Experienced tight end room hopes to stay healthy in 2025
- Tom Weber
- Aug 8
- 6 min read
CARBONDALE, Ill. — SIU’s top-two tight ends in 2024 — Ryan Schwendeman and Aidan Quinn — combined to miss 16 games due to injury, but both are back healthy and looking for a big season in 2025.
Along with veteran Miles Marshall and redshirt freshmen Karsen Konkel and Aiden Moriarty, Southern has the makings of a deep tight end room, even if injuries arise.
“Any time we play or practice, I expect something great from this room,” said SIU tight ends coach Nate Griffin. “Who's gonna do that, we don't know, but I expect a lot of good things and I also expect this room to be able to handle adversity when things don’t go our way.”
Griffin believes the unit is equally proficient in the run and pass game.
“Whatever we're asked to do, whether that's blocking, being a threat in the pass game, special teams— do it well,” he said. “It's really about team success and what we’re needed to do to get the win.”
Tight end profiles, with comments from Coach Griffin
#83 Ryan Schwendeman, 6-5, 245, Junior
Got off to a great start in 2024 before injuries derailed his season in Game 4...On the season had 7 catches for 86 yards and 2 TDs
“He is everything you're looking for in a tight end — big, strong, physical, fast, athletic, can catch the ball, loves to block. When you're recruiting a kid, you're either finding a tall, skinny, receiver, or a big guy that can block, and then trying to mold them one way or the other so they can do it all, because as a tight end, we have to do everything, it’s not an easy position. Ryan is a hybrid in that he can do it all and he likes to do it all. He loves catching the ball just as much as he does blocking. He's smart, he is competitive, he is always asking to get better with everything.”
#41 Aidan Quinn, 6-1, 245, Senior
Another tight end who missed most of last season with injury, missing the first eight games…In 2023, he started every game and caught 27 passes for 348 yards and 3 TDs.
“AJ is not your prototypical tight end in that he doesn't have the height, but he is everything else you're looking for. I think he shocked a lot of people in 2023 when he showed what he could do. Maybe the height-question doesn’t matter, because he can run, he can catch, he's physical, he sets the tone. He is as tough as they come. It doesn't matter what day it is, how he's feeling, he’s showing up and he's giving you everything he got. He cares, he loves the guys. He makes my job easy because he does a lot of the coaching, and he is the leader.”
#47 Miles Marshall, 6-5, 260, Junior
Has played in 22 games the last two seasons, mainly on special teams, but caught two passes in 2024.
“You talk about the ultimate teammate. You talk about truly what college football is about, paying your dues, continuing to work, maybe not seeing the outcome that you want, but he doesn't complain. He shows up. His room loves him. He brings that energy that comic relief when you need it at times, because it can get pretty tense and he's always there. He's done nothing but improve. I think this year, he's gotten stronger, he's gotten bigger, he's always been athletic, can run. I think he has some confidence that he's capable of playing.”
#87 Karsen Konkel, 6-6, 235, Redshirt Freshman
A three-star prospect out of Pinckneyville, who originally committed to Illinois…Redshirted in 2024.
“He has a bright future. I think for any freshman coming into it, it is the speed of the game, the tempo of the practice, and for Karsen coming into it last year, I think that hit him. But you look at his progress from when he first got here a year ago to now and there he is, flashing. I mean, he can run, he’s athletic, he's strong, he's quick, and now he's just getting that confidence because now he's knowing what to do and how to do it.”
#89 Aiden Moriarty, 6-4, 250, Redshirt Freshman
Played in four games in 2024 to preserve his redshirt year.
“In this conference, you got to have physical tight ends that can block, and I knew he could do that off his high school film. When I saw him at a camp, though, he was running, and he had great hands — this is a guy that can do it all. He got a little playing time last year, sprinkled in there. He's physical, he's tough. The transition from high school to college is overwhelming at times because you're dealing with some grown men who are physical and strong and four or five years ahead of you in the weight room. I'm looking for him and Karsen to be those next guys, because, unfortunately, we can't keep AJ and Ryan and Miles forever.
#86 Logan Minton, 6-7, 240, Sophomore
Played in two games as a redshirt freshman.
“He hurt his knee and had surgery last winter and has been fighting that. He's done everything you could to get back. I mean, he looks bigger, he's stronger. I think he's in a good place, he’s stayed locked in. He's starting to move out here. It's some of these individual drills that he's cleared to do. He's a completely different player than what he was when I first got him as a freshman. He will get that confidence back from the injury.”
#42 Patrick Carr, 6-5, 245, Freshman
Had a huge senior year at Fern Creek High School in Kentucky with 61 catches, 880 yards and 14 TDs.
“He's athletic, he’s got great hands, he’s smart, he picked up the offense a lot faster than what I thought he would, and he loves football, he loves working out. Like any freshman, it’s just getting used to the tempo and the pace of college sports and all these meetings. I tell these guys when they come in, a year from now, you'll be the guy telling the new freshmen it’s going to be okay.”
Practice 8 Insiders Notebook
A day after the much-anticipated live scrimmage, it’s hard for players to have the same excitement-level at practice, especially in the heat, but I thought it was a solid, business-like practice. It clocked in at just under two hours.
