The Auburn tight ends have been told in the past they’ll be more involved in the offense. But usually, not much changes.

In 2020 the tight ends did get a little more involved, catching 13 passes compared to three the previous season.

But with a Bryan Harsin and Mike Bobo led pro-style offense, the tight ends are getting even more involved.

“It’s definitely different,” Luke Deal said about the new offense. “We’re all having a good time right now. It’s definitely difficult, it’s more of a pro-style offense and we’re having to learn a lot of different things which was — early on it was tough — we’re starting to get used to things and now it’s, like you said, it’s a little more fun, little more advanced and we’re enjoying it. We’re a big part of the offense right now so that’s something that everybody’s looking forward to for this season.”

The change in the offense has led to a variety of new opportunities for the tight ends. In the run game, which is more downhill focused, the tight ends have been used in the I-Formation and as fullbacks.

Deal has some experience with that from high school, but not much.

“Oh I love it. I’m gonna be honest, I played a little bit of it in high school, but I mostly played quarterback, so I haven’t really had that much experience with it,” Deal said on playing fullback. “But when coach [Brad] Bedell was telling us and coach Bobo was introducing the offense and showed us we’ve got a chance to do some of that old-school, I-formation fullback type stuff, I love it. You’ve just got to be physical and go out there — you’ve got a better chance to read the defense and like I said, let loose and play. I love it.”

In the passing game, the tight ends are splitting out wide more and running more routes. In Auburn’s open practice, several tight ends hauled in passes.

While it’s been an adjustment, Deal and the tight ends have enjoyed the change.

“So really, like I said, it's a pro-style offense, and with pro-style offenses what you're going to get is a downhill, physical run game, and off of that you're going to get explosive passes,” Deal said. “So everything kind of sets up everything, which is really cool -- especially for a hybrid-type player like a tight end. So I think we're really thriving in that part of the offense, and we're excited about it."

Auburn practiced for the 11th time this spring on Monday, with practices on Wednesday and Friday again before A-Day on Saturday.

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