Louisville football: Tight end group is multi-faceted in 2021

As part of a celebration to the upcoming start of spring football, we will be kicking off our positional preview for the 2021 Cardinals. We will go through every position group and highlight potential starters and what they may bring to the table in 2021. There are a ton of new and old faces to pay attention to across the entire Louisville football roster.

The Cardinals return most of their tight end room from a year ago. The sole loss within the unit being Ean Pfeifer who elected to forego another year at Louisville to try his hand at the NFL Draft. Scott Satterfield‘s offense requires his tight ends to be multi-faceted. Many of them double down on their roles as both H-backs and fullbacks. It’s really an important position to play in this offense.

Let’s talk about who is making up the tight end room in 2021

There is a rather large mix of players who got snaps in 2020 and made the most of them. Many are walk-ons or former walk-ons which makes the list of guys so impressive.

The starting pass catcher

Marshon Ford – 4th year RS Jr.

2020 stats: 10 GP: 25 receptions, 309 yards, 6 touchdowns

Measurables: 6’2″ 240-pounds

Ford is the team’s starting H-back and is the biggest threat as a pass catcher on the offense. He is a threat with the ball in his hands flaring out of the backfield as a fullback in split zone play action. or making himself an option running routes as the H-back. Despite weighing less than others on the roster, Ford always gives maximum effort as a blocker and is a big reason that the Scott Satterfield zone blocking offense can be so effective.

Ford is a player that could afford to be utilized even more in the offense. He’s very athletic and he has a potential NFL future with another positive season.

The Road Grader

Isaac Martin – 5th year RS Jr.

2020 stats: 11 GP: 2 receptions, 11 yards

Measurables: 6’1″ 250-pounds

Martin is a player that knows his role. He’s the best blocking tight end Louisville has left. He mostly will line up at fullback with occasional reps at H-back. The former walk-on linebacker made a position change in 2018 and was awesome for the team in 2020. He’s never going to be a big receiving threat but he means everything for Louisville’s run game. Martin will be back on the field a ton in 2021 blocking for the Cardinals’ stable of runners.

Potential Pfeifer replacement

Desmond Daniels – 2nd year Fr.

2020 stats: None

Measurables: 6’5″ 247-pounds

Louisville did not count on anyone to play in-line tight end last season except Ean Pfeifer. With him now gone, Satterfield will likely want to fill that role for 2021. Not just anyone can play it. Your in-line tight end (or the “Y”) has to be a big body that can get up in the grill of defensive linemen and occasionally block edge rushers in a pinch. Daniels could fit that role despite not playing in 2020.

Other pass-catching options

Duane Martin – 2nd year Fr.

2020 stats: 3 GP: 2 receptions, 27 yards

Measurables: 6’2″ 247-pounds

The other Martin got some run at the end of the season last year when Marshon Ford was battling an injury. He made the most of it against Syracuse when he registered two receptions for 27 yards. He was a running back in South Carolina as a recruit so he is still getting adjusted to his new position at Louisville. He’s a solid athlete for the position that should get better as a natural blocker in time. Fans should feel comfortable with Martin if Ford were to go down with an injury again.

Dez Melton – 3rd year RS Fr.

2020 stats: 7 GP

Measurables: 6’3″ 240-pounds

Melton was recruited to be a pass-catcher in this offense. But, in his third year in the program, he has not seen the field very often and has not registered a stat. There are a lot of nuances to being able to play tight end in this offense so perhaps he’s still learning the ins-and-outs of the blocking scheme. If he gets opportunities in 2021, it will be to provide another good athlete to the offense.

Others to watch at TE: RS Fr. Francis Sherman

Overall

You have to be able to block to play tight end in this offense. Scott Satterfield has made that very clear in his first couple of seasons at Louisville. The more versatile you are, the better. Additionally, he clearly feels comfortable playing former walk-ons like Marshon Ford, Isaac Martin, and Francis Sherman without thinking twice over other scholarship players.

This position group will miss Pfeifer as an in-line blocker and it remains to be seen if anyone can take that role on in this offense. Daniels seems like the most obvious option.

Tight ends in 2021 may be more utilized simply due to the rather large losses at receiver for this season. This unit is full of important, integral pieces that make the offense go.