Houston’s Maliq Carr named one of nation’s top tight ends in preseason rankings

Houston might have the key to unlocking its offense in the form of tight end Maliq Carr.

Carr also looks like an NFL tight end at 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, which he’ll try to prove after transferring to play for the Cougars after three seasons at Michigan State.

College Football News put Carr on its preseason rankings of the nation’s best tight ends at No. 15. Carr was one of two Big 12 Conference tight ends to make the list along with Utah’s Brant Kuithe at No. 2.

According to Pro Football Focus, Carr had the highest grade of any transfer tight end in FBS at 81.9 percent and has the highest pass-play grade of any tight end in the Big 12 at 91.6 percent. Over the last three seasons, Carr played in 34 games with 7 starts and caught 54 passes for 696 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns.

Houston will be Carr’s third college stop — he played at Purdue in 2020 and also played basketball at Michigan State in 2022.