Kentucky Football: Players Who Broke Out Against NMSU
C.J. Conrad
Ever since visiting Lexington as a respected high school player, tight end C.J. Conrad has been compared to Jacob Tamme. Tamme, who made his name with the Kentucky Wildcats and has since gone on to put forth a quality NFL career, is quite the standard.
Against the New Mexico State Aggies, Conrad looked more like the player whom he compares himself to: Rob Gronkowski.
Pure determination.
Conrad finished with five receptions for 133 yards and three touchdowns against New Mexico State. He was Stephen Johnson’s most reliable target as he pulled in difficult passes, made routine plays, and fought through contact for extra yardage.
No matter what challenge he was presented with, Conrad seemed to overcome it in an almost Gronk-like manner.
One could also say he did things in Dicky Lyons-like manner.
C.J. Conrad first Kentucky player to catch three touchdowns in a game since Dicky Lyons Jr. did it in 2007.
— Jen Smith (@ByJenSmith) September 17, 2016
It was a historic day for a number of rising Kentucky stars.
Conrad had one reception for five yards through Kentucky’s first two games of the season. All it took was a change at quarterback for Conrad to be targeted and the Wildcats to subsequently discover they have a future star on their hands.
Conrad, a four-star recruit coming out of high school, lived up to the hype against New Mexico State—a promising sign for the future.