The Best College Football Tight Ends of All Time

Updated October 20, 2019 4.0k votes 503 voters 9.3k views57 items

List RulesFootball players at the tight end position who had epic college careers

American college football, like all football originated as rugby in England and Canada. Eventually rugby came stateside, and then became the game we know and love today. Years later the NCAA was formed to regulate college teams. The tight ends on this list were the best of the best during their college careers.

The NCAA allows students from American universities, colleges, Canadian universities, or military academies to play. American college football has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, but it was actually through college football that the American football rules gained popularity in the first place.

The tight end is an offensive position somewhere between an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. They are responsible for receiving, blocking and sometimes rushing.

Below we commemorate the greatest college tight ends of ALL TIME! If you see a name missing feel free to add it and vote up your favorite tight ends, based on their incredible college careers.

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Tony Gonzalez
Tight end
Birthplace: Torrance, California, United States of America
Age: 39
Teams: California Golden Bears football, Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs
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#1416 of 1,427 The Best Athletes Of All Time#4 of 28 The Best NFL Players With The Most Pro Bowl Appearances
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Jason Witten
Tight end
Birthplace: Elizabethton, Tennessee, USA
Age: 38
Teams: Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders
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#131 of 1,323 The Best Football Players Ever#4 of 48 The Best University of Tennessee Football Players Ever
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Rob Gronkowski
Tight end
Birthplace: Amherst, New York
Age: 26
Teams: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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#157 of 178 The Best Hot Ones Guests Ever#129 of 322 People Who Should Be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
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Mike Ditka
Tight end
Birthplace: Carnegie, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Age: 80
Teams: Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Panthers football, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys
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#28 of 150 Athletes You Didn't Know Were Conservative#295 of 904 Celebrity Death Pool 2021
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Antonio Gates
Tight end
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, United States of America
Age: 35
Teams: San Diego Chargers
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#48 of 77 The Best Athletes Who Have Used Performance Enhancing Drugs#85 of 106 The Fastest NFL Players of All Time
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Shannon Sharpe
Tight end
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Age: 47
Teams: Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, Savannah State Tigers football
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#93 of 329 The Most Obnoxious Athletes#5 of 55 The Best NFL Buys for the Money
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Jeremy Shockey
Tight end
Birthplace: Ada, Oklahoma
Age: 35
Teams: New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Miami Hurricanes football, New York Giants
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#13 of 64 The Best Miami Football Players of All Time#37 of 149 The Best New York Giants of All Time
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Vernon Davis
Tight end
Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
Age: 31
Teams: Washington Redskins
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Ozzie Newsome
Tight end
Birthplace: Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States of America
Age: 59
Teams: Cleveland Browns
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#7 of 91 The Best Alabama Crimson Tide Football Players of All Time#3 of 26 The Best NFL Tight Ends of the '70s
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Kellen Winslow
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#50 of 143 Athletes Whose Careers Ended Too Soon#24 of 36 The Best NFL Wide Receivers of the '80s
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40
Dallas Clark
Tight end
Birthplace: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Age: 36
Teams: Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens, Iowa Hawkeyes football
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Dave Casper
Tight end, Wide receiver
Birthplace: Bemidji, Minnesota
Age: 64
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#14 of 82 The Best Notre Dame Football Players of All Time#24 of 35 Undeserving Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
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Keith Jackson
Tight end
Birthplace: Little Rock, Arkansas
Age: 55

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Travis Kelce
Tight end
Birthplace: Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Age: 26
Teams: Cincinnati Bearcats, Kansas City Chiefs
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Brent Jones
Tight end
Birthplace: Santa Clara, California
Age: 57
Teams: San Francisco 49ers
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34
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Mark Chmura
Tight end
Birthplace: Deerfield, Massachusetts
Age: 51
Teams: Green Bay Packers, Boston College Eagles football
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39
Kyle Rudolph
Tight end
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
Age: 26
Teams: Minnesota Vikings
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35
Mark Bavaro
Tight end
Birthplace: Winthrop, Massachusetts
Age: 52
Teams: Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants
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#6 of 24 The Best NFL Tight Ends of the '90s#111 of 150 The Best Cleveland Browns of All Time
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Jermaine Gresham
Tight end
Birthplace: Ardmore, Oklahoma
Age: 32
Teams: Cincinnati Bengals
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41
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Heath Miller
Tight end
Birthplace: Richlands, Virginia, United States of America
Age: 33
Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers
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53
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Jay Novacek
Tight end
Birthplace: Martin, South Dakota, United States of America
Age: 53
Teams: Phoenix Cardinals, Wyoming Cowboys football, Dallas Cowboys
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Todd Christensen
Fullback, Tight end
Birthplace: Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Age: Died at 57 (1956-2013)
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#50 of 107 College & Professional Athletes Who Were Raised Mormon#44 of 86 The Best NFL Players From Pennsylvania
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Ben Coates
Tight end
Birthplace: Greenwood, South Carolina
Age: 46
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#33 of 246 The Best New England Patriots Of All Time#24 of 50 The Best NFL Players From South Carolina

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Todd Heap
Tight end
Birthplace: Mesa, Arizona, United States of America
Age: 35
Teams: Arizona Cardinals, Arizona State Sun Devils football, Baltimore Ravens
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#14 of 95 The Best Baltimore Ravens of All Time#11 of 40 The Best Arizona Cardinals Tight Ends Of All Time
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Ed Dickson
Tight end
Birthplace: Los Angeles, Inglewood, California
Age: 28
Teams: Seattle Seahawks

Travis Kelce

Kyle Rudolph

Todd Christensen

Todd Heap