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In recent seasons, Utah has had a proud tradition of tight end play, from Brant Kuithe to Dalton Kincaid to Dallen Bentley .
Each players was heavily involved in the offenses of coordinators Andy Ludwig (Kuithe and Kincaid) and Jason Beck (Bentley), who utilized them to success.
As the Utes enter the 2026 season with new offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven, there isn't a "sure thing" at tight end like in previous years.
"This place has always had a great tradition of tight end play. That's a challenge. There's obviously a standard there that has been here and a standard that I have for myself to develop the best room that we can possibly have here. Continuing to develop the guys that we got, continuing to recruit and recruit and develop and coach to an identity that you want in that room."
Just how much McGiven utilizes Utah's tight ends in his offense depends on how much they impress him in fall camp and what value they bring to the offense.
At San Jose State , where he had now-Minnesota Vikings tight end Josh Oliver , McGiven built a lot of the offense around the tight ends, but at Utah State , it was receiver Braden Pegan — now at Utah — and running back Javen Jacobs being featured in the pass game.
"It's just kind of what you feel like you want to feature and who you feel like your best personnel groups are," McGiven said in February.
There are lots of new faces in Utah's tight ends room, starting with a new coach. Longtime tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham followed his brother to Michigan , so Morgan Scalley turned to Luke Wells, who has plenty of Big 12 experience, to lead the group.
"This place has always had a great tradition of tight end play. That's a challenge. There's obviously a standard there that has been here and a standard that I have for myself to develop the best room that we can possibly have here," Wells said. "Continuing to develop the guys that we got, continuing to recruit and recruit and develop and coach to an identity that you want in that room."
Wells coached Kansas State's tight ends last season, mentoring All-Big 12 honorable mention Garrett Oakley, and was at Texas Tech from 2019 to 2021.
In his first season at Utah, Wells has a few intriguing options — a traditional tight end in Weber State transfer Noah Bennee , a versatile option in Hunter Andrews , and two "rhino" tight ends in Semi Taulanga and Sione Motuapuaka.
Utah also added Will Monney from Oklahoma State and moved Kana'i Lopes from linebacker to tight end.
"I really like the guys that we have right now. They're great kids. They're eager to learn, which is the first part of it. They're learning a few new things here and there and maybe a different way of coaching and understanding what we're trying to get done and they're embracing it. So I like the effort," Wells said.
The favorite to be Utah's TE1 out of spring camp is Bennee, who played at Utah from 2021 to 2023 before heading north to Weber State for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
In Ogden, Bennee developed as a tight end, tallying six catches for 44 yards with a touchdown in his first season at Weber State before taking on a starting role last year.
Bennee totaled 23 catches for 264 yards for the Wildcats in 2025, earning All-Big Sky second-team honors.
"Weber State was awesome," Bennee said. "I learned a lot in my two seasons there. My first season, my tight end coach, coach (David) Fiafia, he taught me a lot. And then the next year, coach (Robert) Conley, both taught me different things and I just learned a lot from the coaching and definitely was a needed step for me."
With Utah needing tight end help in the transfer portal, the timing made sense for a Bennee return to Salt Lake City, where he will join his brother, safety Jackson.
Utah Utes wide receiver Jackson Bennee (23) celebrates after a long catch during the first half of the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. The play was called back for a penalty. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
"It's been a dream. It's been so much fun," Noah said. "I always grew up a Ute and so being back, my heart's always been here. So fun to play with my brother. It's just living a dream."
Now, the two brothers are lining up on opposite sides of the ball in practice.
"We've always had a really close relationship," Noah said, "and so we always promised each other if we ever were playing here together, we push each other every day. And so we're always getting work with each other outside and it's been a lot of fun."
Since his time at Weber State, the biggest improvement in Noah Bennee's game has been in his routes and blocking in the run game, while he says he still needs to improve in blocking in space.
"I have seen Noah improve literally every practice we've had this spring," Wells said. "He's very sure-handed and he's a guy that understands. He picks up things really well. We're able to do a lot of things with him and been pleased with how he's progressed as a blocker as well."
Andrews will be another option for McGiven to use. Primed for a breakout season last year, Andrews was used all over the field, tallying 113 rushing yards and 65 receiving yards in the first four games before suffering a season-ending injury.
As he's worked his way back from that injury, he's emerged as an intriguing player with a lot of potential.
"Hunter's coming off the injury and it's been good. He has been progressing. We've been able to do a lot more with him in the last few weeks (of spring practice), and so been pleased with that," Wells said. "He's got good speed and so there's some things that we can do there to use his talents to help us be explosive on offense."
Of course, there's also the "rhinos" — 5-foot-11, 317-pound Taulanga and Motuapuaka, who will mainly be used as extra blockers, but the athletic players can also catch the ball, too.
"I think it's surprising to me how athletic they are and they move better in space than I thought they could early on," said Wells. "And so those guys, we've been able to do more with them than I thought we could.
"Obviously they're really good at the point of attack. And I think that's the obvious thing that you see. Both of them are strong kids and they both bend really well and have pretty good change in direction where they can actually block guys on the second level as well. And I've just been pleased with how they show up to work every day. They got a great attitude, both of them do."
Bennee and Andrews could continue Utah's tradition of excellent tight end play, but they'll have to prove it on the field — something they are excited to do.
"I think expectations are the same. Before with coach Freddie Wittingham, it was high expectations, produced tight ends to go to the league," Bennee said. "And here expectations are the same with coach Wells. He's an awesome coach that expects the most of you and expects the players to expect the most out of yourselves."
Utah tight end Noah Bennee makes a catch during spring camp in Salt Lake City on April, 14, 2026, in Salt Lake City. | Anna Fuder, Utah Athletics
The University of Utah's Jon M. Huntsman Center could soon be getting a face-lift. Utah announced Monday that it has begun "a process to explore the possibility of a major renovation of the Jon M. Huntsman Center."
