Tight Ends Focus On Better Blocking

Chances are, it won't happen again this season. And with good reason.

Gone are Alge Crumpler and Dauntae Finger, who formed one of the more formidable tight end tandems in the conference and are now in the NFL.

Left to fill their gaps is a pair of guys who have played mostly special teams, a walk-on and a freshman recruited as an offensive lineman.

Mix in a young, inexperienced offensive line and you've got a prime recipe for what tight ends coach Ken Browning is calling "tight-end-by-committee."

No, the UNC tight ends won't see the ball coming their way much. But they know their role.

"We just kind of want to be like an extra lineman out there," said junior Zach Hilton, who saw 95 snaps at tight end last year. "So that we can line up on either side or both sides and be able to take care of more linebackers and down linemen."

Hilton and Doug Brown, who also played primarily on special teams in the past, should compete for the starting job. Others who could vie for playing time are walk-on Kevin Sergent and Chase Page, who played offensive line and tight end in high school.

Browning said Brown has been the most consistent blocker, while the 6-foot-7 Hilton has been the most consistent in the passing game. It's not surprising, therefore, that the Tar Heels will be rotating players at the position.

"We've got some guys that have, I think, improved both mentally and physically with techniques and just the knowledge of the system," Browning said. "It's a new system for them, so even the guys that have played the position here before are still in a learning mode to a degree.

"And I've been pleased with their progress. They've worked extremely hard, and I think they're getting better."

But Browning admitted they're not quite as solid with their blocking as they need to be.

"If you don't do every little thing right, the block doesn't work out, the scheme doesn't work out," Hilton said. "So we're just trying to make sure during every drill, every rep we're doing it perfect so that it becomes a habit."

The Tar Heels even have worked a bit with two-tight end formations in non-goal line and non-short-yardage situations.

But they'll have to wait for their personnel to become more skilled and comfortable before they can break those sets out in a game.

"The fact that we have competition at the position definitely helps elevate all of our level of play," Hilton said. "We're just coming along a lot better with knowing our assignments, doing our techniques right and just doing the little things right as a unit."