Eastern looks like it may get tight ends more involved catching passes this fall

It’s only April, but all signs point to the Eastern Washington tight ends getting more involved in the football team’s passing game this upcoming season.

And not merely as blockers.

“I haven’t heard anything, but that sounds nice,” senior tight end Terry Jackson II said during a recent practice.

Until last year, Eastern employed its tight ends mostly as blockers while former quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. roamed the field and looked downfield to his wideouts; in 2013, tight ends combined for 26 balls for 240 yards, or roughly the equivalent of two games for All-American wideout Cooper Kupp.

But last year, that number jumped to 31 receptions for 411 yards and five scores, partly because of the emergence of Zach Wimberly. In quarterback Jordan West’s first career start after Adams was sidelined by injury, Wimberly came through with the biggest game of his EWU career during a 42-30 win at Southern Utah.

Wimberly, who had five catches for 78 yards in that game, tried to deflect the credit, saying that Southern Utah’s defense was conceding the over-the-middle pass while trying to stop running back Jalen Moore.

Wimberly went on to finish the year with 20 catches for 267 yards; Jackson added 10 for 134 yards.

It stands to reason that those numbers will go even higher, for several reasons:

• West, a likely starter, is a pocket passer who will be looking for a safety valve, or at least more than Adams did;

• Quincy Forte and Mario Brown, last year’s go-to running backs in the passing game, are gone;

• Their successors, Moore and Jabari Wilson, are minimal threats to catch passes.

• Wimberly (6-foot-2, 240 pounds), Jackson (6-4, 235) and Jake Withnell (6-2, 245) have been in the EWU system for at least three years, and have the speed to get open.

Coach Beau Baldwin confirmed as much last week, saying that receptions by tight ends will “probably elevate to another level next year.

“They’re all coming back with experience, running those routes and learning those concepts,” Baldwin said.

It won’t hurt that Moore and Wilson are strong inside runners.

“It’s all going to start up front,” Baldwin said. “When you’re running the ball better, you have a chance to get the tight ends more involved in the passing game.”

Two more tight ends are in camp this spring, redshirt freshmen Beau Byus (6-5, 220) and Henderson Belk (6-4, 230).

Said Wimberly, “I think last year was probably the best the tight ends have done in a long time. I think they’re expecting even more out of us, whether in the run game or the passing game.”

Schedule: Eastern will practice today and Thursday at 4 p.m., with a scrimmage scheduled for Saturday about 2 p.m. at Roos Field.