FAYETTEVILLE — Demetrius Dean and Tyler Tuck were not walking through the Harmon Fieldhouse doors when Fayetteville began another football season this past fall.
For the Bulldogs, that meant the tight end position — which had been locked up so well in recent years by Dean and Tuck — was now up for grabs.
Profile
Jase Rapert
SCHOOL: Fayetteville
CLASS: Junior
POSITION: Tight End
HEIGHT: 5-10
WEIGHT: 185
NOTABLE: Moved from quarterback to fullback before the start of the season, then switched to tight end before 7A/6A-West Conference play began. ... Has 10 receptions for 201 yards and one touchdown. ... Had season high three catches in last week’s 30-28 win at North Little Rock.
“That was a huge question mark coming in,” Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton said. “Two years ago we had Demetrius Dean, so we knew what we had. Then Tuck came out last year and gave us a great option as a receiving tight end, but he graduated.
“So we did not know who was going to be that guy.”
Dean, an all-state tight end with size and hands to attract college attention as a sophomore, is now at Arkansas. And Tuck — or ‘Two-Point Tuck’, as he’s fondly referred to around Fayetteville — will best be remembered for his game-winning catch in overtime in last year’s state finals win against Bentonville.
But without Dean and Tuck at tight end, the Bulldogs needed someone, to step up in their place.
Turns out Jase Rapert was that someone.
A converted backup quarterback, Rapert never expected to be in the mix at tight end when the season began. That’s because the 5-foot-10, 185-pound junior wasn’t even playing the position at all.
“Last year I backed up Austin Allen at quarterback and helped some with the defense,” Rapert said. “And coming into this year I thought I was going to have to do another year of just helping out there. I was pretty nervous at first, but I think I’ve developed as we’ve gone along.
“I sure wasn’t expecting this at all.”
Rapert was moved to fullback near the end of spring practice and continued alongside fellow junior Tommy Coker at that position through the first few weeks of the season. Once Coker proved he could handle the fullback spot, Fayetteville coaches felt it was time to give Rapert a look somewhere else.
With injuries and depth still a concern at tight end, it was Rapert’s turn to see if he could be the next guy to hold down the one spot still up in the air in the Fayetteville lineup. And he didn’t let them down.
“He’s just a tough kid and he’s a kid that does everything right,” Bulldogs offensive coordinator Zak Clark said. “He doesn’t pass the eye test, but Jase just competes very hard.
“He was sophomore quarterback last year just because we knew he was so dependable, and we knew we had to find him a spot this year.”
Rapert is a self-described blocking tight end first, but that hasn’t stopped him from making an impact in the Fayetteville passing game as well. With 10 catches for 201 yards and one touchdown in eight games at the position, the Bulldogs now have that added threat which was feared to be gone for good when the likes of Dean and Tuck left the building.
“It’s nice that we have a lot of receiver threats,” Rapert said. “It takes all the attention off of me.”