We are now only 33 days from Louisville kicking off the 2022 football season. We continue to get fans set for the season by breaking down the roster one position at a time. In today's preview, we take a look at the tight ends and h-backs.

Tight End

1. Dez Melton

2. Francis Sherman

H-Back

1. Marshon Ford

2. Isaac Martin

3. Duane Martin

The tight ends and h-backs are especially important in an offense like Louisville's. Scott Satterfield uses them in a variety of ways --- catching passes out of the backfield, sealing the edge, and run blocking between the tackles.

Just look at Marshon Ford as an example of that. He does everything in this offense, and does it at an extremely high level. While Ford led the Cards in receiving with 49 catches and 550 yards in 2021, his blocking deserves just as much praise.

Ford does a great job getting outside and getting to the second level on designed quarterback runs. He's also reliable blocking when lined up in the backfield.

Returning Ford for another year is huge, and you have to imagine that the offensive staff will utilize his versatility even more this year.

Behind Ford is a plethora of guys who have all stepped up when needed. Isaac Martin is a capable lead-blocker and played a lot of snaps last year, totaling 227 in 13 games.

Francis Sherman is another guy who is returning for this group, and like Martin, Sherman saw quite a bit of action in 2021, playing 105 snaps.

I really like Dez Melton as a tight end. He has great size and hands, and made a few big catches for Louisville last year. I think Melton could be in store for an increased role in the offense if Louisville opts to play he and Ford together.

I have zero concerns about this group's ability to block, but the questions lie with the depth behind Marshon Ford. Isaac Martin and Francis Sherman can be called upon to come in with heavy packages.

Sherman graded extremely well in the run-blocking category, according to Pro Football Focus. Out of Sherman's 105 snaps, 87 of them were plays where he blocked.

So, my hesitation is who out of this group can be another pass-catching option?

The guys that could rise to the occasion behind Ford at either tight end or h-back are Dez Melton, Duane Martin, and Victor Mullen.

True freshman Nate Kurisky is also a name to watch, and is a guy who had a bunch of high-level offers that suggest he could see the field at some point.

Marshon Ford is one of the best tight ends in the ACC, and maybe in the country, but Louisville has to build depth behind him. If Ford is lined up at receiver, somebody amongst this group needs to be able to be plugged in to give Louisville the option to keep a tight end in the formation on passing downs.