OXFORD — Jack Coldiron will be starting at tight end when the Miami RedHawks open the season at Northwestern next week.
The redshirt senior suffered a knee injury against Miami (Fla.) in the 2023 opener and has nursed himself back into game shape.
“Jack Coldiron going into last year was one of the top tight ends in our league preseason, and then you lose him in Miami, Florida, for the season,” RedHawks coach Chuck Martin said. “We thought it was a crushing blow. But turned out we had a pretty good year without him.
“It’s great to have Jack back. He can run. He can catch. He can block. He’s a great target.”
Martin said the 6-foot-5 tight end can stretch defenses and has a good communicative relationship with quarterback Brett Gabbert.
“They’re always on the same page,” Martin said.
Coldiron saw action in 12 games during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He has 47 catches for 672 yards and four touchdowns in his career at Miami
“Getting Jack back is a huge one,” Martin said. “We lost him a year ago, we really had to change things on the fly. We ran a lot of four wide out, which we typically don’t run four wide outs at all. We never had run it. I never ran a snap with four wide outs before.”
Luke Bolden and Jack DeJarld did most of the work at tight end during Miami’s Mid-American Conference championship run. But those two are gone.
“We’re losing two of our blockers,” Martin said.
Redshirt senior Preston Daniel and redshirt junior Connor Briggs step in to replace Bolden and DeJarld.
“They catch the ball well, but they come here to do a lot of the blocking jobs that those guys did,” Martin said. “They were both here this spring, and we’re excited about them putting their face on people. They’re going to have a great fall camp and should be ready to roll. We’ve added some depth there.”
Redshirt junior Brian Shane, an Alter graduate, comes on as both a pass catcher and blocker to fill up the tight end room.
Redshirt sophomore Chase Becker and freshmen Zach Meeks, Hunter Teal and Vaughn Johnson look to become part of the mix.
“It’s great to have Coldy back,” Martin said. “Huge weapon for us throughout his career. Missed him dearly a year ago. Had to kind of shuffle the deck around.
“We’re really excited about the group. We’ll find a way to fill some short-term needs, and the tight end depth chart will do that. We love to use the tight ends.”
