OXFORD, Ohio— It sounds like the beginning of a riddle.
Q: How do you know if the tight end is doing a good job?
A: If no one is talking about them.
"As a tight end in our offense, you've got to do all the dirty jobs," said Miami offensive coordinator
Pat Welsh, who also doubles as the RedHawks' tight ends coach. "You've got to do everything that's asked, and it's almost like, 'If you don't talk about the tight end, he's doing a good job!' The times we talk about him, he's not doing the right thing."
"We always say it's the most versatile position," head coach
Chuck Martin summarized. "You've got to run block. You've got to pass block. You've got to run short routes. You've got to run deep routes. You might flex out and play wideout, or sometimes we'll put them in the backfield in pass protection and let them block.
"They have more jobs to do than anybody on the field…it's a lot to learn."
Welsh said this is the youngest group he's ever had in 11 years of coaching Miami tight ends. "We've been old and really talented for a long time. Now we're really talented and really young," he commented.
As a redshirt senior,
Brian Shane is one of the 'elder statesmen' at the position for the Red and White.
"We do it all: Whatever the coaches ask of us," Shane said. "In any situation, just being prepared and ready to do anything. It's also really fun and cool to be able to do that…you get to do a little bit of everything.
"We've just got to stay ready."
Miami is scheduled to practice again on Sunday morning, August 10 in Oxford.
WE HAVE A SITUATION: Being prepared in any situation is not only the life motto of a tight end, but it was also a key theme of practice today, since Miami spent a good portion of the morning working on situational drills. The first-team and second-team units both got reps in the four-minute offense (trying to run clock with the lead while backed up to their one-yard line) and the two-minute drill (trying to push the ball down the field in the final minute with no timeouts to score quickly).
"We go over a lot of different stuff so when gameday comes, it's just second nature and we can get right into it," Shane explained.
"When we do our first four-minute and first two-minute [reps], it's never good, and it wasn't good today," Martin said in a post-practice interview. "But that's how they learn…The whole thing in those stressful situations: You have to have your fundamentals, your technique, and your mindset so ingrained in you. That's what we do it for…everybody has to be calm and focused in a situation where it's hard to be calm and focused…
"We're going to have amazing tape and we're going to learn and come back and do it again and get better. That's the process…just [keep] moving forward."
"We try to simulate a bunch of chaos on the sideline and see who can react," Welsh added. "Who can calm things down, who can see the signal, who can get lined up, and who can block out all the noise that comes when you're playing on the road in Big Ten stadiums and championship stadiums.
"Focus on your fundamentals, get the call, execute, and make plays."
TOUCHDOWNS, BROWNS: Anyone watching the Cleveland Browns preseason game Friday night saw not one, but two former RedHawk receivers find the end zone in the NFL. Cade McDonald, who spent the last two seasons of his college career in Oxford, caught a six-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter against the Panthers. Gage Larvadain, part of Miami's 2023 MAC Championship team, had a four-yard touchdown rush earlier in the Browns' eventual 30-10 victory.
"To see them have success isn't a surprise, but it brings me a ton of joy and a ton of pride," said Welsh, who traded text messages with both wideouts after their successful evening on national television. "It's an example for everybody in our program…it highlights what our program does. We bring guys in that love football and love to compete and then we develop them and get them ready to play at the second level. It's important for everybody in our program to see where those guys came from, what they did here having success, and then what that success is leading to at the next level."
EYEBALL EMOJI: Redshirt freshman running back
D'Shawntae Jones had several strong runs between the tackles at Yager this morning, including a touchdown in an early red zone team period that got the offense fired up. Jones collided with safety
Leo Colombi later in one of the most physical hits of the day —a good play by both the offense and defense— and he finished practice with a carry for a gain that set up the best formation in football: The victory kneel-down.
INSIDE SLANT: Early in practice, Welsh oversaw a ball security drill where Miami skill-position players took turns high-stepping over five obstacle pads laid end-to-end at 90-degree angles on the ground before ducking under a bar at the end of the rep. As each player went through the exercise, three different staffers slammed the ballcarrier with arm pads.
"In open air, we want the ball high and tight, pressed against their body, tucked up [by] their chin all the time," Welsh said as he broke down the drill for us afterward. "Anytime a ballcarrier in our offense has the ball on the field, we hold the ball one way, so we're constantly echoing that.
"And then, when we put pressure on them and there's imminent contact and bodies flying each way, we want the ball buttoned up. The lower your pad level, the less surface area of the ball for them to punch and hit.
"We're constantly emphasizing that in this slower, controlled situation: How to hold the ball, how to hold it versus pressure, and how to continue to accelerate your feet through contact when guys are punching at the ball. That's when you get the most movement: When guys are reaching for the ball and not trying to wrap you up, that's when we're going to break tackles and extend runs!"
THOMAS TIMES TWO: The highlight play of the day was a long deep completion from
Thomas Gotkowski to
Antwon Thomas. The true freshman wideout got behind everyone on the very first snap with that unit and went the distance. Just call it the Thomas-Thomas connection?
Season tickets and single-game tickets are on sale now! Call (513) 529-4295 for more information. Miami Football will host its annual Kickoff with the Community on Saturday, Aug. 16 at Yager Stadium. Gates open at 10 a.m.; more information is available here.
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