By CAYDEN SANDERS
For the Fort Hays State University football team, this season will be hard to consistently move to ball up and down the field without rock-steady All-American tight end Hunter Budke. Tight end’s coach Amari Angram-Boldin thinks this season’s tight ends can be a one-two punch for the offense.
“Cale (Cormaney) and Leyton (Cure) are both starters for this offense. They both have skillsets that set them apart, but they also have skillsets this team will use throughout the season,” said Angram-Boldin, a former FHSU player himself.
For the Tigers, Cale Cormaney played in all 11 games last year and had 11 receptions for 168 yards and three touchdowns. Cormaney had a season-high 60-yard reception that ended in a touchdown against Emporia State.
“Last year, I got some time on the field to get a feel of what playing college football was like, and I think that it really helped me know what type of work I need to get through to see success on the field,” he said about his red-shirt season.
For Cormaney, he wanted to improve to be an all-around tight end for this season.
“Hunter (Budke) really showed us to be the all-around tight end, showed us to block, catch and be a great teammate, and I just want to model that to not only the other tight ends in the room but the team as well,” Cormaney said.
Leyton Cure, a western Kansas player, said donning the uniform for Fort Hays feels just like home for him.
“I have family that is only two hours away from me,” he said. “They have come to all the games here in Hays, and I love getting to see them. I also had a lot of friends in my senior class come to Fort Hays, and so I get to see them all the time and it makes me feel like we are back at home.”
For the Goodland High School product, last year was also his redshirt-freshman year for the Tigers. He collected seven in the 11 games he played, was second on the team with 281 receiving yards and two touchdowns and fourth on the team in targets with 26.
Cure hauled in a season-high four receptions in four different games and a season-high yards in a game versus Nebraska Kearney. In nine of the 11 games Cure was able to secure a catch.
“Last year was a good year for me, especially coming from being a quarterback in high school,” he said. “It is different, but I love being a tight end and I can only get better.”
The goal of the off-season was the same for Cure and Cormaney — to be a well-rounded tight end for this year.
The Tigers are set to finish fall camp at 9 a.m. Saturday with an open scrimmage for fans. The first game for Fort Hays is Aug. 31 on the road against Northeastern State.
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