Why Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble is enjoying clean slate with new coaching staff

Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble is embracing his clean slate with a new coaching staff.

Tremble, a 2021 third-round pick, spent his first two offseasons working under former head coach Matt Rhule and his staff. But after a pair of underwhelming campaigns to start his NFL career, Tremble is getting a crash course in playmaking from head coach Frank Reich and tight ends coach John Lilly.

“This is the first time that we’ve really been coached up, receiving-wise, other than us trying to figure it out on our own,” Tremble said in a phone interview with The Observer on Tuesday. “This is really the first opportunity we’ve had to excel in the receiving game, and have points, and (receive) teaching points on how to attack this kind of leverage, attack this kind of defense. . . . Before it was more, you run it, you run what’s on paper and you try to make it work, and if it didn’t work, you’d try to figure it out yourself.

“So, having that kind of backing, that kind of support — from all over the coaching staff to the players, themselves — I think it’s been a world of difference in what our accelerating (of) the receiving game has been.”

Tremble was lauded for his versatility and blocking ability as a draft prospect out of Notre Dame. He only produced 35 catches for 401 yards and four touchdowns during his two playing seasons with the Fighting Irish. While he was projected to become a better receiver at the NFL level, Tremble caught just 39 passes for 354 yards and four touchdowns during his first two seasons in Carolina.

The Panthers’ offense didn’t lean heavily on the tight end position in the receiving game during Rhule’s tenure, and Tremble’s early output reflects that lack of emphasis. Even after former interim head coach Steve Wilks took over in Week 6 of last season, offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo rarely made Tremble and the position group his focus in the passing attack.

Tremble says that outlook has changed under Reich, who is known for his creativity with the tight end position.

“I would say it’s something very harped on for this year, and I love every second of it,” Tremble said.

The new Panthers regime — featuring holdover GM Scott Fitterer — didn’t blow up the tight end room this offseason.

Ian Thomas returned on a pay cut and Tremble, Stephen Sullivan and Giovanni Ricci returned to the fold to fill out the roster. While the squad signed veteran tight end Hayden Hurst to upgrade and lead the group, the team chose not to address the position in the draft.

“I think it shows that Frank trusts us,” Tremble said about the limited the roster movement at tight end. “He’s seen our group in the offseason, he’s seen us in the beginning of OTAs — he saw how our group worked together, and I really think he trusts our ability. Throughout practice, we’ve been really able to show that we can produce and produce a lot. And it’s the most excited I’ve been in my entire life for a football season. We’re just itching to get on the field.”

With the Panthers avoiding the position in the draft, Tremble remains the youngest guy in the room, and there’s still the intrigue of upside with the former Day 2 pick.

Tremble, who entered the NFL at 20, is younger than seven of the 15 tight ends — including Buffalo Bills first-round pick Dalton Kincaid — who were drafted in April. He has the youth of a rookie and the experience of a third-year pro.

“I think, really, these last two years have taught me that I can play this game,” Tremble said. “I came in at 20 years old, not really knowing how the whole NFL life works — of course, my dad (former Dallas Cowboys defensive back Greg Tremble) played in the league for a few years back in the day — but it’s a different day and age. I didn’t know how exactly everything was going to pan out being in the NFL, but from my first two years, knowing that I can play, and the stuff I’ve done in practice, and all the other things, I know I have the ability to excel at this level. And I think, really, just the confidence behind that and behind the coaching staff — that they have in us — I think it really will help me take that big step this year.”

Along with the new staff, Tremble says he’s benefited from Hurst’s leadership as well. Hurst — who is entering his seventh NFL season — is playing for his fourth team and has caught 177 passes for 1,718 yards and 14 touchdowns during his career.

Hurst is helping Tremble with his development as a receiver.

“Learning how to attack leverage, learning how to make myself a mismatch in every situation,” Tremble said. “And really, that’s what Hayden has been awesome with.”

Tremble — who is capable of playing tight end, H-back and even slot receiver — is fond of the Panthers’ new offense. The 6-foot-4, 248-pound tight end is hoping to take advantage of his versatility under Reich.

“I can play all over,” Tremble said. “I can be lined up in the backfield, I can be lined up on the line, I can be lined up split out. I can just do everything that Frank would want me to do. And I think just having that flexibility opens up the playbook, and really let’s us let loose.”

Following next week’s mandatory minicamp, Tremble will host a youth football camp in his hometown of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, on June 24. Inspired by the youth camps that he attended as child — which were organized by former Dolphins, Seahawks and Falcons position coach Travis Jones — Tremble will lead the event at Wesleyan School, where he starred as a high school playmaker.

After spending the entire offseason in Charlotte — as pointed out by Lilly in May — Tremble is looking forward to making a difference in his hometown.

In July, Tremble — along with the rest of the Panthers’ roster — will return to the Carolinas for training camp. The group will try to build even more momentum under the new leadership group during the hot summer days at Wofford College.

“I really feel, with this coaching staff, we’re on a great trajectory,” Tremble said. “I mean everything we’ve done is understandable, it makes sense — it makes sense why we do this, why we do that — it’s just really coming together, and I think the team, as a whole, can feel it.”