In just two seasons, Pat Freiermuth has already tied the Penn State record for career touchdowns by a tight end, hauling in 15 to match predecessor Mike Gesicki.
Barry Reeger | AP file photo
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New Penn State offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca didn’t have the tight end involved much in the passing game last year while at Minnesota. But he didn’t have a tight end like Pat Freiermuth.
Roger Steinman | AP file photo
Predictably, the numbers don’t concern Pat Freiermuth at all.
Penn State’s All-America tight end is looking forward to playing in new coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca’s offense, a system that was remarkably successful last season at Minnesota.
One notable shortcoming, however, was an utter lack of production from the tight ends, who were an afterthought in the Golden Gophers’ passing game.
Three Minnesota tight ends combined for just 10 catches, 88 yards and two touchdowns in all of 2019 — totals that Freiermuth almost surpassed in a single game last September. He caught eight passes for 99 yards and two scores against Buffalo. Against Michigan State later in the year, he hauled in three touchdowns.
Of course, Minnesota’s offense was tailored to its personnel — three excellent wide receivers and a deep stable of running backs. And Penn State’s tweaked system will naturally follow suit and emphasize one of the country’s best tight ends.
Not that Freiermuth is about to give out any secrets.
“I know, and the coaches know and all that, but I’m not going to leak too many details out,’’ Freiermuth said on a video call with reporters. “Obviously, there’s some rumors about using the tight ends. But I can promise you, I’m going to be used and I’m going to have a pretty good season, I hope.”
There aren’t any firm details about when and how a 2020 season might be held, but success for Freiermuth seems like a safe bet.
Though he was snubbed from making the final eight candidates for the Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end, he still had an impressive sophomore season, finishing with 43 catches for 507 yards and seven scores in 2019.
Through two seasons at Penn State, he has already tied Mike Gesicki for most career touchdown catches by a tight end in school history with 15. And he would’ve had the record to himself already if not for a controversial replay reversal in a win over Iowa.
His rapport with quarterback Sean Clifford has been strong, and the Lions played more snaps with multiple tight ends in 2019 than any other season under coach James Franklin. Though No. 2 option Nick Bowers is gone to the NFL, the Lions have 6-foot-7 sophomore Zack Kuntz ready to move up along with redshirt freshman Brenton Strange. Penn State also signed a blue chip tight end recruit in Theo Johnson back in December.
The biggest concern now for those players isn’t how Ciarrocca will utilize the group, but how they will pick up an altered scheme and new terminology after losing all of spring practice to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I love the new offense,” Freiermuth said. “It’s awesome, it’s very effective and I think it’s going to allow us to play fast.
“Obviously without spring ball, there’s some questions about how fast we’re going to be able to pick it up. On these (video call) meetings, we’re picking it up really fast. Coach Ciarrocca has made it really simple.”
But regardless of Freiermuth’s individual numbers next season, he figures to be one of the first tight ends selected in next spring’s NFL draft.
That might have been true even last month. Despite playing just two seasons of college football, Freiermuth could have entered the 2019 draft because he was three years removed from when his high school career was supposed to end — a transfer to a private school in had changed his timeline.
Freiermuth quickly put an end to any speculation, announcing less than an hour after Penn State’s regular season finale that he was returning for his junior year.
He said he is well aware of the hype that surrounds him and his NFL future. And as a safeguard, he said he has deleted social media apps from his phone in an attempt to stay away from it.
“I need to focus on my time being at Penn State and trying to take full advantage of this,” Freiermuth said. “Because if I don’t have a good season this year, or I don’t perform, then it’s all down the drain.
“I’ve got to block out the noise and continue to do what my process has been ever since I got to Penn State. To work and do what I need to do to become better and help the team. So I’m going to take that same mentality into this season and hopefully I’ll continue to progress in my career.”