Seth Doege Wants Production Increase For USC's Tight Ends

In his first press conference with the media, Seth Doege explained his hopes for the tight end group in 2021.

Seth Doege is looking to increase the tight end groups production at USC in 2021. The newly promoted coach, spoke publicly for the first time since his title bump which was announced on Jan. 29.

During his sit down with the media, Doege spoke with enthusiasm when discussing the future of the tight ends group at USC. 

Now this position group in particular has always been an interesting one to analyze within USC's offense. In the past few years, they have seen limited opportunities and minutes compared to other players on the field. This is partially due to the fact that the Trojans have yet to bring in an incredibly dominate tight end who excels at both blocking and receiving.

When you have skill set players like Amon Ra. St. Brown, Tyler Vaughns and Drake London, who demonstrate consistency and reliability, it becomes difficult to take opportunities away from them.

Doege mentioned Drake London quite frequently during Fridays press conference with the media. He explained that going forward recruiting athletes like Drake London, a hybrid and versatile player will help the Trojans find success.

"Drake right now he has been split out, we haven't used him as much in the run game. I think moving forward we can get creative and do some of that stuff with him. But from a recruiting standpoint and evaluation standpoint I'm looking for guys..that weigh 6'5" [or] 6'6", [and] 225 or 230-pounds. That can run and separate in the pass game but put their face on somebody when they need to and help us in the run game as well. When you have that guy you can get creative in some of the stuff you do."

In 2019, the bulk of USC's receptions came from their wide receivers and running backs. Erik Krommenhoek ended the 2019 season with 11 receptions and Josh Falo ended the 2019 season with four receptions. To put things into perspective, popular wide receiver option Michael Pittman Jr. ended his season with 101 receptions. 

We heard from John David Baker [tight end coach for the 2020 season] who expressed again, a desire to see an increase in production in USC's short six game schedule. Although the tight end group as a whole, saw the field this season, their receiving numbers were not anywhere close to having that "increase" David Baker was hoping for.

Redshirt freshman Jude Wolfe, played in four games and finished with two receptions, five yards, zero touchdowns and five total tackles. Krommenhoek appeared in six games, he had nine receptions, 59 yards, two touchdowns and 59 total tackles. And Falo appeared in three games and finished with zero receptions. 

But the statistics from 2019 and 2020 don't discourage Doege. In fact, he hopes to see the 2021 stat board skyrocket next year. When speaking about his goals for the 2021 season Doege said, "I would say somewhere above 50 receptions in that room and then obviously the production yards after the catch somewhere between north of 800, that would be very productive for us."

USC has two tight ends coming in as part of the 2021 recruiting class in Michael Trigg and Lake McRee. Hopefully the additions of these two bodies will add some more depth and talent to the Trojans roster.

[Helton: Korey Foreman Helped Solidify Other SoCal Recruits]

[Elite Recruiting Helps Cancel Loss to NFL]

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