Central Michigan University Athletics
Sophomore Joel Wilson is among the more-experienced tight ends on the 2021 CMU football team.
Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf
Veteran Trio Leads Tight Ends
8/17/2021 4:21:00 PM | Football
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Hunter Buczkowski got the coveted touchdown a year ago.
His 7-yard TD catch in the Chippewas' final home game in 2020 was a first, and a career highlight, for the Mount Pleasant native whose blood runs deep maroon and gold.
The COVID-19-abbreviated 2020 season did not count against eligibility, giving Buczkowski and several other Chippewas, a sixth year. His No. 1 goal: make the most of it.
"There's still a lot of guys around here who I love to play with, love to be around," said Buczkowski, adding that a Mid-American Conference championship tops his list of goals.
Buczkowski is the veteran among the tight ends, a position that often is overlooked but figures prominently in the Chippewas' offensive scheme.
"No block, no ball, end of story," tight ends coach Tavita Thompson said. "Tight ends, that's what they do. They're a part of everything so it's not just the passing game.
"It's 'What did you do to help us win?' If you (move) the ball on the ground and you put people in the dirt eventually that's going to open you up in the passing game."
Two other talented veterans headline the position group in 6-foot-5, 255-pound junior Keegan Cossou and Joel Wilson, a 6-4, 250-pound sophomore.
Wilson caught five passes for 50 yards a year ago, flashing the potential that he brought to Mount Pleasant in 2018 as a 217-pound freshman who played quarterback at Petoskey High School.
"Joel Wilson, I always thought he was going to be really special," Thompson said. "He's healthy; he had a great offseason; he put some really good weight on. Him having the ability to hold that weight makes him a better force in the run game and his ability to stretch the field is what makes him special. Really excited to see what he does for us this year."
Cossou, who joined the Chippewas out of Greenville High School in 2017, is the most experienced among the tight ends. His versatility has enabled the coaching staff to move him from tight end to defensive line to offensive tackle and, finally, back to tight end, where it appears that he will stay.
"Coming off the D line and getting back into that blocking mindset was one of the harder things for me to get started on," Cossou said, "and then just having to fluctuate my body weight a lot; that was kind of a challenge at times, but we got that under control."
Buczkowski, Cossou and Wilson lead a position group that includes five underclassmen, four of whom are freshmen.
That so many in the group are relatively young is no different than any other position group for the Chippewas who essentially are breaking in two freshmen classes in fall practice. Those who were supposed to have been on campus but were sent home due to COVID-19 in 2020 and those who are here on time in 2021.
"That's 50 guys you're bringing into fall camp," Buczkowski said. "I really have to give it up to the freshman; they are in their playbooks, they want to do this, they want to compete. I feel really confident with where we're at right now.
"It does feel like it did back in 2019. I was talking to a couple of my fellow sixth-years in the front row on picture day and I turned back and I was like, 'Whoa! This is a whole football team. … Now here we go: we've got a football team, fans are coming back, it's all starting to come together. It's starting to feel like 2019 again."
Said Cossou: "I don't know if anybody can admit that they're straight up where they want to be at this moment; I think we're heading in that direction. Everybody's busting their butt every day and we're getting closer and closer every day to being that team that we want to be."
His 7-yard TD catch in the Chippewas' final home game in 2020 was a first, and a career highlight, for the Mount Pleasant native whose blood runs deep maroon and gold.
The COVID-19-abbreviated 2020 season did not count against eligibility, giving Buczkowski and several other Chippewas, a sixth year. His No. 1 goal: make the most of it.
"There's still a lot of guys around here who I love to play with, love to be around," said Buczkowski, adding that a Mid-American Conference championship tops his list of goals.
Buczkowski is the veteran among the tight ends, a position that often is overlooked but figures prominently in the Chippewas' offensive scheme.
"No block, no ball, end of story," tight ends coach Tavita Thompson said. "Tight ends, that's what they do. They're a part of everything so it's not just the passing game.
"It's 'What did you do to help us win?' If you (move) the ball on the ground and you put people in the dirt eventually that's going to open you up in the passing game."
Two other talented veterans headline the position group in 6-foot-5, 255-pound junior Keegan Cossou and Joel Wilson, a 6-4, 250-pound sophomore.
Wilson caught five passes for 50 yards a year ago, flashing the potential that he brought to Mount Pleasant in 2018 as a 217-pound freshman who played quarterback at Petoskey High School.
"Joel Wilson, I always thought he was going to be really special," Thompson said. "He's healthy; he had a great offseason; he put some really good weight on. Him having the ability to hold that weight makes him a better force in the run game and his ability to stretch the field is what makes him special. Really excited to see what he does for us this year."
Cossou, who joined the Chippewas out of Greenville High School in 2017, is the most experienced among the tight ends. His versatility has enabled the coaching staff to move him from tight end to defensive line to offensive tackle and, finally, back to tight end, where it appears that he will stay.
"Coming off the D line and getting back into that blocking mindset was one of the harder things for me to get started on," Cossou said, "and then just having to fluctuate my body weight a lot; that was kind of a challenge at times, but we got that under control."
Buczkowski, Cossou and Wilson lead a position group that includes five underclassmen, four of whom are freshmen.
That so many in the group are relatively young is no different than any other position group for the Chippewas who essentially are breaking in two freshmen classes in fall practice. Those who were supposed to have been on campus but were sent home due to COVID-19 in 2020 and those who are here on time in 2021.
"That's 50 guys you're bringing into fall camp," Buczkowski said. "I really have to give it up to the freshman; they are in their playbooks, they want to do this, they want to compete. I feel really confident with where we're at right now.
"It does feel like it did back in 2019. I was talking to a couple of my fellow sixth-years in the front row on picture day and I turned back and I was like, 'Whoa! This is a whole football team. … Now here we go: we've got a football team, fans are coming back, it's all starting to come together. It's starting to feel like 2019 again."
Said Cossou: "I don't know if anybody can admit that they're straight up where they want to be at this moment; I think we're heading in that direction. Everybody's busting their butt every day and we're getting closer and closer every day to being that team that we want to be."
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