2026 Position Preview: Different Paths Converge at Tight End
8/20/2026 11:00:00 AM | Football
Coastal Carolina's six-man tight end room brings together a returning starter, three transfer additions and two young returners entering the 2026 season. The different backgrounds and skill sets throughout the group give head coach Ryan Beard and offensive coordinator Nick Petrino a variety of options as preseason camp continues.
Redshirt senior Zach Courtney provides continuity as Coastal Carolina's lone returning offensive starter. Courtney appeared in nine games with seven starts in 2025, finishing with nine receptions for 120 yards. He closed the season with the best performance of his career, setting career highs with four receptions and 56 receiving yards against Louisiana Tech in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.
The Chanticleers added significant experience and production through the transfer portal with Cyrus Ellison, Jackson Kohl and Bryson Wood. Ellison started all 13 games at South Carolina State last season, catching 14 passes for 159 yards while earning Second Team All-MEAC honors. His experience provides another veteran presence alongside Courtney entering the 2026 campaign.
Kohl reunites with Beard and Petrino after spending the 2025 season at Missouri State. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound redshirt freshman appeared in three games for the Bears last season after arriving as a highly regarded prospect from St. Louis, where he received scholarship offers from Duke, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State and Nebraska.
Wood brings the most recent receiving production to the room following a standout season at Santa Monica College. The junior earned Region IV All-California First Team and all-conference honors in 2025 after hauling in 40 receptions for 631 yards and nine touchdowns. He averaged 15.8 yards per catch and posted a season-high 167 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a win over Desert.
Sophomores Brown Reaves and Ben Verges provide additional youth and continuity within the position group. Reaves appeared in 12 games as a true freshman last season, primarily contributing on special teams, while Verges enters his second year with the program after redshirting in 2025.
Redshirt senior Zach Courtney provides continuity as Coastal Carolina's lone returning offensive starter. Courtney appeared in nine games with seven starts in 2025, finishing with nine receptions for 120 yards. He closed the season with the best performance of his career, setting career highs with four receptions and 56 receiving yards against Louisiana Tech in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.
The Chanticleers added significant experience and production through the transfer portal with Cyrus Ellison, Jackson Kohl and Bryson Wood. Ellison started all 13 games at South Carolina State last season, catching 14 passes for 159 yards while earning Second Team All-MEAC honors. His experience provides another veteran presence alongside Courtney entering the 2026 campaign.
Kohl reunites with Beard and Petrino after spending the 2025 season at Missouri State. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound redshirt freshman appeared in three games for the Bears last season after arriving as a highly regarded prospect from St. Louis, where he received scholarship offers from Duke, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State and Nebraska.
Wood brings the most recent receiving production to the room following a standout season at Santa Monica College. The junior earned Region IV All-California First Team and all-conference honors in 2025 after hauling in 40 receptions for 631 yards and nine touchdowns. He averaged 15.8 yards per catch and posted a season-high 167 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a win over Desert.
Sophomores Brown Reaves and Ben Verges provide additional youth and continuity within the position group. Reaves appeared in 12 games as a true freshman last season, primarily contributing on special teams, while Verges enters his second year with the program after redshirting in 2025.
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