When it comes to tight ends, Miami has always been a national program. Bubba Franks (Texas), Jeremy Shockey (Oklahoma), Kellen Winslow II (California), Greg Olsen (New Jersey), Jimmy Graham (North Carolina), David Njoku (New Jersey) and, most recently, Brevin Jordan (Nevada) all traveled great distances to be part of Tight End U.
Chase Loftin of Omaha, Nebraska (Millard South) might be the latest in the tradition. The 6’6, 215 WR/TE earned offers from Miami, Oklahoma, Penn State, Auburn and Texas A&M after a productive year (34 catches, 440 yards, 6 TDs) while often lining up wide. He has an April unofficial visit planned to Coral Gables and spoke with CanesInSight about the latest in his recruitment:
On his game: “When people mention tight end, that can mean one of like 1000 things because the positions changed to like so much. As a tight end, my special ability is my route running and ability to create separation to get open. I'm definitely trying to develop my blocking and being more of a Y, as well, so I can become more of a dynamic player.”
On his athletic background: “My dad played college football at Iowa. I definitely had a little genetic advantage there. But my main sport was always soccer when I was growing up. I thought that was going to be the thing I was going to try play big time. I actually ended up quitting football in sixth grade because I thought I was done with it.”
“I started off as a striker. My middle school team was ranked like top 50 in the nation. That's when I moved to goalie and I was pretty good at that. I was like, hey, I can catch it pretty well. So now I catch the footballs.”
“I always loved basketball. I played basketball until my freshman year. After seeing my brother (tight end at Kansas State) go through the recruitment process, I thought maybe I should give this a try. Then I really fell in love with football and my craft, so I started to focus on that.”
“Every sport has their different techniques and abilities that go with the sport you're focusing on. Basketball helped me with the toughness, being physical, going up and getting the ball. Soccer developed my footwork and separation abilities. It’s helped me a bunch, I'll tell you that for sure.”
On what he’s looking for on his Miami unofficial in April: “I know the education is about as good as it gets. I don't really know too much about it because I haven't seen it for myself yet. The first thing is, ‘Does it feel like home? Does it feel like a place that I would be happy there?’ That's my main thing going in.”
On his relationship with Miami TE coach Cory Woodiel: “He's our main guy. He comes up [to Nebraska] twice now. I'm really starting to build a relationship with him. I’ve really been bonding with him for sure.”
On whether Miami’s tight end tradition impacts his thinking: "Absolutely. I want to be at a school that utilizes the tight end. Seeing how that many players went big time, it definitely could help my decision."
On what he’s looking for in a college: “[If] it feels like home. I gotta be happy at the school that I'm playing for. My second thing is the coaching staff that I get along with well, and I think it's gonna develop me into an NFL guy, because that's the ultimate dream. The third thing I look for is the education aspects.”
