Maximilian Mang was healthy for the entire 2024 college football season at Syracuse. He’s a tight end. He made one catch, total.
The Indianapolis Colts just signed him to their practice squad for the 2025 NFL season, according to Syracuse.com. It’s not often a one-catch TE gets a pro contract.
Mang is not a pass-catching tight end, though. He’s an expert blocker.
He’s expected to take up the Colts’ international player spot, which doesn’t count against the 16-man limit for the practice squad, per Syracuse.com’s Chris Carlson.
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Mang came to Syracuse University from Germany in 2020.
“(Mang) delivered a strong season for the Orange in the traditionally anonymous role of a blocking tight end last season,” Carlson writes. “Mang was the Orange’s fourth-highest rated run blocker according to Pro Football Focus. He was also the team’s third-best pass blocker. He ranked fourth among ACC tight ends in pass blocking and seventh in run blocking last season, showing tremendous improvement in both categories under tight ends coach Michael Johnson.”
In five seasons with the Orange, Mang caught nine passes for 60 yards.
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Clearly, his blocking showed up well on tape to get a chance this summer with the Colts, and to turn it into a practice squad spot.
The Colts’ tight end room is now led by first-round rookie Tyler Warren, who was the No. 14 overall pick out of Penn State.
Veteran Mo Alie-Cox, the former VCU basketball player, is also in the tight end room and should serve as a good veteran presence for the youngsters around him.
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