Texas isn't looking for the next Ja'Tavion Sanders as it reloads at tight end

At some point next week, Ja'Tavion Sanders will hear his name called in the NFL draft.

Whichever team picks Sanders will be adding one of the greatest tight ends in the history of the Texas football program. Sanders owns the career and single-season receptions records for UT tight ends. His mark of 682 receiving yards during the 2023 season is also the standard for Texas tight ends.

In total, Sanders turned 99 career catches into 1,295 yards and seven touchdowns. It should be noted that Sanders, who is seen as a second- or third-round prospect in many mock drafts, was a key cog in the offense for just two of his three seasons in Austin.

When Sanders declared for the draft in January, Texas knew what it was losing. The Longhorns, though, aren't attempting to replicate Sanders as they look for ways to replace him.

"We love JT, we're not trying to be Ja'Tavion," senior tight end Gunnar Helm said. "We're trying to be Gunnar Helm and Juan Davis and Amari Niblack, whoever's in there. We're trying to be the best version of ourselves."

At tight end, Texas thinks/hopes there's depth

When Texas takes the field for Saturday's Orange-White game, there will be six tight ends on the roster. Helm and Davis are seniors while Niblack is a transfer who spent the past two years at Alabama. Among the up-and-comers are redshirt freshmen Will Randle and Spencer Shannon and early enrollee Jordan Washington.

The headliner of the group seemingly would be the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Helm, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2023 with 14 catches for 192 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career. He earned an honorable mention nod on the Big 12's all-conference team.

"He knows what the standard is and he's a good leader in that aspect of it," quarterback Quinn Ewers said last month.

Texas, needing a leader, may have one in Helm

While meeting with reporters last week, Helm acknowledged that "nothing's ever a full, finished product." In the offseason, he refined his route running, working on his footwork and tried to find ways to become more explosive. He's also attempted to become more of a vocal leader since he is now an elder statesman in that locker room.

"My role is to put myself in the best position to help our team win football games," Helm said. "Whether that's catching the ball, whether that's blocking all game, it doesn't really matter to me. I'm trying to win as many games as I can. I want to win a championship."

While addressing the other tight ends on the roster, Helm assessed that Randle and Shannon have improved throughout this spring. He predicted that Washington is "going to be a beast." What stands out about Niblack? "His speed," Helm analyzed. "He's really fast. He's really smooth. He's got great hips, great in and out of breaks."

Then there's Davis.

Juan Davis has drawn praise this spring

Like Sanders and Helm, Davis signed with Texas in 2021. He has appeared in 28 games over the past three years, but most of his work has been on special teams. His only career catch was recorded three years ago at Arkansas.

But Helm described Davis as a "pleasant surprise" in spring practices. Head coach Steve Sarkisian also has discussed Davis' progress during each of his last two media availabilities.

"He's by far and away had his best spring with us," Sarkisian said on April 9. "Everybody's path and journey is different than others. He came in with JT and Gunnar and now here he is in this spring and he's playing at a high level. He's playing physical, he's playing fast, he's making plays in the passing game. That's definitely been encouraging."

Added Sarkisian this Tuesday: "Sometimes when you're a scout team player and you're in the background a little bit with JT and Gunnar, maybe not all of your competitive spirit gets to come out all of the time. But now that he's really rolling and he's in there with the (first-string offense) and he's playing good football, I'm probably seeing more of his competitive spirit than maybe before. We knew it was in there, but now there's more coming out of him."

Following in Ja'Tavion Sanders' footsteps

Since they arrived at Texas ahead of the 2021 season, Sarkisian and assistant coach Jeff Banks haven't shied away from playing two tight ends at the same time. Outside of quarterback, tight end might be the most important offensive position in Sarkisian's mind. Helm said he likens the Longhorns' tight ends to sponges who must absorb everything in the offensive playbook since they are asked to block and run routes.

Next week, Sanders will become the first UT tight end drafted since 2015, when the Dallas Cowboys took Geoff Swaim in the seventh round. Back in Austin, though, Sarkisian still likes the look of Texas' depth chart at tight end.

"That room, we've got high hopes for," he said. "Naturally in our system, that room is really important because we put a lot on those guys not only physically but mentally. They get challenged daily and coach Banks definitely doesn't cut any corners if you guys have seen him coach."

Orange and White game

1 p.m. Saturday, Royal-Memorial Stadium, LHN, admission is free

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas tight ends, Steve Sarkisian ready for 2024 football season