Fall Camp Preview: Tight End

JP Holtz will enter his fourth year in the program. He has played in all 39 games in his career, and has been the starter for 36 of those contests.  Holtz is gifted and reliable, but sometimes is underused in the offense. Holtz possesses great athletic ability for someone his size, and has shown his soft hands at times. But he finds himself as a blocker a good bit of the time, another area in which he excels.

With 57 career receptions for 581 yards and seven touchdowns, he ranks second on the team to Tyler Boyd among active players on the roster in all those categories.  Holtz has ability and can be a useful weapon for Chad Voytik this season. He has some serious pro potential and will be one of the leaders on the team being one of the few four year starters.

Scott Orndoff will enter his third season with the program, and has been a solid contributor for the team the past two years. Like Holtz, Orndoff has been a guy that is somewhat underused in the passing game. Orndoff also has proven that he has soft hands and could be a factor when the ball comes his way. He is not quite noted as the blocker Holtz is, but has done a nice job the past two seasons.

Orndoff has plenty of game experience and possesses some receiving skills. He will likely be a big factor in the offense this season, and perhaps could be worked into more touches in the passing game.

Devon Edwards is a bigger guy that appeared a lot season in short yardage plays as an extra blocker. The sophomore tight end will likely have a similar role this season, but with some experience under his belt, could step up in the event of an injury to the first two guys.

Tony Harper is on the lighter side for a tight end as he checks in at 225 pounds.  He did not see much playing time, but adds a different element than the other tight ends with some quickness and athleticism. Harper is firmly in that number four role, and will really have to show something in camp to have a role on offense.