Name: Marlin Klein
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 247 lbs.
High school: Rabun Gap (GA) Nacoochee
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #17
Last year: I ranked Klein #77 and said he would be a backup tight end (LINK). He played in ten games and caught 1 pass for 8 yards.
TTB Rating: 81
Klein has been buried on the depth chart for the past couple seasons behind a pretty good group of tight ends. Last year it was Colston Loveland, A.J. Barner, and Matt Hibner, among others, ahead of him on the depth chart. Barner went to the NFL, and Hibner attempted to find greener pastures at SMU (Hibner caught 1 pass for 19 yards in a win over Nevada last night). Klein, meanwhile, despite positive reports on his athleticism, had yet to reach a point where he could be put on the field.
This off-season the hype train for Klein has picked up speed, largely based on his size and athleticism. He reportedly broke off a long touchdown catch and run in a scrimmage recently, and one insider report pegged him as one of the fastest players on the team. Even if he doesn’t truly rank quite at the top, that’s still an impressive comment about a player who’s 6’6″ and 247 pounds.
Replacing Barner’s 620 snaps from 2023 is going to be a group effort. Klein isn’t going to go from playing 37 snaps to 620. But he does appear to be TE2 on this roster, and that should be a few hundred snaps. Zack Marshall and Deakon Tonielli are a couple others who could see decent roles, not to mention 6’6″, 245 lb. freshman Brady Prieskorn. The group has one proven player (Loveland) and a bunch of question marks. I ranked Barner #22 last year, so I don’t have as much confidence in Klein, but we should still see the Germany native quite a bit this fall.
Prediction: Part-time starting tight end; 15 catches for 200 yards and 1 touchdown
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