Last season's starter Anthony Miller returns for his junior season. Miller, originally recruited as a defensive end showed some real potential last season and put up decent numbers. Miller had 26 catches for 357 yrds and did a nice job running the seam routes down the middle of the field. However, Miller is going to have to do a better job becoming a threat in the red zone (0 touchdowns). Tedford's offense has always relied on the tight end in the red zone and it is critical the Cal get production out of the tight end. Miller showed a lot of promise last season, so look for him to improve upon the numbers he had. Spencer Ladner should provide depth at the position as he is a former 4 star prospect on rivals.com. Ladner is big 6'7, 252 lbs and is a decent pass catcher and decent blocker. Ladner could really provide Riley with a big target in double tight end formations. Jarrett Sparks could also provide spot duty catching the ball as he was orginally a 4 star recruit by rivals.com at wide receiver.
Savai'i Eselu will likely only see time on special teams but provides depth should Miller and Ladner get hurt. Incoming freshman Jacob Wark will likely blueshirt but has been compared to former Cal tight end Craig Stevens by Coach Tedford with Coach Ted ford saying at a new conference after national signing day saying,
"He does remind us of Craig Stevens. He's a big, physical guy who plays with great pad level. Sometimes it's hard to find those tight ends in high school these days that have the combination of being able to play at the line of scrimmage and come off a low pad level ,and still be able to get down the field and hone their receiver skills. He's the guy that can do that ...Natural hands, and after he catches it, he's very violent when he runs with it. We feel like he's a guy that we were very, very happy to find and he does remind us of Craig."
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