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The Cardinal Countdown: 80 Days Until Kickoff

By CardinalStrong
kentuckysports.co

#80 Charles Standberry

Class: Sophomore

Ht/Wt: 6-3/226

Position: Tight end/Wide Receiver

Hometown: Montgomery, AL

Twitter: @ssnug8

Thoughts: As I touched on back on Day 83, I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw from Standberry in 2014. Heading into the year I thought he had some skill and some raw talent at the position but figured Christian and Towbrdige would be the workhorses while he and Crum got accustomed to the college game. I then proceed to watch him play all 13 games and pull in a couple touchdowns….quite the talent evaluation on my part. With Christian off to be "Mr. Irrelevant", Towbridge and Standberry figured to carry the bulk of the load this year in an offense that relies heavily on the TE position, even if you don’t recognize it at times. Take a look at this video from Virginia and see how often the TE is in motion, pulls for a block, runs an out pattern, runs a post, etc. You really have to do it all…

Christian had the tools required to [the rest of this sentence was knocked down at the line by Valles]

At 6-3 Standberry is the same height as Christian but spots him about 25lbs. Crum and Towbridge on the other hand have the height and weight to match Christian along with some of Petrino’s more successful tight ends of the past. This may be the reason that Standberry was getting more looks from the wide receiver position during the spring. I haven’t seen a  formal "Standberry is no longer a tight end" release from Petrino but if the move sticks can you imagine a two TE set with Towbridge and Crum on the field at the same time as say a Standberry and Savage? I’m not sure what cover package in the ACC could match that size and strength.

Wherever he may end up I think Charles has the skills needed to be a successful player for the Cards in this Petrino system. The big thing for Standberry in 2105, with all the transfers coming in at the position, will be finding time to get on the field, but if he managed to get some reps as a true freshman he’s definitely got a head start on some of the other guys heading into the fall.

Sweet Tweet:

Just in case you forgot, Neal…we still run the state.

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