After losing David Njoku to the 2017 NFL Draft, Miami football may just have the next great tight end in Chris Herndon.
Miami has been one of the best program for churning out NFL-caliber tight ends. Just this year, the Hurricanes sent David Njoku to the NFL via the first round of the draft and head coach Mark Richt believes there may be another tight end to follow his footsteps already in the program.
According to theScore, Richt spoke at ACC Media Days this week about the possibility of replacing Njoku with someone who is equally as talented. While it won’t be an easy task, he had nothing but nice things to say about junior Chris Herndon.
In fact, Richt even said, ”(Chris) is one of the better tight ends I have been around.” That’s some glowing praise from the second-year head coach who had just coached Njoku who could arguably be a top tight end in the league in the next few years.
When looking at his numbers as well as his frame and athleticism, it’s easy to see why Richt likes Herndon’s game so much. He stands about 6-foot-4 and weighs in at 253 pounds. Just this past season, he caught 28 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns. While those may not seem like eye-popping numbers, you have to realize he was the team’s No. 2 tight end.
Just imagine what kind of numbers he will put up in 2017 as the go-to target at the position.
Richt went on to talk about how Miami likes to put a lot of focus on the tight end position, which could only help Herndon’s stock.
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Don’t be surprised if Herndon is the next great tight end to come out of Miami in 2018 and he could work himself into an early-round draft pick as well.