This week marked the beginning of the long-awaited "Tight End University," which was formed by 49ers tight end George Kittle, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and former NFL tight end Greg Olsen.
The event gathered around 50 NFL tight ends in the Nashville, Tennessee area, and its first day was spotlighted by the NFL on its Instagram story.
To start the day, Olsen shared that the event would span over 2.5 days, covering everything about the tight end position.
"We got 50 of the top tight ends in the NFL together for a 2.5 day summit on all things tight end. Day one today's been awesome."
On the Pardon My Take podcast, Kittle said that a motivation to start the event was his feeling that the tight end spot is extremely valuable, yet very under-appreciated in football, highlighting the salary disparity with other positions.
"Like [Greg Olsen] said, we're still getting paid less than a lot of other positions, and I feel like the tight end does a lot. You look at the last 10 Super Bowls, I think every team that's won has had a dominant -- like a very, very talented tight end. It has to do with winning Super Bowls. I think that's the most important thing, so you might as well pay the tight ends. I just kind of want that number to keep going up."
During the event, Kelce was shown giving tips on footwork and direction, showing his usual energy to the eager learners.
Kittle seemed to enjoy his camp as the group behind him was seen focusing on its releases off the line of scrimmage. The tight end once again highlighted his goal of seeing everyone get better.
"We're working on our releases out here," Kittle said, "we're out here getting better guys, that's fun."
Many notable faces were in attendance, including Atlanta Falcons rookie Kyle Pitts, who came out to learn from the veterans and soak up the information in before his first NFL training camp.
In fact, Kittle mentioned the Falcons rookie on the Pardon My Take podcast and how beneficial the two-day camp would be in smoothening that transitional period from college to the NFL.
"Like I said, when tight ends come together, you can learn," Kittle shared. "What's more important? Like (Falcons rookie) Kyle Pitts, he's going to be really good, but the NFL is faster than college, and if he can sit in a room for two days and learn from guys like Greg Olsen, me, Travis Kelce, Marcedes Lewis, Luke Stocker — I mean, you've got vets in there — you can learn a thing or two. It's just going to take guys' careers, hopefully, on an uphill trajectory."
The event resumes today, the summit's second day, which will give players another opportunity to improve their craft as they head towards training camp.
- Rohan Chakravarthi
-
Written by:Writer/Reporter for 49ers Webzone
