Before becoming a 5x Pro Bowler and 2x All-Pro Super Bowl Champion tight end with the Kansas City Chiefs, Travis Kelce was a lightly regraded 2-Star recruit from Cleveland Heights, OH. Kelce chose the Cats’ over scholarship offers from Miami (OH), Akron, and Eastern Michigan. After redshirting his freshman year in 2008, Kelce struggled early on at UC recording just one catch for 3 yards in 2009. Then after a violation of team rules he was suspended for for the entire 2010 season. His junior year also wasn’t anything to write home about, as he finished with 13 receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns. It wasn’t until his senior year during the 2012 season, in which exploded onto the scene hauling in 45 receptions for 722 receiving yds and eight touchdowns. Kelce’s impressive senior season with the Cats’ was good enough to earn him first team All-Big East honors and the Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the third round (63rd overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft.
There have been other UC tight ends besides the one’s listed above to also make their mark over the past two decades. Tough guy Ben Guidugli who played for the Cats’ from 2007-2010 signed with St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2011. Guidugli spent two seasons as a member of the Rams, before then signing with the New York Giants in 2013 and retiring after being released by them during the preseason. Also former Cats’ tight end Adrien Robinson who played at UC from 2008-2011 was selected in the fourth round (127th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He lasted four seasons with Giants and posted career numbers of five receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown.
The future of Bearcats’ tight ends in the NFL are now in the hands of the torch bearer Travis Kelce and the 2020 NFL Draft third round (94th overall) selection of the Green Bay Packers Josiah Deguara. While it may be a bit premature to call UC the new Tight End U (TEU), a tradition has slowly been built which does not appear to be ending any time soon. Recent history should certainly give Cats’ fans everywhere enough reason to believe, the next great Bearcats tight end is probably already on campus working hard to continue to the lineage.
