Three blue blood programs in top-five for elite 2024 recruit

Top 2024 tight end recruit Jaden Reddell Lori Schmidt / Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Three blue blood programs in top five for elite 2024 TE recruit

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 5/18/23

Tight ends have changed the game of football, as the way tight ends play has changed. From being in-line blockers who could run the occasional post up the middle to the era of Tony Gonzalez followed by Rob Gronkowski and now Travis Kelce -- tight ends are offensive weapons more than anything else.

For instance, Kelce put up 1,388 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season for the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs. In the college ranks, Dalton Kincaid of Utah -- who was just drafted in the first round by the Buffalo Bills -- put up 890 yards and eight touchdowns.

An elite tight end can be a game changer and winner for a team, so it makes sense that a ton of blue chip programs are after the top 2024 tight end recruit in the nation: Jaden Reddell. Five of those teams, in particular, stand out for the four-star from Peculiar, Missouri.

Where’s home? https://t.co/hxQjbyaM32
— Jaden Reddell (@JadenReddell) May 17, 2023

“What made these five schools stand out are how they produce tight ends, how they use the tight ends in their offense, the relationships I have with the coaches and how they have consistently made me feel like a priority,” Reddell told On3. “I would say my visits to these schools were five of the best I have taken as well.”

A top-five grouping of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Oregon and Notre Dame is nothing to scoff at. Those are five big-time programs and for what it is worth, Reddell projects to be a big-time tight end.

On3 ranks him as the No. 1 tight end in the 2024 class. According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, he is a Top 60 recruit nationally.
While Notre Dame, Oregon, Georgia and Alabama are generally considered favorites for many recruits --- and all have to feel they have a shot at Reddell -- keep an eye on Tennessee as a darkhorse in this race.

"That was my best visit ever," he said of his time at Rocky Top. "My relationships with the staff have grown since then too. The explosive offense they run under Josh Heupel is something else that put Tennessee high on my list.”

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