{"id":6022,"date":"2026-06-30T23:05:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T23:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022"},"modified":"2026-06-30T23:05:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T23:05:35","slug":"ucf-position-preview-dylan-wade-leads-talented-tight-ends-unit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022","title":{"rendered":"UCF position preview: Dylan Wade leads talented tight ends unit"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>The fourth in a position-by-position preview of the UCF football team heading into fall camp:<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6020\">How a lightning strike changed Bob Dugan\u2019s life and mission to save others<\/a><\/p>\n<h4>TODAY: TIGHT ENDS<\/h4>\n<p><strong>What to expect<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>New tight ends coach Copper Bassett inherited one of the most productive tight ends in college football last season in Dylan Wade. It was a record-setting season for the 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior, who finished as the Knights\u2019 second-leading receiver with 523 yards on 43 catches with a team-high five touchdowns \u2014 all of which were program-best numbers for a tight end.<\/p>\n<p>He was the second-most targeted receiver on the team (59) behind wideout Duane Thomas Jr. (72) and his 323 yards after the catch (YAC) were the third-most in the Big 12.<\/p>\n<p>Caden Piening returns after a hamstring injury that limited him throughout most of his freshman season. The 6-5, 245-pound Piening is expected to take on a larger role with the departure of Kylan Fox. Also returning is Thomas Wadsworth (6-3, 245), who has been around the program the longest. The fifth-year senior has assumed a larger leadership role in the group, according to Bassett.<\/p>\n<p>New to the program is Grayson Brousseau, although the redshirt sophomore is familiar with Bassett, having spent time together at Utah State and Oklahoma State. Brousseau has been limited to just 16 games in two seasons, but his familiarity with Bassett could help ease the transition to UCF.<\/p>\n<p>Dylan Burk (6-7, 255) joined the team as a mid-year addition from Sam Houston State, where he appeared in 12 games for the Bearkats.<\/p>\n<p>True freshman Brooks Hall was an early enrollee who arrived in January from Platte County High School and immediately put on 15 to 20 pounds to build up his frame to play at the Division I level.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6018\">DeSantis locks in funding for AIDS drug program<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <!--Ad-Slot: outstream_video--><\/p>\n<p><strong>What they\u2019re saying<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomething that happens with tight ends is everybody wants dessert first. They want the big catches, the touchdowns and the YAC (yards after catch). All that good stuff. That\u2019s easy to work on yourself. It\u2019s brushing your teeth every day. It\u2019s doing the boring, monotonous things every single day that help you get good in the run game.\u201d \u2014 New UCF tight ends coach Cooper Bassett on the importance of blocking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Returnees<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dylan Wade<br \/>\nCaden Piening<br \/>\nThomas Wadsworth<\/p>\n<p> <!--Ad-Slot: cube_article--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Arrivals<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Grayson Brousseau (Oklahoma State), redshirt sophomore<br \/>\nDylan Burk (Sam Houston), sophomore<br \/>\nBrooks Hall (Platte County High), freshman<\/p>\n<p><strong>Departures<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kylan Fox (transfer to Purdue): 16 catches, 137 yards, TD<br \/>\nMax Drag (transfer to South Carolina): 3 catches, 19 yards<br \/>\nDallan Coleman (eligibility)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Projected depth chart<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>TE1 \u2014 Dylan Wade<br \/>\nTE2 \u2014 Caden Piening<br \/>\nTE3 \u2014 Thomas Wadsworth<br \/>\nTE4 \u2014 Grayson Brousseau<\/p>\n<h4>Previous<\/h4>\n<p>Quarterback<br \/>\nRunning back<br \/>\nWide receiver<\/p>\n<p><em>Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel\u2019s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6016\">NASA considers moon mission for Mars-type rover<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New tight ends coach Cooper Bassett inherited a group that features one of the top returning receivers and plenty of talent to help the offense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-sports","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UCF position preview: Dylan Wade leads talented tight ends unit - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UCF position preview: Dylan Wade leads talented tight ends unit - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New tight ends coach Cooper Bassett inherited a group that features one of the top returning receivers and plenty of talent to help the offense.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-30T23:05:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"UCF position preview: Dylan Wade leads talented tight ends unit\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T23:05:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022\"},\"wordCount\":491,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2435c0fff75e3eca6738138b6a45cf44.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"College Sports\",\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022\",\"name\":\"UCF position preview: Dylan Wade leads talented tight ends unit - Orlando Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2435c0fff75e3eca6738138b6a45cf44.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T23:05:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2435c0fff75e3eca6738138b6a45cf44.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2435c0fff75e3eca6738138b6a45cf44.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=6022#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UCF position preview: Dylan Wade leads talented tight ends unit\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Orlando Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UCF position preview: Dylan Wade leads talented tight ends unit - Orlando Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UCF position preview: Dylan Wade leads talented tight ends unit - Orlando Relocation Report","og_description":"New tight ends coach Cooper Bassett inherited a group that features one of the top returning receivers and plenty of talent to help the offense.","og_url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022","og_site_name":"Orlando Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-30T23:05:35+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"headline":"UCF position preview: Dylan Wade leads talented tight ends unit","datePublished":"2026-06-30T23:05:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022"},"wordCount":491,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2435c0fff75e3eca6738138b6a45cf44.webp","articleSection":["College Sports","Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022","name":"UCF position preview: Dylan Wade leads talented tight ends unit - Orlando Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2435c0fff75e3eca6738138b6a45cf44.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-30T23:05:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2435c0fff75e3eca6738138b6a45cf44.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2435c0fff75e3eca6738138b6a45cf44.webp","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6022#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UCF position preview: Dylan Wade leads talented tight ends unit"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Orlando Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}