Indiana University Athletics
Tight End Positioned For Maximum Impact
10/12/2020 8:17:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Matt Bjorson went bold.
Timid, you understand, won't work in the Big Ten.
"I believe that the tight end position has the most depth on the team," Indiana's junior tight end says. "We have four or five guys that can make plays no matter when they get on the field."
Bjorson understands the potential in the Hoosiers and himself. Tight end was a huge part of the Hoosier offense under former offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer, and that won't change under new coordinator Nick Sheridan.
Last season, tight ends caught 61 passes for 673 yards and five touchdowns, and were big contributors to a rushing attack that averaged 130.4 yards a game and totaled 24 touchdowns.
Bjorson had a secondary receiving role with seven catches for 36 yards and a touchdown. Peyton Hendershot was the program record-setting weapon with 52 catches for 622 yards and four touchdowns.
What does that mean for this season?
Let's just say new tight ends coach Kevin Wright is pumped. As for Bjorson, "Having two big bodies in there is better than one. We run a lot of two-tight end sets. We are able to get a lot of people open. We can run."
The 6-3 Bjorson figures to have a bigger role. For one, he's leaner and fitter thanks to the work with new strength coach Aaron Wellman. For another, his contributions go beyond offense. He's versatile enough to have earned team special teams player of the week honors last year against Michigan State.
"I am down to 240 pounds now," he says. "I was playing at 250 last year and will be at 240 this year. I dropped a lot of body fat. Coach Wellman really helped me with that. My speed and quickness both went up.
"I am playing with a better body position and will be able to play all over the field, special teams, offense, wherever they need me."
That includes the passing game.
"This offseason, with a lot of the time off, I took the time to really change my body," Bjorson says. "I have gotten faster. I think I could go out and make the plays on the outside instead of always staying inside the box.
"Whenever the team needs me, I will be able to go out and play."
Still, the spotlight is on Hendershot, who nearly cost himself a season, following an off field transgression incident in February.
"I made a huge mistake," Hendershot says. "I am sorry to all of the people that were involved. Everyone that I let down, I feel horrible and so remorseful about it.
"There are so many people that have helped me get to where I am in my life and I feel like that was a letdown to all of them. They all believed in me. I am taking classes every week and I have learned a lot from that.
"I am responsible for everything in my life. It is not that God did this to me, someone else did this, I am responsible for my own actions, my own chaos. I have been able to realize it and take care of the everyday things in my life."
Coach Tom Allen says a university committee evaluated Hendershot's case and ruled no further punishment was necessary.
"I cannot explain how disappointed I was in myself," Hendershot says. "I think it is crazy that in this world if you do not humble yourself, God will.
"After the bowl game, when I broke the record for tight end receptions and yards, I was at the highest point of my life and within two months I was at the lowest part. It is crazy how life can hit you. I saw my life, my future, my career flash in front of me.
"I never want to be in that position again, so I have worked every day to better myself as a man and a human being."
Wright says that work has paid off.
"When things happen off the field, either they are a pattern that have happened previously, or it's a one-time deal. For him and his situation, it wasn't something that had been a repetitive pattern.
"It happened. We moved on. The biggest thing was he took it very seriously. He wanted to improve, not just as a player, but as a person."
Beyond that, Hendershot had two off-season surgeries, including to repair a shoulder injury suffered during last season's TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. He says he thought about opting out of this season, but the Big Ten delaying the start until late October gave him enough time to recover.
"It gave me another month to get my body back to where I needed it to be," he says.
Wright says Hendershot is "in the best shape of his life."
The goal is to turn that into another record-setting season.
"I need to be a technician," Hendershot says. "I think I have the tools to make it to the next level (the NFL), but I need to be better in my run-blocking and pass-blocking technique. I need to clean up all of the little details because that it was really matters."
Adds Wright: "He is working on every aspect. I think he has got to get a little bit better in every aspect from run blocking to pass pro. He catches the ball and he has really good ball skills. That is something that I think has always stood out with him. But I have seen the gradual increase in his ability to block, to pass protect, to block inline and to block on the perimeter. Just be a complete player.
