Tight End

Most tight ends want to be wide receivers, not tackles. They prefer to move into open space, not the mayhem in the middle of the line. Matt Porter has another perspective. The Haddonfield senior has a special place in his heart for the offensive line, and the largely anonymous guys who play there. "It's a brotherhood in there," Porter said. "We work together. We depend on each other. I love it in there. " The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Porter is a two-way lineman for Haddonfield (10-1)

Tyler Kroft, a tight end who will be a senior this fall at Downingtown East, said Friday that he has made a commitment to Rutgers. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Kroft, an Inquirer first-team all-Southeastern Pennsylvania choice last season, made his decision Friday after an unofficial visit to the campus Thursday. "There were many reasons I chose Rutgers, including the atmosphere, the people there. I got along with the coaches and met the players and felt I would fit in," Kroft said.

Archbishop Kennedy added another weapon to its already potent offense during a 27-7 nonleague victory over host Wissahickon on Friday night. The Saints, averaging more than 20 points per game for the season and just under 30 in their last three games, unleashed tight end Sam Lawler for the first time. He responded by catching 2 long touchdown passes to spark the Saints to their fourth straight victory. "Everyone knows we're primarily a running team," said Kennedy coach Chris Bockrath, whose team is 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the Bicentennial League.

Ken Hull, a former standout quarterback who threw for more than 3,600 career yards at Strath Haven High, is attempting a comeback as a tight end in his senior year at Duke University. The 6-foot, 6-inch, 220-pound Hull played quarterback during his first two years of college. In 1988, he saw limited action in five games, completing 5 of 12 passes for 44 yards. Although his playing time was minimal, Hull - a history major at Duke - was named to the 1988 Atlantic Coast Conference All- Academic football team.

Last year's tight end crop was one of the strongest in a long time. Three tight ends - Irv Smith, Tony McGee and Troy Drayton - went in the first 39 picks. That won't be happening this year. "It's probably one of the weakest crops in many, many years," said Eagles coach Rich Kotite. "There just aren't many prospects. It's an area that's extremely thin. " That's an understatement. Most NFL clubs have just one tight end rated among their top 125 prospects. That one tight end is Lonnie Johnson, of Florida State, and no one is exactly lusting after him, either.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Evan Rodriguez openly admits that he wasn't anywhere near the tight end he should have been. He used words such as lazy and immature to describe his first three years at Temple. "It was just basically partying and living the college life," the 6-foot-3, 250-pound senior said. "Once I got older, I matured and started to settle down and realized what's important. I put my priorities straight, and now I'm coming along. " As a result, the North Bergen, N.J., resident is one of 34 players named to the John Mackey Award watch list.

BALTIMORE - John Mackey, the rugged Hall of Fame tight end and union president who later fought for stronger health benefits for retired players and struggled with dementia, has died at age 69. Mr. Mackey's wife notified the team about her husband's death, Baltimore Ravens spokesman Chad Steele said Thursday. No official cause was given. Mr. Mackey played for the Baltimore Colts from 1963 to '71. He helped the team beat the Dallas Cowboys in the 1971 Super Bowl by catching a pass from Johnny Unitas after it deflected off two other players for a 75-yard touchdown.

Two years removed from college, Clay Harbor is back in class. The tight end is participating in his first full professional offseason this spring - he was drafted in 2010 and waited through the NFL lockout last year. The extra time with the coaches, he said, means a higher football education, and better results in the fall. In particular, Harbor wants to be a smarter blocker and a more fluid route runner. A couple of tweaks, along with extra two-tight-end packages, might pull him off the sidelines more often this season.

Pennsauken rings up style points along with traditional ones on the scoreboard. Take Saturday's 52-23 victory over Triton in the semifinals of the South Jersey Group 4 football tournament. In addition to setting a season high for points, the Indians entertained another big crowd at Vince McAneney Stadium with another thrill show by Manny Cortez, Amar Williams, and Anthony Sweet. Still, the top seed in South Jersey's largest group and the No. 4 team in The Inquirer Top 10 has substance as well as sizzle, and grit as well as glitter.

In February, Cody Booth was still a tight end trying to piece together his thoughts about Temple's disheartening 2012 season. When the Owls (4-7 last season) take the field at 1 p.m. Saturday for the Cherry and White game at Edberg-Olson Hall, fans will see him as something else entirely. A left tackle. With a new system, one that will utilize the passing game, one might have assumed that Booth would be gearing up for a standout season at tight end. The Millersville native caught 17 passes for 137 yards and four touchdowns last season.

