Tight ends emerging for Mercer offense

Dealing with injuries at wide receiver and running back, the Mercer offense has seen the emergence of tight ends Robert Brown and Sam Walker in recent games. Brown led the team with four receptions, 82 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears' 52-0 win Saturday over East Tennessee State.

Even though running back Alex Lakes returned to the lineup Oct. 10 at Western Carolina after missing one game, head coach Bobby Lamb said Lakes is still dealing with pain from his partially punctured lung. Wide receiver Chandler Curtis has not played since the Bears' opening game against Austin Peay, and Lamb said Curtis will not take the field until he's fully healthy.

"He practiced only one day this week. It's a lingering issue," Lamb said. "Until he's 100 percent, we're not going to put him out there."

But with Brown and Walker's play in recent weeks, the absence of Curtis has been alleviated. Saturday marked the third time Brown has led the team in receiving this season; he has 14 receptions for 284 yards and two touchdowns in five games.

Walker has been a steady staple of the offense the past three weeks with games of 39, 45 and 55 yards. He ranks third on the team in receiving behind Avery Ward and Brown.

"We feel like with Robert and Sam, we have two tight ends who can really stretch the field," Lamb said. "And we love the sets that they're in when both of them are in the set together. They can do some dynamic things down the field."

Juniors Derek Owings and Grant Radakovich fill out the remainder of the tight end corps, but both are battling injuries. Lamb said their return will be important depth-wise.

Quarterback John Russ was not shy in praising the group.

"We have the best tight ends in the country, in my opinion," he said. "They all make me look good, to be honest. If I put the ball anywhere near them, they're going to catch the ball."

Brown already has eclipsed his 2014 total of 13 receptions for 246 yards and two touchdowns in four fewer game, while Walker redshirted last year. Brown credited his coaches for his play thus far.

"I think the coaches are some of the best game-planners in the conference," he said. "And in my experience, they definitely exploit some of the weaknesses on the defense. We just trust them to get us open and get us looks, and then it's our job to execute."

But the injuries even struck Brown this year. He missed Mercer's trip to Tennessee Tech on Sept. 19 after missing three games in 2014.

"It's definitely frustrating the injuries we've had to the people we have," he said.

But, nonetheless, players will have to step up if the injuries continue.

"That's just the nature of the game, and we have to overcome that," Brown said. "Hopefully moving forward, we can get a couple breaks and get some guys back and get healthy and start doing what we should be doing in this conference."

This story was originally published October 18, 2015 at 9:51 PM with the headline "Tight ends emerging for Mercer offense ."