Can Alabama’s Tight Ends Get More Involved in the Passing Game?

Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas flashed yet again on Saturday despite Alabama's 23-21 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, catching six passes for 80 yards and a 25-yard touchdown against the Sooners. Cuevas's six receptions are the most he's had in a single game at the Power Four level.

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Cuevas has become Alabama's fourth-leading receiver this season, behind Isaiah Horton, Ryan Williams, and Germie Bernard. On Monday, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer was asked about the tight ends becoming more involved in the passing offense.

"Yeah, I think both, in particular, Cuevas and Kaleb, do an amazing job. The tight end position's always been important to our offense. It's not just the pass game, but it's the run game and the ability and the flexibility these guys have to line up wide, be in the core, move around. It's not just physical, it's mental capacity to do all these things. I mean, Josh is a stud. You just see him on one play, made a guy miss in the flat, toed the sideline, and then lowered the shoulder at the end of the run. It's just the competitiveness he has. And Kaleb [Edwards] just continues to get better. You can see him at pad level, for a tall guy, continuing to work at it. He's got great hands. He's been, throughout the year, a guy that you can consistently count on to catch the ball in tough places. And so, there's more to it with our tight end corps, but those two certainly get the brunt of what we give as far as reps.”

Kaleb Edwards is a true freshman from El Dorado Hills, California. He's listed as the starting Y tight end in Alabama's offense, meaning he is the first tight end on the field, in addition to Josh Cuevas, if Alabama runs two tight ends onto the field. Cuevas has caught five passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown came in Alabama's week two victory over Louisiana-Monroe.

Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb called Cuevas an 'elite' tight end, saying he's as good a player as anyone on the Crimson Tide's roster.

"Josh is an elite tight end. He's as good a player as we have on this football team. He's heavily involved in the pass game every week. He's always a viable target, and he's definitely a guy who has the courage to get in there and block as well. You saw him on a couple of ISO blocks. He's a phenomenal player. He's a guy who breaks tackles. He's not just a tight end who's going to catch a stick route and fall down. He's absolutely a spark in our offense in a lot of different ways. So super valuable guy."

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.