Who Is the Best? TE (Casey)

So I've decided to break down the Tight Ends and the Wide Receivers separate because I think that the two groups are different dependent on which team they are on. The State of Utah has produced many really good Tight ends that have made an impact on the NFL. So lets see who has the best set of Tight Ends this year and why.

BYU's Kaneakua Friel

BYU has a long standing tradition of having great Tight Ends and this year they could have another very special Tight End in Kaneakua Friel. Friel is a 6' 5" 250lb beast from Kaneoha Hawaii. This year he will be a senior and one of the leaders on the offensive side of the ball. So far this year he has been named to the 2013 CFPA Tight End Trophy Watch List as well as the John Mackey Award watch list. During his Sophomore year, Friel caught seven passes for 55 yards and one touchdown. He became a bigger part of the offense during his Junior year where he started all 13 games and finished the year with 30 catches for 308 yards and finished with 5 receiving touchdowns which was second most on the team! Friel is fast and big and is a physical player, the only knock on him was the fact he dropped a lot of balls last year (which could have been a product of the Quarterback last year). BYU has other Tight Ends that could be real good. The listed backup out of Spring  Ball is Brett Thompson. Brett is 6'3" tall and 220lbs but Played sparingly last year but during his Freshman year he caught 6 passes for 95 yards in 12 games played. Also listed for the Cougars at Tight End are Senior Richard Wilson, Junior Devin Mahina, Sophomore Stehly Reden and Freshman Michael Edmunds.

Utahs Jake Murphy

When it comes to the Utes, recent history hasn't been very good with Tight Ends. However it the past few years the Utes have began to utilize the Tight End position much more and with a Talent like Jake Murphy on the field i can see why they would. Jake Murphy is a 6'4" 252lb Junior and is a monster from Alpine Utah. Jake has been a great addition to the Utes and has produced right out of the game. BYU signed Jake out of high school but changed his mind on his mission and came to Utah. During his freshman year Jake played in 10 games and got 2 starts before he hurt his knee. He had five catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. During his Sophomore year he really became a prime target. He played in 12 games and got 5 starts. In those games Jake caught 33 passes for 349 yards and caught four touchdowns which was the most on the team. Jake was named honorable mention PAC 12 last year and is one of the best Tight Ends in the PAC 12 this year, He has also been named to the John Mackey award watch list. The listed Backup for the Utes is 6'4" 252lb Westlee Tonga. Tonga is a blocking stud and makes up for the lack of blocking that comes with Jake. Although Jake is the prime target, Tonga caught four passes for 39 yards last year and caught a touchdown and is dangerous in the red zone. The Utes are very young behind the startes with 3 Freshman listed as well as 2 Juniors.

Utah States D.J. Tialavea

Utah State is coming in with a very interesting group of  Tight Ends on there roster. The listed Starter coming out of Spring is Senior, 6'4" 266lb D.J. Tialavea. D.J. is from West Jordan Utah and is a big Tight End, in fact in two games last year he played Offensive Tackle for 22 snaps. When he was playing tight end he caught 6 catches for 31 yards and one touchdown. During his Sophomore year he caught seven passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Utah State just does not go to there tight ends that often and why would they need them to do more that just block for the Studs in the backfield that they have had in the past. The Other listed Tight End on the spring depth chart is a coaches son in Keegan Anderson. Keegan is Gary Andersons son, he is 6'2" 231lbs and could become a weapon if needed. Last year he only caught two passes for 21 yards. But as a coaches son he should know how to get open when called upon. But as blockers those two guys are really really good.

Winner: Utah
  
  As far as I'm concerned I think Utah has the best pair of Tight Ends in the State and one of the best in the West. Jake Murphy can catch anything that is thrown around him and is just so big and fast its hard for any Inside Linebacker to keep up with him. Also Tonga is just a blocking machine and can be a real danger when it comes to goal line situations. I'm Not gonna say they are the deepest squad, that nod goes to BYU, but when it comes to the starters I have to go with Utah.