For the first time in his collegiate career, senior tight end Gunnar Helm can look at the roster and see himself sitting at the top of the depth chart for his position.
As a part of head coach Steve Sarkisian’s first recruiting class in 2021 as a three-star recruit, the road to become a starter was uphill for Helm. In his first three years, five-star tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, part of the same class as Helm, took the starting position. Sanders is now in the NFL after three years at Texas, freeing up the starting role for Helm.
“He’s got a lot of times (where he’s) got overshadowed, the last couple of years with JT,” Sarkisian said in the post-game press conference against Michigan. “Coming into this season I thought Gunnar did a great job at getting himself in tip-top shape, I thought he’s moving better than he ever has and his ability to not just catch balls but now make people miss and create explosive plays.”
Making on-and-off starts in his first three years, Helm is now establishing himself early as junior quarterback Quinn Ewers’ go-to guy in tough situations. In the second game of the season, he totaled seven receptions for 98 yards and a receiving touchdown against No. 10 Michigan in Texas’ victory in Ann Arbor.
“You know, I just did what I could. But the way I look at it, I don’t catch the ball if Quinn doesn’t make the throw, Quinn doesn’t make the throw, if the (offensive line) doesn’t block,” Helm said. “I might have got the ball, might have gotten all the praise, but it is a team effort.”
Helm’s role this season hasn’t just resulted in an increase in play time and importance to the offense, but also in leadership and a bigger role off the field.
“(It’s) his leadership that Gunnar provides, he’s the guy that has been in our program for four years now,” Sarkisian said. “He does things the right way and he’s a great leader for a lot of the guys in that locker room, so I’m just proud of him, I’m happy for him.”
Helm and the rest of the team look forward to the rest of the season with high hopes and goals for a national championship in their first year in the SEC, but will remain focused on each week’s opponent.
“We know we’re a really dangerous team. We don’t kid ourselves with that,” Helm said. “We try to take it week by week, and we’re going to prepare for UTSA the same way we did for Michigan. The same way we did for Alabama last year. We’re all you know (thinking like) it’s a 1-0 type season.”
