2023 TCU Football Preview: Tight Ends

The Tight End position was rarely utilized as a pass catching role in the TCU Offense prior to 2022, but with Sonny Dykes’ arrival in Fort Worth it took on a new importance as TEs quintupled the yardage and TD output from 2021. Last season Jared Wiley & Geor’quarius Spivey combined for 381 yards and 5 touchdowns on 35 receptions; the year prior Spivey & Dominic DiNunzio were the leading TE combo, producing just 9 receptions for 78 yards and one score total. Spivey has now transferred back to Mississippi State, QB Max Duggan is with the Los Angeles Chargers, and reigning Broyles Award winning Offensive Coordinator Garrett Riley moved on to Clemson, so what will TE production look like in 2023?

Jared Wiley returns for a fifth collegiate season, following a breakout first season in Fort Worth after transferring to the Horned Frogs from Texas. In 2022, the Temple, TX native not only led the Tight End room in receptions, but finished the season fifth in yards, receptions, and touchdowns. Going into 2023, he’ll only trail WR Savion Williams in returning receiving production for the Frogs. At 6’7”, 255 lbs, Wiley presents a towering target for the TCU offense over the middle and looks primed to build off his strong season

One member of the TE room that could be in for a breakout in 2023 is redshirt sophomore D’Andre Rogers. Despite not yet having a reception through two years in Fort Worth, the former four-star top-10 national TE recruit from Sammamish, WA (apparently a hotbed for Horned Frogs, being the same hometown as TCU Baseball’s Cole Fontenelle) was a standout in TCU’s Spring Game, getting ample work with the first team offense including a touchdown on a Chandler Morris rollout.

Added to the roster this season is freshman TE Lafayette Kaiuway, a District 8-6A first-team All-District selection from Arlington Sam Houston was an early enrollee this spring looking to earn a role in 2023. The rest of the Tight End room has seen very little time on the field with the offense, as only senior Chase Curtis has a reception as a Horned Frog, having hauled in a 37-yard reception vs. Tarleton State. Perhaps some of the players listed as a wide receiver on the TCU roster, such as Jack Bech or Blake Nowell, will actually serve as a pass-catching TE role when called upon, given their size and skills.

While Garrett Riley has left for oranger pastures, the newfound TE production he brought to Fort Worth will likely not depart with him. Arkansas TE Trey Knox had a similar season to that of Wiley in 2022, securing 26 receptions for 296 yards and 5 TDs while playing in the system of new TCU OC Kendall Briles.