Spring Breakout Predictions: Tight Ends

We are back and ready to roll with Day Three of the Spring Breakout series! If you haven’t checked out the two previous series diving into the QB and RB positions make sure you do. There is a lot of talent ready to ball out in Wisconsin starting next Friday, including several players that are set to come out of nowhere and finally grab the  recruiting attention they deserve. Today, I am going to dive into the senior and junior classes and find the five TEs that I believe are going to breakout this spring and receive the recruiting attention they deserve. For each player, we will take a look at what traits and skills they have to offer the next level and then take a quick look at their current recruitment interest and offer postings on their Twitter accounts. Here we go! <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31069" first="Peyton" last="Jenkins"], 2021- Sun Prairie</strong> The first of two senior TEs on this list comes from the talented Sun Prairie team. Jenkins is poised for a big spring as he is the leading returning pass catcher for the Sun Prairie offense. Checking in at 6’2" 210 lbs, I believe that Peyton can make an impact in an H-back type role at the next level. He has a ton of experience lining up in line and has shown the ability to get off the line quickly, and is an effective route runner. The smoothness through his breaks allows him to create a lot of separation from LBs trying to cover him. Once he gets the ball in his hands, Jenkins has enough speed to consistently create yards after the catch. Add in that he has the ability to get out in space and make blocks on athletic and agile DBs makes him valuable as a blocker out on the perimeter. I believe he will catch the eye of a lot of D3 level schools and potential more if he fits their offense. Based off his junior film, I would already expect to see Peyton having interest from schools shared on his Twitter account. However, after scrolling through his page there is nothing to report. The gap between interest and talent is very large right now. Once he starts doing his thing this Spring I believe that gap will start to close. There is definitely a role for him at the next level. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="94769" first="Nathan" last="Lesperance"], 2021- Green Bay Southwest</strong> You won’t find a more put together TE prospect this Spring. Nathan checks in at 6’5" 250 lbs and carries it with a relative ease. When you go through the junior tape you can see that he wasn’t used heavily in the pass game as a junior. Where he did make his impact was in the run game. With his size, Nathan was essentially a sixth offensive lineman for Green Bay Southwest. He does a good job of sticking on his block and has shown that he can drive edge defenders off the line. When it comes to his college projections, teams could consider him as a TE and even look at his as an OL. It will be interesting to see how he is used this Spring and how his game as improved. Nathan showed some potential as a junior. It will be key that he shows that he has capitalized on that potential this Spring. As far as his current interest, Nathan definitely fits into the under recruited category. Last Spring, Nathan had posts showing a lot of invites to Junior Days from the D2 and D3 levels. After that it seems he cooled off. I think a decent amount of reasoning for that can be given to the movement of his season. I believe that if he can come out this Spring and show that he has continued to develop over his junior film then he will once again start seeing that interest pick up. This is a name to write down and follow this Spring! <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="118350" first="Nolan" last="Hawk"], 2022- DeForest</strong> Our first junior in the article is the big, athletic TE from DeForest. Coming in at 6’5" 215 lbs, Nolan looks the part of a TE that should have a lot of interest from the next level. Hawk was able to make it out to the Prep Redzone Wisconsin Showcase this past December and really impressed us. Our National Director of Scouting tweeted out that Nolan ran routes like a player that weighed 170 lbs instead of 215 lbs and I second that thought. Hawk’s body control is eye popping and it allowed him to create a lot of separation with his sharp route running. As a junior, Nolan spent most of his time lining up out wide and using his basketball talents to box out the much smaller DBs covering him, as well as proving that he can make blocks on those types of athletes. He is going to prove that he is one of the top mismatches in the state this Spring. Even though he is a junior, Nolan is my biggest surprise on this list. While scrolling through the Twitter account, I didn’t find any showing of interest from the next level. That is by far the largest gap between talent and interest in this article. I believe that Nolan is going to come out this spring and put together a season that shows off the traits that should make him a D2 prospect. You are going to want to write down, underline, and highlight this name. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31260" first="Thomas" last="Biolo"], 2022- Kimberly</strong> I can’t wait to see what Thomas does this Spring in his varsity debut season. The 6’3" 225 prospect definitely looks the part and, based on his Twitter account, has been putting in the work in the gym this extended offseason. Once I started watching Thomas’ JV film from 2019 it became quickly clear that he has definitely grown as put on a good amount of mass since then. Even at that age and level, it is easy to see that he was already becoming a mismatch nightmare for defenses. He had the play speed to attack down the seam from his inline position and pick up yards after the catch. Biolo also shows that he is not only a willing blocker in the run game, but he is also a very effective one. With the added size over the past year, I only expect that to get even better. The jump we are set to see from the sophomore to junior film this Spring is setting up to be huge. There has been some hype surrounding Biolo leading up to his junior season. While going through his Twitter account he already has received some interest from <em>MNSU- Mankato</em> and has been consistently receiving interest from <em>Augustana University</em> since 2020. If what he showed in his JV film from 2019 continued to develop then I have high expectations for what he puts on tape this Spring. D2 programs, make sure you have this dude highlighted. Don’t miss out on him. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31222" first="Max" last="Rader"], 2022- Green Bay Notre Dame Academy</strong> The sophomore tape is intriguing for Rader. The 6'6'' 250 lbs prospect has already put out tape that shows how much of an impact he can have in the run game from his inline TE position. He does a great job of keeping his hands inside and then driving his feet. His body control through the block is reliable as he doesn't fall off blocks or get caught overextending. He has a nastiness to his game as a blocker too. Max doesn't miss out on opportunities to put defenders into the ground. The place where he can really take off is in the passing game. He doesn't have a ton of usage in that arena, yet. If he can prove to be as dangerous in the passing game as he is in the run game then we are going to see a huge jump in interest for Rader. There is a lot of potential. Can't wait to see how he has developed over this extended offseason. I'm surprised there isn't more early attention on the Notre Dame Academy product. He doesn't have a ton of production in the passing game, yet. That is sure to change this Spring. I did expect the run blocking and size mismatch to bring in the attention. So far, he minimal attention has come from <em>South Dakota</em>. Other than that it has been quiet. Those quiet days are numbered.