"We watch a lot of NFL tape as we are breaking things down, so I think he has a goal and he sees what it takes. He is working awful hard toward that."
Hendershot and Bjorson aren't IU's only difference-making tight ends. Wright is high on 6-6, 230-pound true freshman AJ Barner and graduate transfer Khameron Taylor.
"We talk about building the (tight end) room," Wright says. "From day one, we have talked about how we would need to be able to play five different guys on any given Saturday. Everyone in the room knows that and I think that has really helped our room.
"AJ is an offensive guy with a defensive mentality. He is nowhere close to where he will be from a strength and bulk standpoint."
Barner was a two-way player for Aurora High School in Ohio. He was a dominant linebacker with 124 tackles for a 13-1 team that reached the state semifinals. As a tight end, he caught 15 passes for 123 yards and four touchdowns.
"He is very aggressive in the run game, a very smart kid," Wright says. "He did not play a lot of tight end in high school, so we really wondered about his ball skills. But he has shown tremendous ball skills, especially in the red zone. He is a big target in the red zone. He has good body control and he has been coachable."
Include Hendershot and Bjorson in Barner's coaching sessions.
"He has some veteran guys that he is able to learn from," Wright says. "When I am not specifically coaching him, he is able to go to them and get their help. I think that has really helped his learning curve. He has a chance to be a really good football player for us and in the Big Ten."
The 6-4, 262-pound Taylor was a starter at South Alabama, although he wasn't a big factor in the passing game. In his last two seasons, he caught seven passes for 85 yards and a touchdown at Nebraska.
"Khameron has dealt with some injury issues," Wright says. "We know it is going to be a long season. We do not want to push certain things, so we are just trying to get him to the point where he can contribute.
"He is a big body. When he lines up out there it almost looks like an extra offensive lineman. I know what he brings to the table, so it is just a matter of getting everyone healthy and rolling through to get to game week. It is going to be a nine-week season and everyone is going to have to contribute in some way."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Matt Bjorson went bold.
Timid, you understand, won't work in the Big Ten.
"I believe that the tight end position has the most depth on the team," Indiana's junior tight end says. "We have four or five guys that can make plays no matter when they get on the field."
Bjorson understands the potential in the Hoosiers and himself. Tight end was a huge part of the Hoosier offense under former offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer, and that won't change under new coordinator Nick Sheridan.
Last season, tight ends caught 61 passes for 673 yards and five touchdowns, and were big contributors to a rushing attack that averaged 130.4 yards a game and totaled 24 touchdowns.
Bjorson had a secondary receiving role with seven catches for 36 yards and a touchdown. Peyton Hendershot was the program record-setting weapon with 52 catches for 622 yards and four touchdowns.
What does that mean for this season?
Let's just say new tight ends coach Kevin Wright is pumped. As for Bjorson, "Having two big bodies in there is better than one. We run a lot of two-tight end sets. We are able to get a lot of people open. We can run."
The 6-3 Bjorson figures to have a bigger role. For one, he's leaner and fitter thanks to the work with new strength coach Aaron Wellman. For another, his contributions go beyond offense. He's versatile enough to have earned team special teams player of the week honors last year against Michigan State.
"I am down to 240 pounds now," he says. "I was playing at 250 last year and will be at 240 this year. I dropped a lot of body fat. Coach Wellman really helped me with that. My speed and quickness both went up.
"I am playing with a better body position and will be able to play all over the field, special teams, offense, wherever they need me."
That includes the passing game.
"This offseason, with a lot of the time off, I took the time to really change my body," Bjorson says. "I have gotten faster. I think I could go out and make the plays on the outside instead of always staying inside the box.
"Whenever the team needs me, I will be able to go out and play."
Still, the spotlight is on Hendershot, who nearly cost himself a season, following an off field transgression incident in February.
"I made a huge mistake," Hendershot says. "I am sorry to all of the people that were involved. Everyone that I let down, I feel horrible and so remorseful about it.
