For years prior to CMC, the TE was an afterthought at ISU. An occasional bright spot but often forgotten.
When OC TM returned from his hiatus as an NFL TE coach that changed. We emphasized the TE effectively and with Kolar, Allen, and Soehner turned that into a big year in 2020. But 2020 was a strange year. Covid limited crowds (0 to 25%) and also gave rest breaks after every 3 games. In some ways, it wasn't totally real.
The next year two things were subtly different. First, Soehner was replaced by Rus. Two different players. That impacted the role of Allen particularly. And maybe asked Rus to do things he wasn't as good at. And made us more predictable. The second thing was the lack of bye weeks and the resulting injuries. We are deeper than we have ever been but the step down from our stars to their reserves is still significant. And in close losses, that can be significant.
Then last year, sans Kolar and Allen, we didn't change much. Our TE's were weak at blocking which impacted the running game and even pass protection. Rus became pretty much a fullback type. Hannika developed into a competent receiver but was not Charlie Kolar.
And the OC still tried to do what he had done since he returned as a TE expert from the NFL. Offensive Line aside, I believe that was a huge factor in our offensive inefficiency in the red zone.
We also did a poor job of recruiting TEs.
When OC TM returned from his hiatus as an NFL TE coach that changed. We emphasized the TE effectively and with Kolar, Allen, and Soehner turned that into a big year in 2020. But 2020 was a strange year. Covid limited crowds (0 to 25%) and also gave rest breaks after every 3 games. In some ways, it wasn't totally real.
The next year two things were subtly different. First, Soehner was replaced by Rus. Two different players. That impacted the role of Allen particularly. And maybe asked Rus to do things he wasn't as good at. And made us more predictable. The second thing was the lack of bye weeks and the resulting injuries. We are deeper than we have ever been but the step down from our stars to their reserves is still significant. And in close losses, that can be significant.
Then last year, sans Kolar and Allen, we didn't change much. Our TE's were weak at blocking which impacted the running game and even pass protection. Rus became pretty much a fullback type. Hannika developed into a competent receiver but was not Charlie Kolar.
And the OC still tried to do what he had done since he returned as a TE expert from the NFL. Offensive Line aside, I believe that was a huge factor in our offensive inefficiency in the red zone.
We also did a poor job of recruiting TEs.
