Could Vandy’s Jared Pickney be the Best Tight End in the SEC?

Vanderbilt’s Tight End Jared Pickney has finally stepped up after two seasons, and could possibly become the best tight end in the SEC.

No one knew what to expect from Vanderbilt’s offense this season. In addition to wondering who would take over for Ralph Webb at the running back spot, the Commodores had to figure out who would be their key performers offensively. Well, Kyle Shurmur has played well so far and he almost helped lead them to an upset of Notre Dame in South Bend.

One other area of the Vanderbilt offense that has looked good was one that was overlooked and that is the Vanderbilt tight ends. One player who could be the best tight end in the SEC this season is Jared Pickney.

The junior from Norcross, Georgia has not really made that much noise throughout his career. In his first two years, he showed flashes of what he could be. He could always move on the field very well, but he unfortunately could not put it all together.

He would make outstanding plays in the passing game that would make you think he was getting ready to break out and then he would come back and miss a pass he should have caught easily. Over his first two seasons, his inconsistency gave the Commodores over 500 yards receiving and five touchdowns.

Coming into this season though, he has come out on fire. In his last two games, he has over 200 yards receiving and as it currently stands, he is leading the team in receiving. Not bad for a guy that you weren’t sure what to get from him the last two seasons.

Besides him catching the football, Pickney is doing all the little things to make himself a viable target. One thing he has done well to start the season is examine the defense. The perfect example of that is on a touchdown play against Notre Dame this past weekend.

He knew no one was covering him and knew he would be open in the middle of the field. He would come off the line and find the void in the middle of the defense. Along with finding the void, he moved into the vision of the quarterback so he could make things easier for his quarterback to find him.

The result was a pass to Pickney for six points.  Along with the ability to read the defense, he also has shown a physical nature this season that surpasses his first two years. He is not only catching the football better, but he is finishing the catch and running tough with the football.

On that same play he scored on, he ran through a tackle and fought to get in the endzone. In his past two seasons, you could not say he would do something like that.

Pickney may not be a household name, but he is definitely going to get some attention as the season goes on and he certainly will be giving people another name to think on when it comes to the best tight end in the SEC.