Nevada football 2020 spring position preview: Tight ends

Before I begin, I want to thank every single first responder, doctor, nurse, health professional and every essential worker around Nevada (where I reside) and the United States who are working to help us keep safe and defeat this pandemic. I hope everyone is, and remains safe during these troubling times. Hopefully this will all end soon.

Now lets jump into it.

As Nevada football season approaches (despite spring football not being postponed until the foreseeable future), we will be breaking down each position group of the Nevada football team every Monday.

Today, we will be looking at the tight ends.

Previous weeks:

3/30: Quarterbacks

4/6: Running backs

4/13: Wide receivers

Anyone departing?

The Wolf Pack return all five of their tight ends from last year’s team.

Anyone returning?

Crishaun Lappin:

Lappin has appeared in 25 of Nevada’s 26 eligible games (seven starts) in his first two seasons with Nevada. He has corralled five total receptions for 31 yards and no scores. He totaled three receptions for a career-best 32 yards last season with Nevada. Out of Liberty High School in Las Vegas, Nev., Lappin was rated as a two-star prospect per 247sports.com. Lappin helped lead his team to four straight conference titles and was a two-time all-state honoree. He chose the Wolf Pack over Northern Arizona and UTEP.

Henry Ikahihifo:

Ikahihifo led the corps with six receptions for 27 yards in his first season with Nevada — appearing in 12 games last year. 247Sports rated Ikahihifo as a two-star prospect out of Paraclete High School in Lancaster, Calif. He helped lead his team to back-to-back CIF championships along with a state championship in 2017. Ikahihifo was also recruited by Army, Baylor, BYU and Colorado State.

Reagan Roberson:

In his first three seasons with the Wolf Pack, Roberson has registered six total catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown came on a game-winning seven-yard touchdown in overtime to seal the 16-13 win over Arkansas State. Roberson earned one of the team’s hustle awards last season.

Roberson attended Douglas High School, nearly 50 miles south of Reno. Roberson was named to the All-Sierra League as a tight end and a linebacker in his junior season. He won the Sierra League Defensive Player of the Year in his senior season. He chose the Wolf Pack over Idaho.

Ryan Brocks:

Brocks did not see the field last season due to injury. He played in seven contests in 2018, his first season with Nevada, but has not long any catches. Prior to Nevada, Brocks played one season at Fresno City College. In his lone season at FCC, Brocks caught six passes for 71 yards and a touchdown.

Daniel Grzesiak:

Grzesiak, along with Roberson, won one of the Hustle team awards last year. He registered seven total tackles on special teams for the Wolf Pack. He logged at least one in six games — including a career-high two versus Fresno State. An unranked prospect per 247Sports, Grzesiak was a defensive at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, Calif.. Grzesiak totaled 15 sacks and 24 tackles-for-loss in his senior season.

Any new faces?

There are no new additions to this Wolf Pack tight end core.

My thoughts:

This isn’t a talked about group much for Nevada, but there could be some key players here. With some of the receiving corps, any of these tight ends could potentially make an impact in the passing game. It is hard to get them involved, because the Pack are involved in an Air Raid offense that features a power running scheme, but this position group will do the dirty work in the run game while featuring some pass-catching ability.