For those who have been waiting over a decade for the return of the tight end at TU, the waiting very likely will be over.

Maybe not Garrett Mills over. But underutilized is not in new TU coach Tre Lamb’s thought process for the 2025 Golden Hurricane tight ends.

When asked how involved the tight ends will be for Tulsa, Lamb didn’t hesitate.

“Very. Much more than last year,” Lamb said. “I thought they had great tight ends last year and didn’t get them the ball enough. Tight end was the best position here last year.”

As for this year, in an almost a total rebuild of the position, tight end is expected to stand out. And get the ball.

The two players most likely to be the recipient of playing time and pass catching are transfers Body Foley and Landen Lucas.

“Brody Foley and Landen Lucas will take 99 percent of the reps this year,” Lamb said. “Luke Tevis is a freshman who will come in and play some. Jewlyen Roberts has got a long way to go. He’s got to grow up. He’s young but has a big body.

“But that room is really good. We replaced some really good players like McGary.”

Gone to the portal are Luke McGary (17 catches for 231 yards, 1 TD) to Houston, Connor Vaughn (7-59, 3 TDs) to North Texas, and Jackson Ford (no stats) to San Diego State, as well as longtime TE Ethan Hall (5-34) to graduation. Those players totaled 29 catches for 324 yards and 4 TDs.

At East Tennessee State last season, Lamb’s tight ends had 26 catches for 312 yards and 3 touchdowns, so it looks like, on the surface, very similar to last season at TU. However, grad transfer Cameron Lewis had 19 catches for 207 yards and 2 scores in only 5 games before missing the rest of the season for ETSU. Lewis alone was on pace for around 46 catches and 500 yards.