"There are so many people that have helped me get to where I am in my life and I feel like that was a letdown to all of them. They all believed in me. I am taking classes every week and I have learned a lot from that.
"I am responsible for everything in my life. It is not that God did this to me, someone else did this, I am responsible for my own actions, my own chaos. I have been able to realize it and take care of the everyday things in my life."
Coach Tom Allen says a university committee evaluated Hendershot's case and ruled no further punishment was necessary.
"I cannot explain how disappointed I was in myself," Hendershot says. "I think it is crazy that in this world if you do not humble yourself, God will.
"After the bowl game, when I broke the record for tight end receptions and yards, I was at the highest point of my life and within two months I was at the lowest part. It is crazy how life can hit you. I saw my life, my future, my career flash in front of me.
"I never want to be in that position again, so I have worked every day to better myself as a man and a human being."
Wright says that work has paid off.
"When things happen off the field, either they are a pattern that have happened previously, or it's a one-time deal. For him and his situation, it wasn't something that had been a repetitive pattern.
"It happened. We moved on. The biggest thing was he took it very seriously. He wanted to improve, not just as a player, but as a person."
Beyond that, Hendershot had two off-season surgeries, including to repair a shoulder injury suffered during last season's TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. He says he thought about opting out of this season, but the Big Ten delaying the start until late October gave him enough time to recover.
"It gave me another month to get my body back to where I needed it to be," he says.
Wright says Hendershot is "in the best shape of his life."
The goal is to turn that into another record-setting season.
"I need to be a technician," Hendershot says. "I think I have the tools to make it to the next level (the NFL), but I need to be better in my run-blocking and pass-blocking technique. I need to clean up all of the little details because that it was really matters."
Adds Wright: "He is working on every aspect. I think he has got to get a little bit better in every aspect from run blocking to pass pro. He catches the ball and he has really good ball skills. That is something that I think has always stood out with him. But I have seen the gradual increase in his ability to block, to pass protect, to block inline and to block on the perimeter. Just be a complete player.
"We watch a lot of NFL tape as we are breaking things down, so I think he has a goal and he sees what it takes. He is working awful hard toward that."
Hendershot and Bjorson aren't IU's only difference-making tight ends. Wright is high on 6-6, 230-pound true freshman AJ Barner and graduate transfer Khameron Taylor.
"We talk about building the (tight end) room," Wright says. "From day one, we have talked about how we would need to be able to play five different guys on any given Saturday. Everyone in the room knows that and I think that has really helped our room.
"AJ is an offensive guy with a defensive mentality. He is nowhere close to where he will be from a strength and bulk standpoint."
Barner was a two-way player for Aurora High School in Ohio. He was a dominant linebacker with 124 tackles for a 13-1 team that reached the state semifinals. As a tight end, he caught 15 passes for 123 yards and four touchdowns.
"He is very aggressive in the run game, a very smart kid," Wright says. "He did not play a lot of tight end in high school, so we really wondered about his ball skills. But he has shown tremendous ball skills, especially in the red zone. He is a big target in the red zone. He has good body control and he has been coachable."
Include Hendershot and Bjorson in Barner's coaching sessions.
"He has some veteran guys that he is able to learn from," Wright says. "When I am not specifically coaching him, he is able to go to them and get their help. I think that has really helped his learning curve. He has a chance to be a really good football player for us and in the Big Ten."
The 6-4, 262-pound Taylor was a starter at South Alabama, although he wasn't a big factor in the passing game. In his last two seasons, he caught seven passes for 85 yards and a touchdown at Nebraska.
"Khameron has dealt with some injury issues," Wright says. "We know it is going to be a long season. We do not want to push certain things, so we are just trying to get him to the point where he can contribute.
"He is a big body. When he lines up out there it almost looks like an extra offensive lineman. I know what he brings to the table, so it is just a matter of getting everyone healthy and rolling through to get to game week. It is going to be a nine-week season and everyone is going to have to contribute in some way."
Players Mentioned
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