2010 Spartan Nation Football Profile: Charlie Gantt TE #83
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Expectation:Â Starting TE
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Height:  6’5â€
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Weight:Â 263#
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2010 Eligibility:Â Senior 5th year
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EXP:Â Three Letters
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Status:Â Starting TE
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Strengths: Gantt is a well-respected, intelligent and good football player. He has immense talent. He is a big strong target that has potential at the next level. He does the dirty (not cheating) little things that make a TE go from good to possibly great.
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For a great example of his strengths let’s take a moment and look at a play from the Alamo Bowl. With the Spartans facing a second and nine at the Texas Tech 47 yard line in the first quarter, Gantt split out in a five-receiver set. He was on the right as the middle receiver with two other guys. When the play was made, Gantt leveled a devastating block down the field.
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Gantt can be moved wide because he runs disciplined routes and has the speed to be taken seriously. He is a weapon in that he can block in the open field as well as catch. Many TEs can block on the line, but when split out it becomes very difficult from a bigger man and one who usually blocks from a down lineman position.Â
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Gantt can block on the line and in space, and he can catch and run both in space and in traffic.
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Weakness: Gantt is very talented and an excellent young man. His biggest weakness is at times out in space he will “camp†and not use his mobility. It isn’t that he can’t, he is so disciplined that at times he doesn’t react quickly when the situation calls for a change.
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For example, it is expected of a TE, RB, or WR out in a passing pattern to look back and to recognize when a QB is scrambling. When a QB begins to scramble, those receivers are supposed to “release†and head down the field.  Occasionally, Gantt will “camp†meaning he won’t break and release down the field. He stays disciplined to what he is expected to do. 99% of the time, that commitment to discipline is admirable and is why he does well. It is the 1% that it hurts.
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In the first play of the fourth quarter of the UM game when MSU was at the UM 16 yard line, Charlie got a perfect pass in the corner of the end zone and dropped it. Again, Gantt was able to get open because of his route discipline. He took his eyes off the ball when he was so wide open and actually alone. That is another example of how he did everything right and faked everyone out to be wide open, and that split second of hesitation hurt him.Â
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Final Analysis: The thing that I love about Gantt is that he is a textbook TE. He does it all well. He simply has to improve in the improvisation part of the game when little things don’t happen, like changing his route when the QB is scrambling.
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Gantt could play on ANY team in the Big Ten, and 2009 was disappointing for all of the Spartan TEs as they were underused in my opinion in the offense. Charlie is set for a big 2010 campaign. He may not get to All Big Ten status ONLY because the Spartans are so loaded at this critical spot that he won’t get enough reps and opportunities to do what he needs to do to earn that status.