So as a follow-up to your question, Beauld, I'm bummed that Darboh is now out for the year with a foot injury. Chesson will still be fine, but I was excited to have both threats. Now Jeremy Jackson and Joe Reynolds are getting talked about as the next in line. That does not excite me. At this point I'm hoping one of the true freshmen step up and burn their redshirt in the 2nd half against CMU. There are 3 - Jukes, York, and Jones. All of them are 3 stars but they have height (each between 6'2" and 6'4") and between them each has another element that should get them some PT (route running, speed, jumping ability) but we'll just have to see. Jackson has shown me nothing in 4 years and Reynolds is, well, meh. He got some run last year but I was neber thrilled with his playmaking - or lack thereof. Between them Jackson and Reynolds had a whopping 7 catches for 53 yards last year.
The other option is more TE involvement. We know Borges likes going that route, and he has a stronger Funchess, a more fit Williams, and true freshmen Jake Butt and Khalid Hill. Butt is the prototypical TE, ranked 5th best in the country. I would not be surprised to see him get plenty of reps this year. Either way, Gardner will have to do more than just rely on his buddy Gallon and Dileo for this offense to be productive. As much as the passing game improved when Gardner took over, he and Funchess didn't connect in a way that really took advantage of the skill set Funchess brings (he only had 4 catches with no scores in the 5 games Gardner started). Funchess also needs to be a better blocker if he's going to play more downs. He added 15lbs to his frame in the offseason, but that doesn't automatically equal better blocking.
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