Tight Ends on the Loose

By: Andy Graham

IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Ian Thomas was terrific.

But a tired Ian Thomas was less so.

Indiana redshirt junior tight end Austin Dorris recalls last season when Thomas, now forging a NFL career with the Carolina Panthers, had to carry perhaps too much of the load at the position.

And Dorris prefers the current situation where the Hoosiers have more candidates ready to share snaps.

"It's good to see more than just one guy out there," Dorris said after Monday's practice. "Last year, we'd have Ian coming off the field toasted because he'd been out there for four straight quarters.

"So, yeah, it definitely gives you a level of confidence that you're not going to have 90 plays a game where you can have a good 20-to-30 range where you're going to be full-speed, fresh-mind out there."

Dorris certainly seems set to carry his share of the load.

The 6-foot-5, 252-pound former quarterback from Shadyside, Ohio, remade his physique this offseason and has further earned the coaches' confidence during fall camp.

"Start with Austin Dorris," IU offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said when asked to discuss the Hoosier tight ends. "I've mentioned this (before), that he really worked hard over the summer and really improved his speed. So he's playing a lot better in that way. And he'll be a guy that plays for us."

And DeBord feels Dorris is in some good company at the position.

"Peyton Hendershot, I was really pleased to see in this last scrimmage (Saturday) that he blocked very well," DeBord said of the redshirt freshman from Tri-West. "Great leverage. Had his hands tight inside and finished blocks and things like that. That was a step I thought he needed to take. He did that.

"Matt Bjorson, the (true) freshman, he's not playing like a freshman. He's really learned the system. He continues to learn some technique stuff here or there. But he's playing very well, too.

"(Redshirt sophomore) Shaun Bonner, we use him probably more in goal-line situations and stuff like that because of his size and his blocking ability. And TJ Ivy is a (true) freshman and he's learning and he has his moments. He's going to be fine."

And if things are hopefully going to be fine on the field, Dorris said the tight end contingent is tight off the field, too.

"We all just talk a lot," Dorris said. "We're all in Snapchat groups or texting groups. And we all play Fortnite (the video game that is all the rage among athletes and others these days) together. We're constantly talking in some way. Peyton Hendershot lived with me for a couple of months -- we're constantly together, not just during fall camp.

So (not talking center-snaps here) which tight end sends the best Snaps?

"Hmmmm," Dorris pondered, then replied mischievously: "Peyton (Hendershot) – Peyton is the most full of himself, so Peyton's sending selfies and everything. But Bonner's probably the funniest."

Who wins at Fortnite?

"Best at Fortnite? I'd say … me," Dorris said. "Peyton is probably the most strategic. I don't get to play with Bonner, because Bonner got a PlayStation and I got an Xbox. We (others) all got Xbox.

"Watercutter will tell you he's the best. But he's not."

Watercutter, IU's most experienced returning tight end, has an unspecified injury but the coaches hope he can still return for a decent chunk of his senior season.

"He's going to be sidelined for a little bit," Allen acknowledged. "More than anything, I hate it for him, because he's just one of those guys that does everything we ask and has been such a great teammate. Hard, hard worker. Good player for us.

"I just want to get him healthy and get him back so he can to do what he loves to do, which is play football. But I feel confident in the guys who are in that room."

Thomas was the only tight end to catch a TD pass last fall, finishing with five among his 25 total receptions at a robust 15.0 yards per catch. Watercutter was the only other tight end with a catch, but had just 69 receiving yards compared to 376 for Thomas.

But Allen feels Indiana's current tight ends are unproven, they have potential. "Austin Dorris has really had a good fall camp," he said. "I think he's probably been the most improved of that group.

"I feel like Matt Bjorson is another one. He might've been a surprise guy. It's going to be hard to keep him out of that rotation. Really encouraged by him."

Allen just isn't necessarily urging them to emulate New York Giant All-Pro Odell Beckham Jr.'s celebrated penchant for spectacular one-handed catches.

"Peyton's continued to improve, improve his blocking," Allen noted about Hendershot, "but he had a chance to make a touchdown catch (Saturday) and needs to go up with two hands on that one. We've already addressed that with him.

"I think Odell Beckham has been like a poison. Everybody wants to make one-handed catches. I made that a big deal. I'm like, 'The Good Lord gave you two hands. Use them.' (Hendershot has) improved a lot, so that's a position where we've got to have three or four guys rotating in and doing different things."

If IU's present tight ends wish to use Ian Thomas as a role model, however, that's just fine.

"Whatever the situation was, Ian was going to give it his all, and his all was incredible," Dorris said. "He was a fourth-round (NFL) draft pick. Could have been higher, maybe, if he hadn't gotten hurt. But just to see him play, he played so fast. And if you know Ian, he never had anything bad to say. Never complained. And if he got to play, he just did it.

"He never complained about not getting the ball sometimes. He was never anything that the same level-headed guy at all times, just working his butt off, keeping his head down and grinding."

That is what, by all accounts, Dorris did this offseason under the tutelage of new strength-and-conditioning gurus David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea.

"I owe it all, everything I did this offseason, to them," Dorris said of Ballou, Rhea and staff. "They just want you to show up and do the work. Don't complain. There is no reason to fret about what you've got to do. Yeah, it's hard. That's how you get better. You work your butt off.

"And the results have shown, not just for me, but for everybody. We're bigger, faster, stronger. And that's throughout the team."

Dorris is pumped about the chance to see the field more this fall.

"I'm so excited," he said. "I've been here for a while and haven't gotten to contribute very much. That's no one's fault but my own. But, yeah, just being out there to help the guys any way I can – special teams, or just on offense, it means a lot to me just to get out there and help."

And team goals outweigh his personal goals.

"As I said earlier, individual goals kind of fall second, to me, compared to the team goals," Dorris affirmed. "Coach (Allen) always says don't care who gets the credit, and that's so important. It's going to be a group of tight ends playing. If Hendershot catches a touchdown, I'm not going to be mad I didn't catch it.

"Same thing for all the guys on defense. No one complains. Everybody just tries to get their job done. And that will lead to more wins and getting to the place we want to go."

Including, for a select few, the place Thomas is now.

Dorris relished seeing Thomas post his first pro TD last week, snaring a Cam Newton swing pass and leaving defenders in his wake.

"He made that linebacker look like he was just standing still," Dorris said. "I'm so happy for him.

"It's no shock to anybody around our team. You see Ian do things every single day in practice, and it becomes normal for us to see it, then you see him do it on Saturdays and now Sundays.

"You're always going to aspire to be the best that there is and he's one of the best out there. Sometimes we watch old film and see the way that he ran.
And you're telling yourself how you want to do this like Ian, want to do that like Ian. If you want to be the best, you have to do it like they do it."

Thomas doesn't look tired these days.

And due to strength in numbers, chances are Hoosier tight ends won't, either, this fall.

Players Mentioned

Matt Bjorson

Shaun Bonner

Austin Dorris

Peyton Hendershot

Turon Ivy Jr.

Ian Thomas

Indiana University Athletics