High School Football

Basketball skills fit for tight ends

8/26/14
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEPHEN B. THORNTON
Dumas' Will Gragg pulls in a touchdown during a scrimmage game Tuesday at Carlisle High School.
8/26/14 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEPHEN B. THORNTON Dumas' Will Gragg pulls in a touchdown during a scrimmage game Tuesday at Carlisle High School.

The state of Arkansas has produced some pretty good tight ends in recent years.

Chris Gragg made his mark at the University of Arkansas and is now with the Buffalo Bills in the NFL.

Hunter Henry succeeded Gragg at the UA, starting as a freshman last year and scoring a touchdown Saturday against Auburn.

That's only the tip of an emerging iceberg of tight-end prospects in the state.

Arkansas high school football is stacked with Division I prospects at tight end as never before, with Fayetteville's C.J. O'Grady, Dumas' Will Gragg and Junction City's JaMario Bell headlining a 2015 class of Division I prospects who may be best known for the position they play.

Bell and O'Grady have orally committed to Arkansas, but Bell is expected to play defensive end in college. Gragg will make his college decision Sept. 24.

Uncommon size and skill are a common denominator among the prospects.

O'Grady, 6-4, 230 pounds, caught 45 passes for 884 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. Gragg, 6-4, 249, finished with 31 catches for 320 yards and 5 touchdowns at Pine Bluff last season before transferring to Dumas in the offseason. Bell, 6-5, 228, was the Dragons' team leader in receptions (23) and touchdown receptions (eight) last season.

"It's been a long, long time in Arkansas since we've had this body type," Bentonville Coach Barry Lunney Sr. said. "I don't remember this number of kids in the state at that position that are that good that are Division I kids. We've had some good tight ends, but not that the level that they are at."

Lunney has a theory.

"Tight ends are at a premium," he said. "That body type and size, quite frankly, we lost that type of athlete to AAU basketball over the years -- guys who are 220, 230 pounds, 6-4, who can run. These guys play basketball, but I think with the advent with more people throwing the ball over the years and more wide-open offenses and the use of that position, it's been more attractive to play football."

Pulaski Academy Coach Kevin Kelley coached Henry in 2010-2012. Kelley said he'd put Henry up against the Class of 2015 tight ends but still praised the current group.

"As far as a group of three, they're extremely talented, extremely physical, extremely large, extremely fast," Kelley said. "They've got it all. That's why we have a lot of attention on those guys from out of state. That's why Nick Saban is rolling in. That's why people are rolling in from all over the United States to look at these guys. They're extremely good.

"If those kids play hard and their coaches use them in situations to maximize their talents, they can be game-winners for them almost alone, single-handedly."

Playing basketball can help football players, Kelley said, because it can help them with their feet as well as working in space.

"We tell our guys, a 6-5 basketball player really is a dime a dozen nowadays. A 6-5 football player is a big guy," Kelley said. "They're a marquee player. They're going to get instantly looked at just for being that big.

"That's what a lot of kids are doing. They're looking and thinking, 'I'm going to be a basketball player.' They stop growing at 6-5 and look around and play AAU basketball and everyone's 6-5. But if they jump over to football, then they're the tallest guy out here. Everybody's looking at me.

"I think that's the trend of what's happening."

The success of NFL tight ends such as Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints and Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers has been a factor for young players too, Fayetteville Coach Daryl Patton said. Graham played four years of basketball at Miami before playing one season of football. Gates played basketball at Kent State but never played at the college level before going to the NFL.

Both O'Grady and Gragg are ranked among the nation's top 10 tight ends by ESPN.com. O'Grady is the No. 3 tight end in ESPN's 2015 top H-tight ends rankings. Gragg is the seventh-best tight end in ESPN's Y-tight ends rankings. Bell is ranked 23rd in ESPN's rankings, but as a defensive end.

"I don't know of a year that's been stronger," Patton said. "It's been unbelievable how many good tight ends there are in Arkansas. Two of the best tight ends in the country are right here in Arkansas. That says a lot about the talent in this state."

The emergence of tight ends in Arkansas doesn't stop with the 2015 class. Fayetteville also has junior Drake Wymer, 6-5, 220 pounds, who is being recruited by several schools including Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas. Wymer transferred to Fayetteville in the offseason from Springdale.

Patton calls O'Grady an unbelievable talent.

"He's freakishly good," Patton said. "He's very tough to cover. He's a big kid. He's more of a receiver. He's got unbelievable hands and great control.

"In dire situations, he can still come down with the ball."

Lunney's Bentonville teams have matched up against O'Grady the past two seasons. It's a tall order, even for a team that won the Class 7A state championship in 2013.

"You don't have that type of player on defense," Lunney said. "You can't jump the way he can. He uses his body so good to reach out with long arms and hands. When you throw it up, he'll come down with it.

"You have to find a way to limit him. It's a nightmare matchup. You can't matchup with him."

Sports on 09/01/2014

Upcoming Events