The summer is a time for the beach, pool, BBQs and sometimes, snuggling up with a good book.

In the time away from football this offseason, West Virginia tight ends coach Michael Nysewander opted to do some summer reading. He picked up the book that piqued his interest because the former tight end related to it.

“It’s called, like, blood and guts or something,” Nysewander said. “Every chapter is about a different tight end from back in the 50s.”

The Rich Rodriguez-led WVU’s culture is along those lines. It’s the hard edge, moving bodies, being relentless at all costs, and showing no weakness, which is what the tight end position has to be. They’ve got to catch the ball, but also be willing to block massive defensive ends at the same time.

“A lot of that is you got to kind of have a heart of a lion, I guess, if you will,” Nysewander said. “It kind of comes with the position.”

Earlier in the spring, Nysewander said tight ends in a Rodriguez tempo offense have to have the heart of a lion or do a bit of everything. Nysewander said a “Swiss Army Knife.” They have to be willing to block for two downs and then run out and catch a pass the next because if you sub tight ends, then the defense gets to sub, losing the benefit of a tempo offense.

Rodriguez said tight ends are probably the second toughest position to play in his offense because of all the responsibilities. Nysewander tried to make it as simple as possible to learn. Once they learn one play, they use that play in different variations or formations, but it’s still the same. They use code words, too, to help them remember plays.

“A lot of times, like the tempo that we use, and the different formations and stuff, it looks harder than it is,” Nysewander said. “But we keep it pretty simple for those guys so we can play fast.”

The players who had to pick it up the quickest were the spring transfer portal additions, and Nysewander had two new additions to his room: Northern Illinois transfer Grayson Barnes and North Carolina transfer Ryan Ward. To help even more with those two, Nysewander took advantage of the summer skill development periods, where the coaches can have a little bit of contact with them.

Barnes was one of the more hyped up additions, making some highlight reel catches for the Huskies, and Nysewander said he’s developing.

“I’ve been really pleased with all the stuff he does in the core here, from a run blocking standpoint and a pass protection standpoint,” Nysewander said. “He’s a guy that’s around that 230-pound range, but plays a lot bigger than that. He’s physical. He’s kind of got that willingness to go out there and be physical, but he’s done a really good job since he’s been here.”

As Nysewander’s been evaluating and learning about his group, he’s learned his tight end room has a lot of speed. You can teach technique, plays, and ramp up physicality, but you can’t teach speed.

“What we do have is speed, which is good,” Nysewander said. “They’re willing enough and physical enough to be really successful in the run game. But have been impressed with the group as a whole and their speed.”

With just three weeks from the first game, Nysewander’s still figuring out who is going to run out for the first drive, and he’s still rotating to see who fits where, just like the rest of the team.

“They’ve all done a great job,” Nysewander said. “We’ve rotated them in there and got them different reps with different groups, and they’re attacking the head on.”