SALT LAKE CITY — Caleb Lohner played four years of college basketball and just one season of college football, but that was enough for him to get drafted by the Denver Broncos.
“I feel like he was a basketball player, playing with a football player mentality,” said University of Utah tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham.
Despite Lohner spending most of his life pursuing basketball, Whittingham and the rest of the Utes’ football staff saw his natural athletic abilities as untapped potential.
“He’s a hard worker, incredible athlete, like freakish athletic traits. His height, his weight, his size, the way he moved on the basketball court, how physical he was on the basketball court, and I thought he would make a great tight end,” said Whittingham.
WATCH: USU’s Royals, Utah’s Lohner selected by NFL teams in later draft rounds
He played basketball at BYU and Baylor before transferring to the U of U.
“At [Lohner’s] official visit, my whole pitch was a comparison to Jimmy Graham,” Whittingham added. “He had almost identical height, weight, he had also played four years of basketball and spent his fifth year playing football before getting drafted.”
Now Lohner gets to be coached by Sean Payton, who spent over a decade coaching Graham.
Lohner was a part of the Utah football program for about six months, and from the get-go, he was very dedicated.
“He was just like a sponge,” Whittingham said. “It was very important to him to learn the scheme and improve his technique. He was one of the hardest working guys we’ve had. He put on 20 pounds, he had a lot of people here working on his behalf, and to his credit, he embraced it.”
Lohner’s role was primarily in the red zone for the Utes. He had just five receptions in the 2025 season, all of which were scores. He had four touchdowns and one 2-point conversion.
“With his length, you can throw the ball up,” said his former tight ends coach, “so for the touchdowns, we talked about, ‘OK, post up like a rebound, box out the defensive back and go up high for the rebound.'”
He was pick number 241, in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft — the only Utah Ute selected. The Broncos, just like Whittingham, see the strong potential in Lohner.
“The Broncos scout called me in the fifth round,” said Whittingham. “He indicated they had a couple picks coming up and just wanted to know any final thoughts about Caleb.”
Denver’s rookie mini-camp begins May 12, where Lohner will look to differentiate himself from the others, all while learning the team’s playbook, terminology and daily routines.
“My message to him is that this is his opportunity, but he’s got to seize it, he’s got to go out there and earn his way,” Whittingham said. “And the thing that I feel great about with him is that I know he buys into that; he knows that too.”
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