Bartlett proves worth in USU pass game
It’s the kind of game college football players dream about.
The game where, after an offseason filled with grueling practices and a season maintained by the grim duty of blocking, a player finally graduates to play-maker status. The kind of game where not only his coaches see all his hard work pay off, but a national television audience watches as he rumbles into the end zone and leads his team in comeback fashion.
Somebody better pinch Utah State tight end Kellen Bartlett. After Saturday’s five-catch, 131-yard performance in the Aggies’ 56-42 loss to Nevada, the junior from Blue Springs, Mo. won’t have to imagine what it would feel like to take center stage on an offense where he had previously been an afterthought.
“Everyone wants to have a game like that,” Bartlett said. “It’s something you work for, especially as a tight end. You’re a blocker most of the time, more than a receiver. But it was great to get out there and be a receiver and make some big plays for the team. It was a good feeling.”
If the Nevada defense was caught off guard by Bartlett’s sudden emergence in the Aggie passing game, they weren’t alone. Prior to the season, Bartlett was expected to be mostly a blocker for the Aggie offense, which uses multiple sets in offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin’s spread scheme. Yet with injuries to receivers Stanley Morrison and Matt Austin, the Aggie passing game has struggled throughout portions of the season, and has recently been working without the services of slot receiver Xavier Martin, who has also battled injury.
The drop-off was apparent in back-to-back losses to Hawaii and Louisiana Tech, in which the Aggie passing attack had just 73 and 123 yards, respectively. With production so low, something had to give if Utah State’s offense was going to build any momentum heading into November, especially after a dismal first-half showing against Nevada. Enter Bartlett.
The 6-foot-2, 246-pound junior may have come into the season with only 10 career catches, but his five on Saturday night proved he has valuable assets beyond the point of attack. According to his position coach, T.J. Woods, Bartlett’s performance was no fluke, and came from an entire career dedicated to doing whatever it takes to improve both his pass catching and blocking.
“I think it’s been about two years in the making. Kellen’s been working his butt off, and has been steadily improving every week,” Woods said. “The opportunity knocked, and he answered the call.
Bartlett has caught 10 passes over the course of the last three weeks, including his first career touchdown against the Wolf Pack. A vicious blocker who prides himself on making blocks to spring others for scores, even he couldn’t help but comment that the feeling of scoring a touchdown is unmatched.
“It’s hard to compare the two,” Bartlett said of the difference between scoring and blocking for someone else who scores. “But I definitely love some touchdowns, that’s for sure. There’s nothing better than scoring, and I can’t wait to get some more touchdowns.
He may not have to wait long. When the Aggies (2-6, 0-4) host New Mexico State (2-6, 1-3) on Saturday, Bartlett figures to again figure into the USU passing game. Utah State’s coaches have taken notice of his versatility in recent weeks, and say that his ability to provide a physical presence as a blocker, coupled with his soft hands as a receiver, make him an ideal player for the kind of multiple-personnel, spread offense Baldwin runs.
“With his versatility you can split him out and he can run routes or you can bring him in the box and he can bang around a little bit,” Woods said. “In a spread offense it’s all about being able to catch the ball and connect the dots in the passing game, and we were able to do that in the second half last week. Kellen was a big part of that.”
Woods wasn’t the only USU coach singing Bartlett’s praises after Saturday game, and he’s not the only coach looking forward to utilizing the tight end’s talents more as the season comes down to its final four games.
According to Aggie headman Gary Andersen, the play of Bartlett along with running back Kerwynn Williams provided the play-making spark that USU has been looking for all season – although it came a half too late against Nevada.
“To me the biggest difference in the offense in the second half was Kerwynn Williams and Kellen Bartlett, period,” Andersen said. “They made plays when the ball was thrown to them … They did a tremendous job, and we haven’t had that all year long from our wide receivers.”
Andersen went on to say that having Bartlett line up wide as a wide receiver gives the Aggies an advantage against other teams, because with the tight end’s size, he creates mismatches against defensive backs.
“Teams have made a living having guys like Kellen out there,” Andersen said. “There are mismatches that take place because you can’t put a corner on him because they will get pushed off and you can’t put a safety on him because that still is a mismatch.”
Not that Bartlett will be outracing defensive backs anytime soon. He laughs when talking about his speed, but says the oft-cited, end-all, be-all attribute for receivers and tight ends is overrated if a player can take advantage of his other physical gifts.
“I’m never going to be as fast as a wide receiver, so one thing as tight ends, you’ve got to be sure you run your routes real well,” Bartlett said. “A good way to counter speed is to be physical with (defensive backs) because they don’t want to get in your dish and hit you.”
Bartlett and his teammates are looking forward to building off the momentum from the Nevada second-half this Saturday. While he acknowledges that students at USU might be ready to make the transition to basketball season, he and the Utah State coaches warn that giving up on the Aggie football team would be a mistake.
“Just don’t give up on us,” Bartlett said. “I promise you guys that we’re going to come out and turn this season around for us. We’re going to play well.”
Bartlett, along with Andersen, said the team is refocused heading into its final four games, and is working to take one game at a time. They know the team’s once-bright postseason hopes have all but extinguished, but said the Aggie football program has a real opportunity to show it has finally turned a corner just when people think it’s down for the count.
“It’s time for us to really get to that point where we know we’re at,” Bartlett said. “I think the second half of that Nevada game is a springboard, and I think it’s going to carry on into this game and I think we’re going to really go out there and play well.”
–adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu