Utah TE Brant Kuithe named to Earl Campbell Tyler Rose award watchlist

Despite not playing college football this fall, Utah junior tight end is continuing to haul in the preseason awards — most recently named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose preseason award watchlist

Prior to the fall college football season being shutdown/postponed this fall, Utah tight end Brant Kuithe was all set to become a household name in the college and NFL sports world.

He finished last season by earning all-Pac-12 second team honors — totaling 34 catches for 602 yards and six touchdowns, while adding another 102 yards rushing on six attempts and three more scores on the season. Hunter Bryant of Washington, who is now signed with the Detroit Lions, earned first-team honors last year.

He had two major breakout games last season — against UCLA when he caught five passes for 132 yards and a score — and against Colorado when he caught three passes for 63 yards and two scores while adding two rushes for 59 yards and a touchdown.

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

"He’s just a tremendous athlete and it’s not anything we scripted differently other than he just happened to shake free more often than he had in the past," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said after the UCLA game last season. "He has been playing really great football for us all year long, but he’s a tremendous weapon. He’s a tough match-up. ... He’s only a sophomore too."

“I don’t know if teams really know how to account for him because he can’t be covered by a linebacker and even safeties struggle with him,” Whittingham said. “One of the strengths of Andy (Ludwig, Utah offensive coordinator) is he puts guys in position to maximize their ability and what they do best. He’s certainly done that with Brant Kuithe.”

According to the recently-released PFF preseason all-Pac-12 team, Kuithe was named the first team tight end. PFF had this to say...

"While his size isn’t prototypical for a tight end, Kuithe is incredibly athletic and has route-running chops most guys his size don’t. He’s a weapon in the slot — 47% of his slot targets resulted in a 15-plus-yard play, the highest rate in the FBS."

Kuithe can add his name to another preseason award watch list, as he was recently named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose preseason award watchlist — given annually to the nation's top college offensive player of the year who succeeds both on and off the field.

👏👏👏 @Brantkuithe14 https://t.co/LUCPZcdDhp pic.twitter.com/3ZAYv9ZYAC

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 2, 2020

With Utah potentially playing in the spring, it will put Kuithe in a difficult position. He can chose to play this spring, and risk his health and miss all the preparation of the NFL draft process. Or he can sit out this season and declare for the NFL draft, spending the next 6 months or so preparing for his future.

Kuithe is without a doubt an NFL-caliber tight end — a matchup nightmare for opponents as he's too big for safeties and cornerbacks, yet too athletic for linebackers. Kuithe reminds me of San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, who like Kuithe really made a name for himself this past season.

Whether or not a season happens this year for Kuithe, it's safe to say that he's becoming a household name in the football sports world.

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Twitter — @UtahUtes_SI and Ryan Kostecka at @Ryan_Kostecka