The tight end makes its glorious return for the Colorado Buffaloes

There was a strange phenomenon that happened the last few weeks of CU football. No, it wasn’t Khalil Tate and Ryan Nall. This one has been three years and change in the making. The tight end, yes, the third tackle that CU has used for a while, actually became a part of the offense. Chris Bounds caught two touchdowns last week against Arizona, which is two more touchdowns than Sean Irwin has caught in the last two years and one more catch in general. And I’m so happy it’s happening.

The tight end has been an oft-criticized aspect of this offense. Many fans have thought that the Buffs need to utilize the tight end more as a weapon in the passing game rather than the blocking game. But it’s precisely its use in the blocking game that has finally cracked the success for the position.

Chris Bounds has played a lot of snaps for CU this year. That is not because he is a dynamic receiver. It’s because he opens holes for Phillip Lindsay, and the Buffs learned in Week 5 that giving the ball to Lindsay every play ain’t so bad. That means a few less four-wide sets and a few more power shotgun formations. Which means Chris Bounds gets some run. Against Arizona, he was the right guy at the right time:

And against Oregon State, he helped score 3 of the 5 touchdowns for CU:

Let’s hope we continue see his role expanded.