I was watching Ohio State's game with Maryland on Saturday when Buckeyes' tight end Nate Roberts scored on a 68-yard touchdown reception.
It prompted a check to see how South Florida tight ends are doing in the first season with former Buckeyes offensive coordinator Brian Hartline as head coach.
One of the hype points for beyond his reputation as an elite-level producer of top wide receiver NFL draft picks was Hartline's success in utilizing tight ends as a lethal weapon on Ohio State's offense.
It was certainly something USF tight end Wyatt Sullivan noticed when Hartline was hired. While many of his offensive teammates from last season transferred after Alex Golesh took the Auburn job, Sullivan stayed.
"I was familiar with how he used (tight ends) at Ohio State, so (staying) was a no-brainer. It's my last year and I want to have the best senior year possible," he said at the American Conference football media kickoff before the season started..
"The last few seasons I was so focused on the running game, I didn't focus enough on how crisp my routes were. I've got to get better at that."
Well, Green, Gold and Bold is not here to critique how crisp the routes from Sullivan or any other Bulls' receiver has been this season. But it is interesting that halfway through the season, USF tight ends have not been on the receiving end of many throws this season.
Through the Bulls' first six games, only 10 of the 101 completed passes have gone to tight ends. Sullivan leads the position group with six catches for 69 yards, but no more than two receptions in any game.
Let's be clear: This is not an indictment of Hartline or offensive coordinator Tim Beck. In Thursday's 31-24 loss at UTSA, the Bulls had the lead late only to have the defense surrender a game-winning drive for the second straight week.
But it does the raise the question of how far along the offense is in Hartline's first season. My guess is it's nearly as far as Bulls' fans would like.
Hartline has said repeatedly that the Bulls weren't close to where they needed to be to compete for a championship. While that plan is not moot after a second straight American Conference loss, it's probably on life support for this season.
However, I see the tight end statistic as the validation of Hartline's point. The Bulls obviously aren't a complete team at this point and that's not a crime. After the departure of Golesh and many pivotal offensive pieces to Auburn, this was going to be a rebuild on the fly.
With a 4-2 record at the midpoint of this season, the Bulls could reasonably expect an 8-win season. That would be something to build on.
As for the situation with the tight ends, it just shows how far this USF program needs to go to be the kind of complete team Hartline clearly envisions.
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