has a talented crop to keep an eye on, with Furman’s Duncan Fletcher — a former quarterback — and Mercer’s Robert Brown being among the nation’s best at catching the ball down field. Without further discussion, let’s take a look at the SoCon’s top five tight ends.
Duncan Fletcher — Furman
1.Duncan Fletcher (Furman) — Duncan Fletcher started his career as a quarterback for Furman, helping the Paladins to a memorable win at The Citadel in 2013, as the Paladins’ third-string signal-caller. Now, a little less than two years later, Fletcher is considered among the elite pass-catching tight ends in the FCS.
In his first season catching the football for the Paladins, Fletcher hauled in 36 passes for 442 yards and a pair of TD passes, averaging 12.5 yards-per-catch. Fletcher no doubt fits the mold of former tight ends like Colin Anderson, who interestingly enough, also came to Furman as a quarterback before converting to tight end.
Robert Brown — Mercer
1. Robert Brown (Mercer) — Bobby Lamb has one of the league’s best tight ends in nation as a part of the Bears’ prolific ground attack, returning junior tight end Robert Brown to the fold for the 2015 season.
Brown comes off a 2014 season having hauled in 10 passes for 246 yards and hauled in a pair of scoring passes. The Nashville, TN product finished his second season in Macon averaging an impressive 18.9 YPC.
Brown’s career numbers speak for themselves during his short career with the Bears, having hauled in just 31 passes for 554 yards and 13 TDs during his two seasons.
3. Tony Philpot (Samford) — One of the reasons the Samford offense seemed to be clicking on all cylinders was the reliability of its receivers adjusting to a new quarterback.
One of those of receiving threats was tight end Tony Philpot, who comes into his junior season off a campaign which saw him haul in nine passes for 128 yards and a pair of scores.
For his career, Philpot enters his third season for the Bulldogs having hauled in 22 passes for 275 yards and four TDs. He will once again be a key receiving threat for the Bulldogs this fall.
4. Michael Helms, Jr (Western Carolina) — Michael Helms Jr. didn’t see much of the football this past season, with the Catamounts fielding some of the league’s most talented wideouts, however, when he got the ball, he was able to make some big plays down the field.
Helms excels in his role as a blocker in the Catamount ground attack. In 2014, Helms completed the season with six catches for 80 yards, averaging an impressive 13.3 YPC last fall.
Helms has had a productive career donning the Catamount Purple and Gold, as he has hauled in a total of 23 passes for 261 yards and a TD in his first two seasons in Cullowhee. He split time with Tyler Sexton at tight end last season.
5. Zach Muller (Wofford) — Zach Muller comes into his senior season as an integral part of the Wofford offense. Muller finished out the 2014 season with 11 catches for 114 yards and a TD last season. He ranked as Wofford’s third-leading receiver.
By SoCon John
GREENVILLE, S.C. —The Southern Conference has had its share of well recognized tight ends over the years. Some of the league’s best tight ends in recent memory have come from Furman, having produced the likes of Paul Siffri (1988–91), Luther Broughton (1993–96), Trent Sansbury (1998–2001) and Colin Anderson (2009–12).
Furman, however, is not alone in having produced some of the league’s elite tight ends over the years, as former members Marshall and Appalachian State and current members Wofford and Chattanooga are all programs that have had tight ends that have been highly productive in past seasons.
One of the former Marshall tight ends that comes to mind is Brian Dowler — son of former Green Bay Packer tight end of Boyd Dowler — who was one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the golden age of Southern Conference football back in the late 1980s and early ‘90s.
At Appalachian State, guys like Jeff Vollmer (1992–95), Frank Leatherwood (1995–98), Daniel Wilcox (1997–2000) and Daniel Bettis (2002–06) were all talented pass-catchers as well as being solid blockers. Chattanooga has probably the most recent standout come through the league as a pass-catching tight end, in Fayshal Shafaat (2011–14), who finished his career as the program’s best pass-catching tight end and one of its best pass-catchers in school history.
This season, the league has a talented crop to keep an eye on, with Furman’s Duncan Fletcher — a former quarterback — and Mercer’s Robert Brown being among the nation’s best at catching the ball down field. Without further discussion, let’s take a look at the SoCon’s top five tight ends.
Duncan Fletcher — Furman
1.Duncan Fletcher (Furman) — Duncan Fletcher started his career as a quarterback for Furman, helping the Paladins to a memorable win at The Citadel in 2013, as the Paladins’ third-string signal-caller. Now, a little less than two years later, Fletcher is considered among the elite pass-catching tight ends in the FCS.
In his first season catching the football for the Paladins, Fletcher hauled in 36 passes for 442 yards and a pair of TD passes, averaging 12.5 yards-per-catch. Fletcher no doubt fits the mold of former tight ends like Colin Anderson, who interestingly enough, also came to Furman as a quarterback before converting to tight end.
Robert Brown — Mercer
1. Robert Brown (Mercer) — Bobby Lamb has one of the league’s best tight ends in nation as a part of the Bears’ prolific ground attack, returning junior tight end Robert Brown to the fold for the 2015 season.
Brown comes off a 2014 season having hauled in 10 passes for 246 yards and hauled in a pair of scoring passes. The Nashville, TN product finished his second season in Macon averaging an impressive 18.9 YPC.
Brown’s career numbers speak for themselves during his short career with the Bears, having hauled in just 31 passes for 554 yards and 13 TDs during his two seasons.
3. Tony Philpot (Samford) — One of the reasons the Samford offense seemed to be clicking on all cylinders was the reliability of its receivers adjusting to a new quarterback.
One of those of receiving threats was tight end Tony Philpot, who comes into his junior season off a campaign which saw him haul in nine passes for 128 yards and a pair of scores.
For his career, Philpot enters his third season for the Bulldogs having hauled in 22 passes for 275 yards and four TDs. He will once again be a key receiving threat for the Bulldogs this fall.
4. Michael Helms, Jr (Western Carolina) — Michael Helms Jr. didn’t see much of the football this past season, with the Catamounts fielding some of the league’s most talented wideouts, however, when he got the ball, he was able to make some big plays down the field.
Helms excels in his role as a blocker in the Catamount ground attack. In 2014, Helms completed the season with six catches for 80 yards, averaging an impressive 13.3 YPC last fall.
Helms has had a productive career donning the Catamount Purple and Gold, as he has hauled in a total of 23 passes for 261 yards and a TD in his first two seasons in Cullowhee. He split time with Tyler Sexton at tight end last season.
5. Zach Muller (Wofford) — Zach Muller comes into his senior season as an integral part of the Wofford offense. Muller finished out the 2014 season with 11 catches for 114 yards and a TD last season. He ranked as Wofford’s third-leading receiver.
