by Adam Gonzales
Tucson, Ariz. – Redshirt sophomore tight end Josh Kern came to the Arizona football program in the fall of the 2012 season as a quarterback. He was moved to tight end prior to 2013 spring practice, and he has been working there ever since.
Kern has done well in the tight end role, and he has also had a major role with special teams under special teams and tight ends coach Charlie Ragle.
“Any time you have a guy that comes in as a quarterback and you ask him to change positions, it’s a big deal,” Ragle said. “It shows what kind of team player he is to switch to tight end and to do what he does for us on special teams. Guys who make programs big are the guys like Josh who do all the little things for your team. Those kinds of players are invaluable.”
Ragle has a lot of praise for Kern because of the way he has handled himself in his time as a Wildcat. He is also excited to see what Kern can do in the future.
“He is only going to get bigger and stronger,” Ragle said. “He is still growing and making that transition and he does some good things for us. He is pretty skilled for a guy who played quarterback for most of his career, and I think it’s a testament to how hard he works. He is a leader in the locker room, he’s smart and he picks things up really quickly. The rest of his teammates have seen how hard he works and they all respect that.”
This week, the Wildcats head to San Antonio, Texas to play against UTSA on Thursday. For Kern, this isn’t any other week because San Antonio is where he calls home. He has been thinking about this week for a long time now.
“It was hard in the preseason to not think about this game,” Kern said. “Once this week started, I was very excited. My parents came for the game last week and when the game ended we started talking about this week right away. A lot of my family and friends want tickets to the game, and it’s going to be a crazy experience being back in the Alamodome. I graduated from high school there and I played some playoff games there in high school. The weirdest part will be flying into San Antonio and being on the team bus because I’m used to driving around by myself.”
Even though Kern is returning home to play for the first time since high school, he still needs to prepare correctly for the game and he knows that. He does admit that there is some extra motivation for this game though.
“There is always motivation because you play to win the game,” Kern said. “With this one, there is extra motivation and it’s going to be humbling being back home. I’ll be able to handle it though because at the end of the day, it is just another game.”
Ragle understands all the emotions that Kern is having this week, and he fully expected it as well.
“Any kid that is going home wants to put on a good showing, and Josh is no different,” Ragle said. “He gets to go home and play in front of family and friends, and I would think something was wrong with him if he wasn’t more excited. He’s bouncing around more than usual.”
Kern still has no idea how he is going to feel when he finally gets to run out on to the Alamodome field Thursday night, but he knows it will be a special moment.
“I don’t know what to expect. We’re probably going to be in the same locker room I ran out of in high school, so it’ll be pretty exciting for me.”
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