Jace Amaro Jace Jordan Amaro ( born June 26 , 1992 ) is an American football tight end . He played college football at Texas Tech . During his college career , Amaro earned Unanimous All - America n honors and set the record for Division I ( NCAA ) single season receiving yards by a tight end in 2013 . High school . A native of Plano , Texas , Amaro attended MacArthur High School in San Antonio , Texas , where he was an All - American tight end . Regarded as a four - star recruit by " Rivals . com " , Amaro was ranked as the No . 3 tight end in his class . Amaro suffered a Anterior cruciate ligament injury during his junior year . College career . Amaro attended Texas Tech University from 2011 to 2013 . Freshman . In his freshman year , Amaro had 7 catches for 57 yards and 2 TDs . Sophomore . In his sophomore year , Amaro started off his first game against Northwestern State with 4 catches for 49 yards . The next week at Texas State , he was able to pull in 3 balls for 55 yards and a touchdown . Against New Mexico , he had 4 catches for 57 yards and two more scores . Against Iowa State , he had four catches for 48 yards and zero scores . Against Oklahoma , he had 3 catches for 29 yards . His best game of the season occurred when Texas Tech upset the then # 3 West Virginia ; he pulled in 5 catches for 156 yards and 1 touchdown . During the West Virginia game , Amaro received an injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season after receiving a hard hit to his midsection jumping for a ball . He briefly returned to the game and made 2 receptions after halftime before being unable to continue . The injury was later revealed to be a Grade III ( I - V ) spleen laceration and a fractured rib . The injury caused internal bleeding , requiring hospitalization and 6 . 5 units of blood . Amaro was bedridden for three weeks . Despite only playing 6 regular season games , Amaro was named a 1st Team All - Big 12 Conference player by ESPN . He finished his sophomore season with 25 catches for 409 yards and four touchdowns . Amaro sufficiently recovered from his injury to appear in the 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas against Minnesota , in which he was ejected for punching a defender . Due to his earlier injury , Amaro had been unable to practice until the week of the game . Junior . Snubbed by the John Mackey Award in its pre and midseason watchlists , Amaro started the 2013 season strong , leading the country at his position in receptions and reception yards through 7 games as well as leading the country in reception yardage on third down . His performance garnered a midseason 1st team All - American listing from CBS Sports , " Sports Illustrated " , Athlon Sports , " USA Today " , and FOX Sports . Following a 136 receiving yard and 2 TD performance over West Virginia , Amaro earned Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors . Amaro accompanies former Texas Tech All - American wide receiver Michael Crabtree as the only Red Raiders to ever record eight or more receptions in six consecutive games . Amaro broke the 1 , 000 receiving yards mark following a loss to Oklahoma State on November 2 , 2013 . Amaro exceeded his career receptions and reception yard highs with 15 and 174 respectively , and was two receptions shy of tying the NCAA single - game record for receptions by a tight end . In the following games against Kansas State and Baylor , Amaro received significant injuries . A hit during the Kansas State game forced him to be carted off the field , before later returning briefly . In the subsequent game against Baylor , Amaro received a high hit to the helmet from safety Ahmad Dixon . The controversial hit required Amaro to again return to the locker room with an injury . Amaro completed the regular season 90 yards and 14 receptions short of setting NCAA FBS records for single season tight end receiving yards and receptions , with an opportunity to set the records in an appearance in the 2013 Holiday Bowl . Amaro broke the single season tight end receiving record during the game , and finished his Holiday Bowl performance with 8 receptions and 112 yards . With the completion of the season , Amaro ' s 104 receiving yards per game also set an NCAA single season record for the tight end position . Amaro was named a semi - finalist for the John Mackey and Fred Biletnikoff Award s in November , becoming the first player to be listed for both awards since Missouri ' s Chase Coffman in 2008 . Amaro was also named a finalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award , given to the best offensive player with Texas ties . On November 25 , 2013 , it was announced that Amaro was not named a finalist for the Mackey Award , given to the best tight end in college football , leading several media personalities including CBS Sports writer Dennis Dodd to criticize the Award ' s validity . At the point at which the finalist list was announced , Amaro had only 16 receptions less than the three finalists combined . The Associated Press and Big 12 Coaches named Amaro a unanimous 2013 All - Big 12 first team selection on December 9 , 2013 . He was additionally named a 1st Team All - American at the tight end position by Bleacher Report , " USA Today " , CBS Sports , " Sporting News " , Athlon Sports , SB Nation , the Associated Press , " Sports Illustrated " and the Walter Camp Foundation . Amaro became a Unanimous All - American with his 1st team selection by the American Football Coaches Association and the Football Writers Association of America on December 18 , 2013 , the first Red Raider to earn the honor since Michael Crabtree in 2008 . Only 5 Red Raiders overall have earned unanimous All - American honors : Mark Bounds in 1991 , Zach Thomas in 1995 , Byron Hanspard in 1996 , and Micheal Crabtree in 2007 - 08 . Amaro has been projected as a first round selection of the 2014 NFL Draft and announced his intention to declare for the draft following the Red Raiders upset victory over Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl . Professional career . 2014 NFL Draft . Amaro looks to become the highest Texas Tech tight end selected in an NFL Draft since Andre Tillman in 1974 .