Pharaoh Brown sat before a room full of reporters following Oregon’s 54-35 victory over Arizona State on Saturday and asked the first question.
“Can we title all articles, ‘Tight End U?’”
Brown was coming off arguably the best game of his career. His 72-yard touchdown reception on the opening drive of the game was the Ducks’ first score on an opening drive in 2016. It was also the longest reception of his career. He tallied seven receptions for 129 yards, also a career best.
“We have to dig deeper because the team is depending on us due to our wide receiver depth,” Brown said after the win. “They are depending on the tight ends to bring it home.”
Fellow senior tight end Johnny Mundt also contributed to the victory against ASU. He recorded a 53-yard touchdown reception on his way to a career-best 70 receiving yards.
The Ducks have three senior tight ends in Brown, Mundt and Evan Baylis. Injuries limited Mundt and Baylis from multiple games early in the season; both are back healthy now. Against Cal and Arizona State, they matched their expectations.
In the first game of the season, Mundt injured his leg and did not return until the Ducks hosted Washington. Baylis missed the first two games with an undisclosed injury, and he has been limited throughout the season. Even Brown missed the Colorado game.
“When guys are hurt because they invest so much to play this game, they have to put so much into it, and they’re not allowed to play anymore because of an injury; you just feel horrible for those guys,” tight end coach Tom Osborne said.
With the tight end stable replenished, the Ducks’ offense has become more efficient.
“For what we have moved to offensively the last few weeks, personnel-wise, we are running a lot of double tight ends sets,” said quarterbacks coach David Yost. “To have explosive tight ends that way it is really a plus because [of] the size and catch range they have, and what they’re able to do after they get the ball.”
For the three tight ends, it is easy to adjust to new schemes and execute current ones.
“Us as veteran tight ends, we can pick up on a scheme real quick. So coach Lubick is really utilizing that,” said Mundt.
Against Cal, all three tight ends caught a touchdown pass, with Mundt making the biggest impact of the three with a five-reception performance.
After appearing in four games, Mundt is six catches, just over 100 yards and one touchdown away from career bests in each of those categories. Brown is four catches away from his personal best in a season while Baylis is one touchdown away from breaking his record — all while battling injuries and working with multiple quarterbacks throughout the season.
Quarterback Justin Herbert has connected with Brown, Mundt and Baylis for 24 passes for 332 yards and six touchdowns in his three starts. The experience at tight end is a luxury most freshman quarterbacks do not have, and they act as a safety net for him and for the entire offense.
“I have a lot of confidence in them,” Herbert said. “I know they are going to go up and make a play, so it is going to make my job a lot easier throwing to them.”
Follow Jack Butler on Twitter @Butler917
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