Greatest College Football Tight Ends of All Time

In the last 30 years, the tight end position has changed the game of football. These players who were once considered extra blockers who could — maybe — catch a handful of passes have become true offensive weapons. 

With that, we’ve seen a radical shift in how tight ends are viewed on every level. In the college game, that means players who may have been taller wide receivers in high school but also show the ability to pack on muscle become tight ends. 

When you look at the teams that have won national championships in recent memory, it’s not hard to look at their rosters and pick out dynamic tight ends who helped them get to that level — here’s a look at the greatest college football tight ends in history.

Born: July 6, 2001 (Independence, Kentucky)

High School: Covington Catholic High School (Park Hills, Kentucky)

College: Notre Dame

Years: 2020-22

Height/weight: 6-foot-4, 265 pounds

Career highlights: Two-time AP All-American (2021, 2022), All-ACC (2020)

Bottom line: Recency bias … I don’t want to hear it. Believe what your eyes can see — there are two tight ends that just completed college football seasons in 2022 on this list. 

Michael Mayer was pegged as a tight end who would dominate in college and in the NFL when he was still at Covington Catholic High in Park Hills, Kentucky. He delivered on that promise by setting Notre Dame’s career record for tight ends with 180 receptions — and doing so in just three seasons.

Mayer is also the school’s first consensus AP All-American at tight end since Ken MacAfee in 1976. He had over 800 receiving yards in each of his last two seasons and decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility to enter the 2023 NFL Draft. 

Born: Feb. 12, 1963 (San Jose, California)

High School: Leland High School (San Jose, California)

College: Santa Clara

Years: 1982-85

Height/weight: 6-foot-4, 230 pounds

Career highlights: NCAA Division II Team of the Quarter Century (2000), three-time All-WFC (1983-85), WFC Offensive Player of the Year (1985), AP All-American (1985), four-time Pro Bowl (1992-95), East-West Shrine Game (1985), three-time NFL All-Pro (1992-94), three-time Super Bowl champion (1993, 1995, 1996), College Football Hall of Fame

Bottom line: Brent Jones came to Santa Clara as a lightly recruited wide receiver who also played on the baseball team. But he left as a revolutionary player for the tight end position, earning Western Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year and AP All-American honors in 1985. 

Jones became a household name during his NFL career while catching passes from Joe Montana and Steve Young for the San Francisco 49ers in the late 1980s and 1990s, winning three Super Bowls and earning three NFL All-Pro selections. 

Born: Dec. 7, 1994 (Little Rock, Arkansas)

High School: Pulaski Academy (Little Rock, Arkansas)

College: Arkansas

Years: 2013-15

Height/weight: 6-foot-5, 250 pounds

Career highlights: John Mackey Award (2015), AP All-American (2015), three-time All-SEC (2013-15), Freshman All-American (2013), NFL All-Rookie Team (2016) 

Bottom line: Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas, didn’t even feature a tight end in its offense, so Hunter Henry actually played the position for the first time at the University of Arkansas … where the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder proved to be pretty darn good. 

Henry won the John Mackey Award in 2015 and was a three-time All-SEC selection, but he’s probably best remembered during his college career for one of the craziest plays of all time — a blind lateral to teammate Alex Collins in overtime of a win over Ole Miss on 4th-and-25 that resulted in a 31-yard gain and set up the winning score. 

Born: Sept. 14, 1948 (Roanoke, Virginia)

High School: Jefferson High School (Roanoke, Virginia)

College: Elon

Years: 1966-69

Height/weight: 6-foot-4, 235 pounds

Career highlights: Three-time All-CVAC (1967-69), NAIA Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame

Bottom line: Tight ends were not considered a viable receiving option in the 1960s — despite the rules of football being essentially the same they are now — but Elon’s Rich McGeorge was a player out of time when it came to his position. 

The first Elon player to make it to the College Football Hall of Fame, McGeorge set school career records for receptions (224), receiving yards (3,486) and touchdowns (31), along with most of the school’s single-season receiving records. He was selected as the No. 16 overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers, where he played all nine of his NFL seasons.