This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • Almost from the time he was named BYU's new offensive coordinator last Christmas Eve, Ty Detmer has promised he will bring the tight end position back into the Cougars' offense.
Seven months later, preseason training camp has started in Provo and, sure enough, BYU is lining up with a tight end right next to a tackle, or even two tight ends, on occasion.
That's all well and good, until one considers that none of the five guys playing the position has ever caught a pass in a Division I college football game.
"Yeah, we are pretty inexperienced," new tight ends coach Steve Clark acknowledged after the Cougars' third practice of camp on Monday.
But Clark is not deterred. He's confident that there is enough talent among the candidates vying to become the starting tight end that Detmer's promise will be fulfilled.
"Yes, it is coming back [to the BYU offense]," Clark said. "This is more of a pro-set offense, so yes. That's what we wanted to do. If they are holding us back, we are not going to be dumb. We will go with the 11 best players that we have on offense."
That's roughly what Detmer said on Friday when camp opened — that he won't use a tight end just for the sake of using one if he's not confident in that guy.
"We've got some guys who can do it," Detmer said. "It is going to take some time and some reps and continuing to work it. But if it doesn't [work], we will go to three receivers and we will make it work. We will have a plan for game time when it comes. We will do what we feel is best, get the best guys on the field and make it work, one way or the other."
So, who are the candidates?
Clark said junior Tanner Balderree, a converted defensive end, left spring camp as the starter on the depth chart and is still in the No. 1 spot. Behind him is junior walk-on Nate Sampson, recruited out of Pleasant Grove High as a linebacker four years ago.
A pair of TEs on last year's roster, Bryan Sampson and Steven Richards, have been forced to retire from football for medical reasons. Hybrid tight end Terenn Houk graduated, and one-time receiver Josh Weeks was dismissed from the team last spring after bulking up.
Former Davis High star Troy Hinds has moved from defense to tight end, while former Georgia Tech receiver Hunter Marshall, who played last year at Snow College, is also giving the position a shot, although he's on the smaller side.
Then there's Solomone Wolfgramm, a 6-foot-6, 270-pounder from California's Bay Area who played basketball at BYU-Hawaii last year after a church mission to Phoenix. Clark said head coach Kalani Sitake discovered Wolfgramm while recruiting in Hawaii last spring and couldn't ignore the young man's size and athleticism.
"He's a great basketball player, and he understands body position," Sitake said, noting that former great BYU TEs such as Chad Lewis, Jonny Harline and Dennis Pitta were good basketball players in high school. "So understanding body movement, being able to block people out, establishing position is good for a tight end."
Sitake said Wolfgramm got a lot bigger and stronger in BYU's offseason conditioning program.
"So we will have to see how it all comes together. Obviously, learning the game is going to be the hard part for him. The physical part, he understands," Sitake said. "All the other tight ends are doing a great job, too. Troy [Hinds] is doing great there, and we are seeing a lot of good things from the guys who were already here — Tanner and all the guys who are playing that position. So we are good."
Nate Sampson said the competition has been intense, but enjoyable.
"Right now, it is a battle, man," said Sampson, who redshirted last year. "We don't know who is leading, because none of us have played in a game. We are all just supporting each other and having fun."
Twitter: @drewjay —
Tight ends in BYU's fall camp
Player Year No. Ht/Wt Previous school
Troy Hinds Soph. 44 6-5/245 Davis HS
Nate Sampson Jr. 85 6-2/240 Pleasant Grove HS
Tanner Balderree Jr. 89 6-3/252 Sherwood (Ore.) HS
Marshall Hunter Soph. 96 6-3/242 Snow College
Solomone Wolfgramm Soph. 99 6-6/270 BYU-Hawaii (hoops)