Of all the starters left over from the Andy Reid regime, Brent Celek might have reason to fret the most in Chip Kelly's first offseason of player acquisition. The Eagles tight end saw his new coach add two competitors at a position where teams sometimes carry only two players on the 53-man roster. Although Celek did not have the best of his six seasons in 2012, tight end was hardly the No. 1 priority for the Eagles. And yet Kelly signed James Casey on the first day of free agency and selected Zach Ertz out of Stanford in the second round of the draft.

Part Three of a Series The Eagles are amid their first organized team activities this week, and they will practice throughout the next four weeks. After those practices, coach Chip Kelly will have a better idea of the Eagles roster. But there's a lot that will happen between now and then. Here is a look at the tight ends: Projected current first team TE1: Brent Celek (6-foot-4, 255 pounds), age 28, 7th season TE2: James Casey (6-3, 240), 28, 5th Of all the positions on the Eagles offense, the one that has seen the most change this offseason is tight end. Kelly brought in three new quarterbacks, but the current top two remain the same.

Lane Johnson told a big, ol' Texas tale when he came to town on Friday to meet and greet in his first official day as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. "Just trying to add some flavor to the supper," Johnson would say later, after admitting that his history as a wrestler of black bears in East Texas was a yarn he spun for the telling. He insisted that he has indeed chased down and tackled wild pigs - heck, even Kevin Kolb could do that - but the stuff about tangling with bears, mindful of the claws at all times, well, that didn't really happen.

The first three picks the Eagles made in the NFL draft, including their second- and third-round selections, have Chip Kelly's imprints all over them. The two players the Eagles took on Friday night - Stanford tight end Zach Ertz and LSU defensive tackle Bennie Logan - played on two of the three teams that beat Oregon in Kelly's last two years there. And while Kelly never faced Oklahoma during his four seasons as Ducks head coach, tackle Lane Johnson, the Birds' top pick, played in an up-tempo offense that ran almost as many plays last season as Oregon's.

Day 1 LANE JOHNSON First round, fourth overall Position: Tackle College: Oklahoma Size: 6-foot-6, 303 pounds Hometown: Groveton, Texas Skinny: A former high school and junior college quarterback, Johnson moved to tackle only two years ago. He played both left and right tackle for the Sooners and said he is comfortable on either side. But he is likely to be the starter at right tackle. He started at tackle his final two college games then rose up the draft chart after the Senior Bowl and the combine.

Here are the top-rated wide receivers and tight ends in the NFL draft and some others the Eagles could select in later rounds: Wide receivers                                                                       Projected Player, college                      Ht.    Wt.    round Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee    6-2    216      1 Tavon Austin, West Virginia          5-8    174       1 Keenan Allen, California             6-2    206       1-2 Robert Woods, Southern Cal       6-0    201       1-2 DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson          6-1    214       2 Justin Hunter, Tennessee             6-4    196       2 Terrance Williams, Baylor          6-2    208       2 Others Marquise Goodwin, Texas          5-9    183       3 Kenny Stills, Oklahoma             6-1    194       4-5 Josh Boyce, Texas Christian         5-11    206       5-6 Denard Robinson, Michigan          5-11    199      6 Rodney Smith, Florida State       6-5    225       7 Tight ends                                                                             Projected...

Former Eagles Pro Bowl fullback Leonard Weaver will sign a one-day contract and officially announce his retirement with the team on Tuesday at 1 p.m. Weaver earned a Pro Bowl invitation and Associated Press all-pro honors in 2009, his first season with the Eagles, after leading all NFL fullbacks in rushing attempts (70) and yards (323) to go along with four touchdowns (two rushing, two receiving). He suffered a career-ending knee injury in 2010. Originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Seattle Seahawks in 2005, Weaver played in 63 games (19 starts)

In February, Cody Booth was still a tight end trying to piece together his thoughts about Temple's disheartening 2012 season. When the Owls (4-7 last season) take the field at 1 p.m. Saturday for the Cherry and White game at Edberg-Olson Hall, fans will see him as something else entirely. A left tackle. With a new system, one that will utilize the passing game, one might have assumed that Booth would be gearing up for a standout season at tight end. The Millersville native caught 17 passes for 137 yards and four touchdowns last season.

FOR THE 12th straight year, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock will break down each of the positions in the draft for the Daily News , providing his assessment of the best player at each position, as well as his top riser and sleeper. Mayock, 54, resides in Newtown Square and is a graduate of the Haverford School. A former safety, he was a 10th-round pick of the Steelers in 1981 and played two seasons with the Giants (1982-83). QUARTERBACKS THE BEST Name: Geno Smith School: West Virginia Height, weight: 6-2, 218 40 time: 4.59 Hands: 9 1/4 inches Round projection: 1 Mayock: "He has all of the components of a franchise quarterback, but is not consistent enough on tape for me. He doesn't have very good pocket awareness.