Texas A&M football: You can officially call us ‘Tight End U’

Jimbo Fisher is ushering in a new era for Texas A&M football, one that actually uses a very important position on the offensive side of the ball.

There is a new era in Texas A&M football and it started the day Jimbo Fisher was hired as head coach. That means a great deal of things.

It means he’s bringing a championship pedigree to College Station, a change to the way he does things culture-wise, and a drastic change to the way he runs his offense compared to his predecessor.

One of the biggest changes to the offense was always going to be the use of tight ends.

In case you’re not like me and didn’t obsess over Fisher’s offensive philosophy, just know that in his tenure at Florida State he was among the leaders at using the tight end in a formation and among the leaders in using multiple tight ends in a formation. Contrast that with Kevin Sumlin, whose tight ends had almost embarrassing statistical numbers.

That has all changed. In just one calendar year, Texas A&M football can now be known as “Tight End U.”

It started with Jace Sternberger, who took the above momentum from the Spring Game and carried it into an All-American season. He finished with 48 catches, 832 yards and 10 touchdowns, all of which led all Aggies, including receivers, and including his yards per catch number. He was by far the most explosive weapon in Kellen Mond’s arsenal and should have been selected as a finalist for the John Mackey Award.

The above Spring Game performance was all the best tight end in the 2019 class needed to see to offer his commitment to Fisher. Baylor Cupp, who ended up as a 5-star recruit by 247 Sports, is a monster at 6-foot-6 and will be called upon to replace Sternberger as a true freshman after the latter left for the NFL Draft.

Not one to settle, Fisher also signed 4-star tight end Jalen Wydermyer in the 2019 class, giving the Aggies two elite prospects to work with for the next three seasons at least.

The final straw that broke the “Tight End U” back came over the weekend, when 2020 tight end Blake Smith gave his verbal commitment to Fisher. Smith may be just a 3-star prospect now, but his offer list is impressive. He holds offers from Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, TCU, and Washington.

Don’t be surprise if Smith’s ranking continues to rise during his senior season at Texas powerhouse Southlake Carroll.

Fisher knows how important a tight end to an offense is and obviously made an effort to bring in the best of the best. Move over, Iowa, a new “Tight End U” has arrived.