Penn State football’s tight end room is the ‘most talented’ in the country, TE Zack Kuntz says
Penn State football has arguably the top tight end in the country in Pat Freiermuth, but according to his backup, the strength of the room goes beyond the starter.
Redshirt sophomore tight end Zack Kuntz said the Nittany Lions have the most talented tight end group in the country.
“I know what our room is capable of,” he said on a conference call Wednesday afternoon. “I think we’re the most talented tight end room in the country. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. I think we’ve only scratched the surface of what we’re capable of doing.”
Kuntz’s assertion comes a week after Penn State linebacker Jesse Luketa called the linebacker room the best in college football.
The two position groups have plenty of reason to be excited about their prospects this season. The tight ends are led by Freiermuth, who enters the season as a projected first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, while the linebackers are led by Micah Parsons, who’s Mel Kiper Jr.’s No. 5 prospect in the entire 2021 draft class.
Both assessments may seem brash but neither player is far off base in their judgment of their position groups, especially Kuntz.
The tight end room is full of former highly touted recruits and versatile offensive weapons. Freiermuth leads the room and does so with his talent and his drive to be great.
“Pat’s got a great motor,” Kuntz said. “I can’t think of a day that Pat’s not in Lasch getting better ... I think he’s done a great job of setting the standard that you get out what you put in. He’s done a great job of putting in the extra work. Even though he can be the best tight end in the country, he still has a chip on his shoulder that he needs to be better.”
Kuntz and redshirt freshman Brenton Strange will be the junior’s primary backups and were four-star recruits coming out of high school. They both present the kind of receiving upside that offenses value as mismatch options. Behind those two sits freshman Theo Johnson, the No. 3 tight end in the 2020 recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
That level of depth behind the nation’s best tight end gives credence to Kuntz’s proclamation. They’ll have the chance to prove it when they take the field for the 2020 season.
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 4:28 PM.
