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After he caught just three passes for 63 yards and one score in his first season at Kentucky, tight end Steven Borden wasn’t about to complain about the excessive work he got during spring practice because of UK’s lack of tight end depth.
“I will take all the reps that I can get,” said Borden, who transferred to UK last year after playing his sophomore season at Kilgore (Texas) Junior College following a season at NAIA Southwestern Assemblies where he actually played defensive end and made 35 tackles.
Borden expects to do more this season and knows UK needs him to be more productive.
“You have to play with what you have. For me, I think in the fall I would think too much out there as opposed to just playing (last season),” said Borden. “You have to get to the point where you have watched enough film and studied the game enough that when you get out there you can just explode off the ball and play. I think that is what I am doing a little bit more of, but I still have a long way to go.”
Borden said it “was just a lot different” playing at UK in the Southeastern Conference in offensive coordinator Neal Brown’s system and having a full-time position coach in Vince Marrow.
“I had never really even at my junior college had a tight end coach to work with me on technique stuff and basics of route running and blocking. I think getting here and having the time with coach Marrow and coach Brown has made a big difference for me,” Borden, who didn’t even play tight end during his prep career in California, said.
Kentucky had just two healthy tight ends during spring practice and will be counting on incoming freshman Daryl Long to added needed depth and playmaking ability in the fall. However, Borden said the lack of depth can’t impact how he plays.
“I approach it the same as if six guys were here. You approach it like it is just you and that’s all you can worry about. At the end of the day, all I can do is what is within my athletic ability, and I believe I have the ability to play and play well. I am just focusing on getting myself as good as I possibly can,” he said. “Having less guys, I have been able to get more reps standing up and with my hand in the dirt. The more, the better.”
Borden knows what he hopes Kentucky fans see from him this season.
“Hopefully some explosive plays or even routine plays also. Last year I touched the ball three times all year. This year I am hoping to touch more than that every game and I am going to be blocking a lot and hopefully pancake a few guys,” Borden said.
“One thing they have been working with me is helping open the field for other guys. I have to understand the concept that even if the ball is not coming to me, I still have to haul as fast as I can and try to stretch things out and open for other guys. I hope to have some opportunities to get deep and make some deeper plays down field.”
That’s what former UK tight end Jacob Tamme, who is now with the Denver Broncos, did during his career even though he was never regarded as a physical blocker at the line of scrimmage. Instead, Tamme studied the game and knew where to be and how to get open.
“I look at him because he is somebody that understands the game really well. I watch him. We have cut-ups of him back in our film room and I watch him and pay attention to what he does. Obviously, you play in the league that long you must be doing something right. So I watch how he stretches the field. He has really reliable hands, too. He catches everything,” Borden said.
Sometimes Tamme was able to just shield a defender long enough to let a UK running back find a hole because defenses had to respect his ability to get down the field on pass routes.
“Coach Marrow won’t have any of that. He is all about being physical. He won’t put up with that. No shadow blocking for me,” Borden said.
That’s why Borden knows he has a lot to do this summer before preseason practice resumes in August.
“Technique, route running, footwork, getting off in man coverage. Then just running through reps in my mind,” Borden said. “I will probably watch I don’t know how many hours of film so that when I get on the field, I will just play. A lot of speed and power work that will help me get bigger, stronger, faster.”
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