Zach Horton is the Heart and Soul of IU's Offense

Written By: Nick Gonzales (@nrgonzales_)

When you think of an impact player on offense, your first thought isn’t usually a tight end. With a lot of talent spread around Indiana’s offense, there are many names that come to mind when you think of standout players, but one name that doesn’t get enough recognition is tight end Zach Horton. Horton may not get the ball much, but he is a very important piece in the Hoosiers’ offensive attack.

Maryland’s head coach, Mike Locksley, gave Horton a lot of praise during his press conference last Tuesday saying, “He is the glue for them on offense… This is a guy that’s really talented in the run game. You get enamored in catches and production there, but as a coach when you look at things as I think of things on offense, he’s the heart and soul of it. His style of play is what you like. I respect the way he plays.”

Getting so much praise and being one of the players that stood out most to the opposing head coach is a great thing to hear. However, Horton said today that he appreciated the praise a lot but he makes sure that it doesn’t affect his play so that he can focus on playing his style of ball.

Against Maryland, Horton commanded the tight end position with 73.33% of the offensive snaps (55 out of 75 snaps). Tight ends throughout football are unsung heroes. Most of the time they don’t receive attention unless they are making catches and scoring touchdowns, but there is more to the position than that. The tight end not only runs routes, but they have to run block and pass block which takes a lot of work and Horton credits his blocking ability to the offensive line coach, Bob Bostad.

“He (Coach Bostad) coaches everybody the same. He’s hard on everybody. And he’s kind of an old-time football guy, really physical. Bring the fight to them. So that’s what I like to hear. It’s fun learning from him with all the experience he has.” Horton stated about Coach Bostad in an interview Tuesday.

Horton has really done a good job at protecting the ball carriers with his blocking skills and takes a lot of pride in it. “It’s really fun to see you spring a block before a touchdown. Sometimes it feels better than catching a football,” Horton replied when asked if he enjoyed run blocking.

Horton likes to play hard and gritty football anytime he’s on the field and Cignetti has noticed it too. “It’s not all about his touches. He does a lot of great things for us offensively,” Cignetti said about Horton in his press conference Monday.

Horton has really helped elevate the offense with his versatility. Even though he only had one catch in the Maryland game, it was an 18-yard reception that set Indiana up at the one-yard line and led to a touchdown by Myles Price – putting the first points on the board. That spectacular catch by Horton, was a huge change of momentum that boosted the Hoosiers confidence after back-to-back interceptions by Rourke to start the game. He may not get the ball a lot, but he is a crucial component in the Hoosiers offense.