Written By Rylie Kyhn

Last season, the Hoosiers produced an NFL caliber tight end in Ian Thomas, who now plays for the Carolina Panthers, but now, they will need to replace the 376 receiving yards and five touchdowns that he accumulated last season. Heading into fall camp, one of the bigger questions was ‘who would replace Ian Thomas at tight end?’ After about a week and a half in, offensive coordinator Coach Mike DeBord made it clear that it was going to be a battle and there wasn’t a set guy, but as fall camp ended and the actual practice has begun, it has become a bit more clear who the leaders are.

The older two of the group have stepped up and taken their time to help the younger guys. Redshirt senior, Ryan Watercutter, played the back-up tight end position behind Thomas last season so it was assumed that he would see a lot of field time in the upcoming season. During the first few days of camp he was running with the ones group but unfortunately suffered an injury and will be out for an unknown amount of time. After Watercutter suffered an injury, they needed another experienced player to step up and that is exactly what Austin Dorris did. Dorris has impressed in fall camp as well as the rest of the tight end group. The Hoosiers have been moving a lot of guys in and out to get reps with different groups and the tight ends are no different. One of the takeaways from fall camp is that this tight end group has good depth and they are all reliable and that they have all improved quite a bit.

Ryan Watercutter

Ryan Watercutter, a redshirt senior entering the 2018 season, played in all 12 games last year and started in the Charleston Southern and Michigan State games. Watercutter is a walk-on that joined during pre-season camp and earned himself a scholarship for the 2017 season during camp due to his work ethic and his ability to catch the ball. As head coach Tom Allen stated after announcing he was put on scholarship, “It was so consistent. He worked so hard. He did everything we asked him to do.” Last season, Watercutter caught 12 passes for 69 yards. Unfortunately after suffering an injury, the beginning of his season will be spent on the sideline but he will still play a leadership role from there.

Austin Dorris

The 6’5’’, 255 pound redshirt junior saw action in all 12 games during the 2017 season but primarily on special teams. Dorris played quarterback and tight end in high school and is a well-rounded athlete. He has the size and strength to be a weapon at tight end for Indiana and this season, his role looks to be expanding. He has made tremendous improvements from last season with his speed, strength, and abilities to play the position. He is a player that the coaches continue to be impressed by and now has emerged as the leader of the tight end group heading into the season. “He really worked hard this summer and improved his speed. He is playing a lot better that way and he will be a guy that plays for us,” said Coach DeBord. He made a few head turning plays in fall camp and seems to be ready to take on the leading role.

Peyton Hendershot

Peyton Hendershot is a redshirt freshman that has incredible athletic ability and at 6’4”, 250 pounds he has great size at the tight end position. Coming out of high school he was a player that the coaches were excited about. As a junior he was selected to the 2016 Indianapolis Star Super Team as well as earned all-county and all-conference honors. During the 2016 season he caught 51 passes for 685 yards and 8 touchdowns. As a senior, Hendershot was all-state and named Mr. Football at the tight end position by the Indiana Football Coaches Association and ranked the number 10 prospect in Indiana by 247Sports. He was named the state’s top tight end with 67 catches for 896 yards and nine touchdowns. After spring ball and fall camp, he showed his abilities as a Hoosier and has impressed many. He seems even stronger and more athletic than he looked in the spring and has improved all around. Coach Debord discussed the improvement of his blocking abilities. “I was really glad to see in this last scrimmage where he really blocked very well. Great leverage, hands tight inside and finished blocks. That was a step I thought he needed to take and he did that,” said DeBord. Hendershot has the ability to see a good amount of field time this year if he stays healthy and continues to play the way he has shown he is capable in camp thus far.

Shaun Bonner

Shaun Bonner will enter the 2018 season a redshirt sophomore, seeing action in 11 games last season primarily on special teams. At 6’3’’, 250 pounds, he has good size and strong blocking abilities. “We will use him probably more in goal line situations stuff like that. Because of his size and his blocking abilities,” said Coach DeBord. Coming out of high school, he played on varsity three years, 2014-2016 under coach T. Rush Propst on a team that won back to back state championships in 2014 and 2015. As a junior, he played in fifteen games and posted 22 receptions for 175 yards and was named second team all-region and helped the team go undefeated in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Bonner played at tight end on the number one ranked team in Georgia and was one of the top recruits on the team finishing with impressive numbers. As a senior he played in fourteen games with 30 receptions for 314 yards averaging 10.5 yards per reception and was named first team all-region. After two seasons of spring ball and fall camp this year, he has proved that he is a reliable pass catcher and a strong blocker, and an all around tight end. Bonner has improved his speed and agility tremendously since he came to campus two seasons ago and has benefited from the new strength staff. He has the opportunity to see field time this season as long as he stays healthy and continues to be a reliable player.

Matt Bjorson

The coaches have discussed the talent of the freshman class on a number of occasions and Matt Bjorson is a player they have been impressed with. Although he is a freshman, Coach DeBord made it clear that you wouldn’t know that. “He’s not playing like a freshman. He has really learned the system. He continues to learn some technique stuff here and there but he’s playing really well too,” said DeBord. Coming out of Hinsdale Central in Illinois, Bjorson was

named the 2017 all-state and West Suburban Silver Offensive Player of the Year. He was a two-time all-area and all-conference selection and as a senior he made 25 catches for 411 yards and eight touchdowns. In total in his high school career, he made 51 receptions for 822 yards and 12 touchdowns. Bjorson was ranked the number 18 prospect out of Illinois by ESPN. At 6’3’’, 237 pounds he is still on the lighter side but has made improvements since the beginning of the summer strength wise. He continues to impress and will likely have the opportunity to see some field time this year, especially with the new red-shirt rule coming into play.

T.J. Ivy

The second freshman tight end, also out of Illinois, coming from Marist high school, T.J. Ivy. Ivy was an all-state and an all-conference honoree. He caught 57 passes for 936 yards and 13 touchdowns over his final two high school season. He was ranked the number 35 tight end nationally by ESPN and the number 25 prospect out of Illinois by Rivals. This fall camp has been a lot of learning and adjusting to the new offense for Ivy. “He’s learning. He has his moments but he’s going to be fine,” said Coach DeBord.

It is likely that the Indiana offense will use more than one tight end throughout the season based on the way the coaches have all highlighted the importance of depth at every position. The good thing about this group is that they all have different abilities so different players will be able to see field time in different situations. One individual player may not be able to replace the tight end numbers last year, but as a unit, they are strong and have the ability to produce this season.

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