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By: LARRY VAUGHT
Freshman tight end C.J. Conrad really doesn’t pay attention to the speculation that he could be Kentucky’s biggest pass catching threat at tight end since Jacob Tamme left in 2007 with 133 catches for 1,417 yards.
“I listen to (tight ends) coach (Vince) Marrow and (offensive coordinator) coach (Shannon) Dawson,” said Conrad. “I don’t really look into anything else. What I am here for is to make plays and help the tight end position get better and help the team get better.
“What people are going to say, they are going to say. They are going to say things if I am not making plays, so I don’t read that stuff. I just play football.”
He thinks he can do that even better now after an MRI revealed he had a sports hernia in his right groin, a problem he had played with his senior season at Ohio’s Keystone High School. He also played through the pain at UK’s spring practice after enrolling at Kentucky in January.
"I knew something was wrong, but I needed to get these 15 practices in. I gutted through it,” Conrad said. “I am good now. It was something that happened in high school. It was nagging and the fact it is gone and taken care of is all I wanted.
“I got taken care of right at the end of April after spring practice and we kind of get May off. I rested at home. When I got back in June, I was not 100 percent but I was able to do a majority of things the other players were doing and by July I was 100 percent.”
The 6-4, 245-pound Conrad figures to easily have more than the seven catches UK’s tight ends combined for last year.
“It’s not complicated. People ask me how they will use me in the offense and I say they will use me in the offense based on how I play,” Conrad said. “If I am making plays, I will be out there. If I am not, I won’t be out there. Know what I am saying.
“I can play slot, tight end, fullback. When I am making plays, I will be all over the field. When I am not, I will not. Its as simple as that. Coach Dawson offense is great. I can’t wait.”
Dawson’s goal is to run 85 offensive plays per game.
“If I am not making plays, maybe 10,” Conrad said when asked how many plays he might get per game. “If I am making plays, I don’t know how many. As soon as I get tired I guess. I want to make the biggest impact possible for this team.
"At tight end, you've got to be smart because you are not the fastest guy out there. You have to find gaps and openings. You have to use your body the right way and then you have to catch the ball.”
Dawson said going through spring practice will be a major plus preparing for UK’s season.
“I know what to expect when it comes to practice because I went through spring ball. I won’t be super surprised. I am glad I got all my woes taken care of in the spring and now I can just play football,” he said.
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