Arizona Football Top Five All-Time Tight Ends

Throughout its history, Arizona football has seen many ups and downs with the program making 22 bowl games and recording four 10-win seasons. In 1998, the Wildcats finished with a school-record 12 wins capped off with a 23-20 win over Nebraska.

As the program gears up for its 122nd season with head coach Brent Brennan entering his second season at the helm, we will be ranking the top five players at each position to get you ready for the 2025 season.

As we continue throughout this position process of breaking down the top five players of all-time, we have arrived at the tight ends unit, which has a surprisingly deeper history than most would think.

5. Ted Sherwood (1968-69)

Although he played just two seasons with Arizona, Ted Sherwood was able to do damage in the passing game totaling 608 yards on 44 receptions while racking up four touchdowns. 

You've got to remember, back in the 60's, teams didn't throw the ball all over the field. It was more of a game on the ground compared to what you see today. So, what Sherwood was able to accomplish is highly impressive.

4. Ron Beyer (1975-78)

The tight end of the 70's for Arizona was Ron Beyer, who played four seasons in Tucson and played for legendary coach Jim Young. 

In four seasons, Beyer totaled 801 yards on 53 catches while getting to the end zone seven times in 42 career games.

3. Mark Keel (1981-82)

Another tight end that spent just two seasons in Tucson was Mark Keel, who was drafted by the New England Patriots similarly to Gronkowski. Keel played for coach Larry Smith and was a key piece on a team that was trying to rebuild a program from the ground up. In his two seasons, Keel racked up 856 yards while collecting 59 receptions to go along with his six career touchdowns. Remember, this was in an era where airing out the ball wasn't common.

2. Tanner McLachlan (2022-23)

The only player to come close to the things Gronkowski was able to do at Arizona at the position was tight end Tanner McLachlan, who was a critical piece in the Wildcats 10-3 Alamo Bowl winning season. In his career, McLachlan totaled 984 yards on 79 catches while getting to the end zone six times. During the 2023 season, he established himself as one of the better tight ends in the Pac-12 conference. The story of McLachlan is a very unique one. Like Gronkowski, he dealt with injuries early in his career while at Southern Utah, where he torn his ACL. Arizona allowed McLachlan to walk-on with the recommendation of then-tight ends coach Jordan Paopao. With the opportunity, he shined, and it wasn't too long until they made him a scholarship player.

1. Rob Gronkowski 

Rob Gronkowski is the all-time leader in receiving yards for a tight end and it isn't close with his 1,197 yards on 75 receptions while hauling in 16 TDs. That's all despite missing his junior season due to a back surgery. Gronk was a monster in his first two years with the program and set the standard for tight ends not only at Arizona but nationally as well. 

His best season came in 2008, where he recorded 672 yards on 75 catches and found the end zone 10 times. Gronkowski became the No. 2 option for quarterback Willie Tuitama behind star receiver Mike Thomas. During that season, Gronkowski helped the program reach the Vegas Bowl where the Wildcats upset No. 16 BYU 31-21 ending a 10-year bowl drought delivering the \win for the Wildcats in bowl games.

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