Junior tight end who has the ability to be an all-conference performer... the only experienced tight end on the squad following the early departure of Jared Cook to the NFL... provides a big target and a difficult matchup for opponents with his 6-5, 280-pound frame... has a good knowledge of the passing game and has made some improvements in run blocking... brings toughness and leadership... has caught 28 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns in his first two seasons in Columbia... has made three career starts. 2008: Appeared in all 13 games, making three starts... caught 16 passes for 214 yards, an average of 13.4 yards per catch... caught three touchdown passes, second on the squad behind McKinley... made his first collegiate start against Wofford... also had starts against Ole Miss and Tennessee... caught a seven-yard touchdown pass for the game-winning points at Kentucky... caught a 26-yard touchdown pass against LSU... had his best game at Clemson when he caught four passes for 58 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown reception... named the Most Improved Tight End in the spring. 2007: Put together a solid freshman campaign that saw him garner Freshman All-SEC honors by the Sporting News... was a Sporting News Honorable Mention Freshman All-America and a CollegeFootballNews.com third-team Freshman All-America... played in 11-of-12 games, missing only the South Carolina State contest... caught 12 passes for 151 yards, an average of 12.6 yards per reception... had a season-high four receptions for 32 yards at LSU... caught a 48-yard pass, the longest of his career, against Kentucky and appeared to be going into the end zone for a score when the ball was dislodged from his hands... had three catches for 31 yards versus Florida. HIGH SCHOOL: Played tight end and defensive end for Riverside High School in Durham, N.C... coached by Tommy Blalock... helped the Pirates reach the 4-AA state championship game... team finished the season 11-5 after starting the year 3-4... caught 58 passes for 718 yards with seven touchdowns... also had 242 yards rushing with 10 scores on just 32 carries... logged 86 tackles and eight sacks as a defensive end... was a Shrine Bowl participant... was all-region and all-conference as a junior after recording 20 catches for 308 yards and six touchdowns at tight end, and 52 tackles, four sacks, 14 TFLs and two forced fumbles at defensive end... given a four-star ranking by both Scout.com and Rivals.com... Scout.com considered him the 18th-best tight end prospect in the nation... was the eighth-best player in the state of North Carolina according to Rivals.com. |
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