Texas tight end Jack Endries heads into the 2026 NFL Draft as one of the top prospects at his position. After a successful stint at California and a strong year with the Longhorns, he declared for the draft as a redshirt junior to achieve his dream of making it to the NFL.
In the three years he played, Endries combined for 124 receptions, 1,376 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. He was graded as a top-five tight end in college football twice by PFSN’s TE Impact Metric, both coming in key matchups against Ohio State and Texas A&M. He looks to carry that success under the bright lights into a flourishing NFL career.
PFSN spoke with Endries about his rise from a college walk-on to a top tight end, the quarterbacks he’s caught passes from, his preparation for the 2026 NFL Draft, and more.
JI: Starting off as a walk-on, how would you say your background coming into Cal motivated you, and what areas did you focus on the most to crack the starting lineup?
JE: It’s kind of funny; I’ve always been a dedicated guy. Ever since COVID, I was just playing football every day, working out with all my buddies, getting good chemistry with my quarterback, and running routes every day. I think that grew on me. I got my first couple offers for the Mountain West and the Ivy League, but I never really got the Power 5 [offer]. It pushed me forward a little bit to work harder. I never got it, but I got the walk-on offer, so I took that walk-on offer, and it was kind of the same thing.
I got to Cal my first year, maybe seventh- or eighth-string, and I just didn’t get my chance to play. It was like, keep grinding, keep moving forward, so I do. You don’t get offers or whatever, you keep moving forward. I just kept moving forward and had a lot of fun out there and made connections, played football, just like I did during COVID with all my boys. By the end of that freshman spring, I was a starter, So there’s definitely dedication and drive to move forward.
JI: What was that initial transition like making the jump from Cal to Texas? What would you say was the toughest part about the move, and how did you overcome it?
JE: I would say the toughest thing I had to do was just get close to the offense again. At Cal, I’ve been with these guys for years, so I know everyone and know what they’re like, know how they play. At Texas, I pretty much got thrown in there with a month and a half to learn everyone before fall camp started. Then, we’re playing Ohio State before we know it. I just didn’t get the time with my teammates to build that chemistry.
We did the best we could, but two months doesn’t compare to a whole year or two years of chemistry. I wish I had a little more time with Arch [Manning] there. Getting there with a month, two months, I wish I had a little more time. [I] did the best I could with what I had, but more time would be optimal, for sure.
JI: You’re unique in that you got to catch passes from both Fernando Mendoza and Arch Manning. How are those guys similar, and what would you say are key differences between the two?
JE: What stands out to me for both is leadership. They both really took command of that huddle. Fernando especially, just because he rose from being a two-star scout team [player] just like I was, not getting a lot of respect. Players loved him the whole time, but it’s not like he was respected, as, “this guy’s gonna be a great, great quarterback”. So he built natural leadership coming up, and he got, pretty much individually, a player and a player to like him, until he had the whole team liking him and backing him. When he took that starting job, he throws his first touchdown against Oregon State, and everyone’s excited, because they just watched the evolution of this guy here.
Arch, coming as a five-star, you got a lot of pressure on him, and people already respected him. Arch has all the intangibles. He’s a big dude, and he’s a great leader, and a great guy, he’s fast. I think he already had that respect from players, and now it’s just figuring out the transfer portal for Arch, because he gets a whole new bunch of receivers every year, a bunch of linemen every year. It’s always difficult. Their leadership for both of them, they just are great leaders, and they both work very hard.
JI: I think people who only watched his uncles play were surprised by Arch’s speed. He can really move.
JE: I’ve heard [when] we’re watching film with the NFL scouts, and when I’m doing these interviews, it’s like, “wow, Arch is fast”. I didn’t think it was a surprise. He had like, five 60-yard runs this year alone, and then last year, he had a couple big ones. It’s no surprise.
JI: You were a top performer at the Combine and got to go to the East-West Shrine Bowl before your injury. What were those experiences like for you?
JE: What I like the most is how they let you hang out with the tight ends. It was actually really fun hanging out with the tight ends. Eli Raridon, Lake McCree, Dallin Bentley, a bunch of those guys, they’re good people. It was fun hanging out, learning from them, and just watching other tight ends play at both those spots.
Going to the East-West, meeting all those guys, and then going to the Combine and hanging out with them again for six more days, I feel like we just came really tight. I know them pretty well now. I learned a lot from them. It’s fun to size up with the other tight ends, and they’re some big dudes. When you’re walking around with 15 6’4″ guys, it’s crazy. You don’t feel so big.
JI: How have your meetings with teams been so far?
JE: It’s something I spent a lot of time preparing for, going back and watching all my Texas film and calling Arch, going through reads of plays that we ran in in September, a long time ago. I spent a lot of time preparing for that, and I don’t think I needed as much time preparing. I think it was pretty natural. It’s not as much pressure…it’s a lot more fun than people think.
It’s a lot more fun than people think out there. [You’re] just talking to the coaches, talking ball, and introducing yourself. Meeting all these tight end coaches that coach great players was a lot of fun. There’s a little pressure, but it’s not as bad as Hard Knocks makes it look when they got the camera in the room, because I watched a bunch of those interviews. It really wasn’t that bad; I had a lot of fun.
JI: How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?
JE: I’m from California, so I like to be outdoors. I like to go swimming, hiking, golfing, play some pickleball, any outdoor thing I really like the most. I play some video games when it’s nighttime and there’s no friends to hang out with. But yeah, I just try and get out of the house as much as possible.
You kind of get lazy when you’re inside the house, so unless it’s a Sunday, I’m really not staying inside too much. I was out on campus [in college] at the library or at the facilities, or doing whatever I had to do.
JI: How are you at pickleball?
JE: I think I’m pretty good. I do think I’m pretty good. However, I also think that I have put my try-hardness away, you know what I mean? When I’m playing pickleball, I’m not playing football, so I’m just taking it cool, just playing for fun out there. [I’m] not playing to be super competitive. I’m still really competitive in basketball, but pickleball is just chilling for me. I’m really not sprinting left, right, here anymore. I’m more just playing, having fun out there, but [I’m] pretty good when I try.
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JI: What’s your basketball playing style like?
JE: I was definitely a board bully. I’m getting rebounds. When I played in high school, I’ll go for 15, 16 points a game off straight rebounds in the post. I don’t think I shot a mid-range, I don’t think I shot a three-pointer my senior year. I was a football player, and I was like, “I might as well play basketball this year”, and I played it, and I was purely putting like 15, 16 [points] a game in the paint off offensive rebounds. I never got my opportunity to go dunk, because I was always just hanging in the paint.
JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
JE: I like to think I’m a guy you’ll never have to take off the field. I know I have a bunch to work on in all aspects of my game, but I feel like I’m a good perimeter blocker. I’m a really willing run blocker, I’m a good receiving tight end, and I love pass protecting. I feel like there’s not a play where you have to take me off the field. There are, of course, a bunch of things I’m going to work on; however, I think I’m a good player that you just don’t have to take off the field.
