Average Size of College Football Tight Ends (Height & Weight)
I’ve been a collegiate sports performance coach for 20 years. One thing I always loved doing was going through and checking out the sizes of the other teams in our conference.
It helped give me (and our staff) an idea of how we stacked up against our competition. It also could be used as motivation with our team both during the season and, often, during the following off-season.
So, this is essentially the same research I’ve always done, but now I’m sharing it with you. I took starting depth charts for each team in the FBS (a total of over 3000 players) going into the 2023 season and broke them down by position.
For this guide, I took an average of the heights and weights of the over 100 starting Tight Ends* across college football. In addition, I broke down the sizes of tight ends by conference and individual players.
Go ahead and impress someone today with your newfound random football knowledge.
Average Height of a College Football TE
The average height of a College Football Tight End is 76.49 inches (right at 6’4 1/2″).
Average Weight of a College Football TE
The average weight of a College Football Tight End is 245.02 pounds.
Want to see how college football Tight Ends compare with the size of NFL Tight Ends? Good news, I’ve also run the numbers on the guys at the next level.
Which Conference Has the Tallest Tight Ends?
| Conference | Avg Height (Inches) |
|---|---|
| MAC | 77.43 |
| Big 12 | 77.27 |
| SEC | 76.93 |
| Big 10 | 76.86 |
| Mountain West | 76.58 |
| ACC | 76.47 |
| Pac 12 | 76.36 |
| Sun Belt | 75.93 |
| Conference USA | 75.86 |
| AAC | 75.64 |
| Independents | 75.5 |
Which Conference Has the Heaviest Tight Ends?
| Conference | Avg Weight |
|---|---|
| Big 10 | 250.36 |
| Big 12 | 248.07 |
| SEC | 247.33 |
| Pac 12 | 245.93 |
| MAC | 245 |
| AAC | 244.79 |
| Independents | 244.5 |
| Mountain West | 243.83 |
| Conference USA | 241.25 |
| ACC | 241.2 |
| Sun Belt | 240.71 |
Who Are the Tallest Tight Ends in College Football?
The size of the Tight End position seems to continue to grow every year with guys continuously getting bigger and more athletic.
There are 9 guys this year listed at 6’7″.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximilian Mang | 6’7″ | 265 | Syracuse |
| Kole Taylor | 6’7″ | 243 | West Virginia |
| Jared Wiley | 6’7″ | 260 | TCU |
| Tyler Foster | 6’7″ | 249 | Ohio |
| Keleki Latu | 6’7″ | 230 | Nevada |
| Hudson Habermehl | 6’7″ | 250 | UCLA |
| Keaton Upshaw | 6’7″ | 250 | Georgia Southern |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford | 6’7″ | 270 | Minnesota |
| Cole Spence | 6’7″ | 243 | Vanderbilt |
Who Are the Shortest?
Yes, there are a bunch of athletic trees out catching passes in college football, but not everyone is 6’7″.
There are 10 guys listed at 6’2″ or shorter still getting the job done.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Fryar | 6’1″ | 240 | UTEP |
| Corey Dyches | 6’2″ | 215 | Maryland |
| Ahmon Green | 6’2″ | 240 | Georgia State |
| Cole Cavallo | 6’2″ | 232 | Southern Miss |
| Brant Kuithe | 6’2″ | 220 | Utah |
| Greyson Morgan | 6’2″ | 230 | Hawaii |
| Gino Campiotti | 6’2″ | 225 | UMass |
| Jamauri Chislom | 6’2″ | 260 | Memphis |
| DJ Donovan | 6’2″ | 240 | Navy |
| Bryce Damous | 6’2″ | 240 | UAB |
Who are the Heaviest Tight Ends in College Football?
There are some monster tight ends in college football that basically look like athletic tackles. Here are the six biggest, all weighing over 260 pounds.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oscar Cardenas | 6’4″ | 285 | UTSA |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford | 6’7″ | 270 | Minnesota |
| Maximillian Mang | 6’7″ | 265 | Syracuse |
| Tip Reiman | 6’5″ | 265 | Illinois |
| Jalin Conyers | 6’4″ | 265 | Arizona State |
| Theo Johnson | 6’6″ | 264 | Penn State |
Who are the Lightest?
Not all Tight Ends look like tackles though. Some even blur the line between the larger receivers in college football.
Here are the five lightest, all listed at 220 pounds or less.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Lee | 6’3″ | 214 | North Texas |
| Corey Dyches | 6’2″ | 215 | Maryland |
| RJ Maryland | 6’4″ | 217 | SMU |
| Brant Kuithe | 6’2″ | 220 | Utah |
| Nate Jones | 6’3″ | 220 | Louisiana Tech |
Important Notes
As a former sports scientist, I tend to take data pretty seriously so I must stress that these ‘averages’ should be used for entertainment purposes only.
Why do I say that?
There are multiple issues that can make all the data in this article flawed.
First and foremost, it’s pretty commonplace in athletics to lie about heights and weights. I once worked at a school where it was standard procedure to add an inch and 5 to 10 pounds to almost every player on the roster.
Why?
The best answer that I was ever given is that it could potentially help with NFL scouting. However, I can’t imagine in 2023 that anyone is fooling an NFL scout with the size listed in a program. I think the real answer is it’s just part of the culture in sports.
*I used the heights and weights of all the projected starters leading into Week 0. Whether it’s through injury or performance, starters can and will change throughout the season.
In fact, it took me a week to gather all these numbers and by the time I was done I would bet that there were at least a couple of starting positions that had already changed hands.
And, if a couple of 6’6″ 260-pound players are swapped out with a couple of 6’2″ 220-pound players, the sample size is small enough that this could substantially affect the overall averages.
Finally, I can tell you for a fact that players’ weights can fluctuate pretty wildly from week to week and sometimes even day to day and, especially, over the course of a season.
Just because a guy weighed 235 on the first day of camp when weights were put in the program, does not mean that’s what he weighs in Week 8.
So, have fun with the data above, but this is just a reminder to not take the numbers too seriously.
More Info
I also broke down the sizes of Quarterbacks across college football that you can check out.
Or, if you really want to have your mind blown, check out the best tight end 40 times that some of these big guys have put up at the NFL Combine over the years.
