Wide receiver Jason Husband didn’t expect to be the surprise of the spring. He didn’t expect to be moved from wide receiver to tight end either, but the move proved to be one of the best things that has ever happened in his football career.
Husband, who has a slow jump off the line for a wide out, will be flying by linebackers rather than chasing corner backs down field.
“It’s probably going to be easier,” Husband said.
He was unsure about the move at first, but soon Husband realized, along with everyone else that witnessed his amazing spring performance, that he fit the mold of a tight end perfectly.
“I’m pretty sure he didn’t even want to make the move,” first-year tight end coach Reed Stringer said. “He doubted if he could help us there, but right off the bat we saw that he could be a major contributor for us in the fall.”
After Dezmond Sherrod was moved from tight end to full back for cross training purposes, the tight end position seemed to be in need of another body to backup sophomore Eric Butler. Like every position on the offensive side of the ball, depth was an increasingly growing issue for tight end coach Reed Stringer. Enter Jason Husband.
Husband, a 6-foot-4, 221-pound sophomore, not only has proven he can be a solid backup to Butler, but has also overtaken the former starter as the No. 1 tight end on the post-spring depth chart.
“Jason’s what I like to call a want-to-guy,” Stringer said. “And what I mean by that, is that he goes up there and gives you everything he has on every play.”
Husband’s emergence as the starting tight end can mostly be credited to his amazing spring showing, but the lack of participation by Eric Butler helped. Butler was ill for the final week of spring practice, limiting his playing time at practice and in the final scrimmage.
“I did my best. I went out everyday and worked hard,” Husband said. “I’m not the best tight end that we have though. I just used my receiver abilities to make plays (catching the ball).”
Butler is listed one behind Husband and will have to prove himself worthy of the No. 1 spot during fall practice.
“When I get stronger, I think me and Eric will be the best tight end combo in the nation,” said Husband, who will be working out on campus for both semesters.
Husband’s catching ability, is no doubt the best of the trio of tight ends that will rotate this season – Husband, Butler and Blake Petit. But his blocking ability needs some work, Stringer said.
“Jason’s a little rough around the edges when it comes to blocking, but the thing that really helps him out is that he has really taken a good grasp of the technical aspect of it,” Stringer added. “He’s not going to go up there and just mow over people blocking, but he will harass them until the whistle blows. Now he’s not where we want him blocking, but he has made remarkable strides everyday in that category.”
Dezmond Sherrod, a 6-foot-3, 236-pound sophomore, may find himself balancing duties as a tight end and blocking back.
“I’ll go in as a full back and then motion over to a tight end position or vice versa,” Sherrod said from his home in Caledonia where he is spending until early June.
“I’ll be able to come out the back field and go out for passes. They have a real versatile way of using me on the field,” he added.
Sherrod, who Croom has taken a liking to, has the athletic ability to play both positions and could make a substantial difference this fall for State.
The tight end position and the full back position can be interchanged. Both positions call for a good blocker along with a good receiver, both of which Sherrod possess. Sherrod said he will be in Starkville lifting and conditioning all summer.