George Kittle on why he didn’t invite Tim Tebow to Tight End University

George Kittle, the creator of National Tight End Day, has never been shy about his love for his fellow tight ends. That admiration of his positional brethren manifested in the inaugural Tight End University – a cousin to the annual pass rush summit held by Broncos DE Von Miler – where players from a particular position group all get together in the offseason to collectively hone their craft.

Kittle began TEU with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and now-retired tight end Greg Olsen. In an appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Kittle said he originally planned for 20-to-25 TEs to show up. That number ballooned to upwards of 50 as word started to spread of TEU’s existence.

One player not among those invited was newly-minted Jaguars TE Tim Tebow. While it makes sense a back-end of the 90-man roster player who just started playing the position wouldn’t be in attendance, Kittle was nevertheless asked about the omission. He said a lack of space and Tebow’s lack of experience at the position were key reasons he wasn’t invited

“If I can’t invite every tight end, how do I not invite a second- or third-string guy on a team that’s been playing tight end since he was 18 years old in high school?” Kittle said via ESPN. “Nothing against Tim Tebow. I hope that he has incredible success this year. I hope he has 10 touchdowns. I hope he has a great year, but it’s hard for me to invite someone to this that just started playing the position when I can’t invite a guy that’s been playing it for eight to 10 years. That’s just hard for me.”

While the inaugural TEU might’ve run out of space, Kittle said his plan is to make it an annual event where he eventually has enough room for any TE that wants to come.

“Hopefully in the next coming years I can make it available to every single person and then any tight end that wants to come can show up, learn, get better and just take another step forward,” the 49ers TE said per ESPN.

Should Tebow go on to make the Jaguars and find a new long-term NFL role as a TE, there’s an extremely good chance he’s one of the players at the positional summit next year regardless of how much it expands. Given his rather rapid move from quarterback to tight end though, it makes sense that he wouldn’t be there in 2021.

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49ers 2021 90-man roster preview: Tight ends