BY BEN MILLER / SEATTLESPORTSONLINE.COM

During spring practice so far, spectators at Husky Stadium have seen something that was all but missing from the Washington playbook last season: tight ends making plays.

A position with a storied past on Montlake, tight ends were rarely seen and never featured in the passing game during the Tyrone Willingham era. But if the last two weeks are any indication, that is going to change.

Kavario Middleton and Chris Izbicki were two of the top signings in Washington’s last two recruiting classes, and both were expected to come in and be powerful receivers in the Huskies' offense. In their first seasons in Seattle, though, they didn’t do much receiving. Middleton caught 12 passes for 82 yards last season.

When a tight end did make an appearance last season, it was to block and help provide protection. Rarely did they go out on routes. With new coach Steve Sarkisian’s pro-style offense being installed, the quarterbacks find themselves going to both Middleton and Izbicki often.

“They’re just involved more,” Jake Locker said. “I don’t know if it will help that much more, but it is a bigger target that will catch the eyes of the defenders.”

Middleton said the biggest difference at tight end in the new offense is they are simply seeing more balls than last year. As a result, Sarkisian continues to rave about the play of his tight ends. It seems a practice doesn’t go by where he doesn’t mention the play of Izbicki standing out.

“I love what Izbicki is doing,” Sarkisian said. “That guy keeps making plays down the field.”

The red-shirt freshman had another big day on Wednesday. He caught a touchdown one drill and had a handful of other nice catches over the middle to keep the offense rolling.

One thing Sarkisian noticed about Middleton is he's still learning a lot of the details of playing the position. That’s something that’s going to come with time, and one of the biggest hurdles for both is they only have two tight ends to throw out there. But they’re still working hard to stay healthy and make a mark.

“I think both of them are going to make substantial strides for us and make big contributions on the field,” Sarkisian said.

One formation that was common in the offensive sets had Middleton and Izbicki on the field together. That allowed for one to block while the other went over the middle or for both to provide big targets for Locker to hit down the field.

“It creates a lot of mismatch opportunities,” Middleton said.

No matter who are on the field next season, both will provide mismatches for Washington's opponents. And with some luck and hard work by the end of their careers, Middleton and Izbicki could add their names to the long list of NFL tight ends who wore purple and gold during their college careers.

Notes:

-- Retired Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren watched practice on Wednesday.

-- The Huskies have struggled to keep running backs on the field this spring. Chris Polk and Brandon Johnson sat out all of practice. Curtis Shaw took to the sidelines after getting hit in the knee with a helmet Wednesday.

-- The theme of Wednesday's practice was “turnover Wednesday,” and it lived up to form. Quinton Richardson snagged an interception and there were a couple fumbles.