Ravens' Charlie Kolar is a chameleon. His best trick is turning into a blocking TE

At Iowa State, Charlie Kolar was more likely to be found hovering over a laptop than bellied up to a bar.

He spent nearly as much time hanging out with engineering students as he did with fellow football players.

With the Baltimore Ravens, hes the first player to crack a joke and one of the most assertive voices when its time to break down a play.

Hes probably the smartest guy in the locker room.

Hes also the closest thing the Ravens have to a class clown.

Advertisement Kolar is a chameleon, and his biggest transformation yet is morphing from a prolific college pass catcher into an NFL blocking tight end.

Ill be honest: I cant believe how good of a run blocker hes become, said Iowa State offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, who was Kolars college position coach.

It half ass drives me crazy.

With brains, brawn and an unwavering belief in himself, Kolar turned into a key cog on one of the NFLs highest-powered offenses.

But the transformation happened after he had an epiphany two years ago.

He looked at the Ravens tight end room and understood that Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely were ahead of him as receiving targets.

He knew Baltimore had arguably the NFLs best fullback in Patrick Ricard.

Smarting from a string of healthy scratches as a rookie, Kolar pondered where hed fit and how hed contribute.

He concluded that what the Ravens didnt necessarily have was an in-line blocker with enough speed to make plays downfield in the passing game.

Kolar devoted himself to getting bigger and stronger while also maintaining his speed and athleticism.

He refined his footwork and blocking techniques.

He bought into playing special teams and doing whatever the coaching staff asked.

In effect, he did the same thing when he was at Norman North High School in Oklahoma.

He wanted to be the quarterback of the football team.

The Timberwolves, though, had a talented quarterback prospect.

What they didnt have was a big, athletic pass catcher who could line up anywhere and make plays.

On the basketball court, Kolar could score.

He also had future NBA players Trae Young and Lindy Waters, along with a gaggle of Division I prospects, on his team.

Kolar provided a physical presence and focused on rebounding, kicking the ball out and being a 10 boards and five-foul guy.

Advertisement My parents, they are both strict and they instilled a level of toughness in all aspects of life, but also at the same time, a level of unselfishness, Kolar said.

I want to play in this league for a long time.

I want to have a zillion catches.

I want to win a Super Bowl.

I want to make a lot of money.

But the point of all of this is, what can I do for my team right now? Last year, it was a ton of blocking and a ton of special teams and a few catches here and there.

So far this year, its been more of the same.

Heading into Week 3, Kolar has yet to catch a pass or even have one thrown his direction.

Yet, Baltimore is scoring at a record-breaking pace, and Kolar is playing 60 percent of the offensive snaps and nearly 40 percent on special teams.

Im still getting paid a ton of money.

I dont see what I have to complain about, said Kolar, who is in a contract year.

Everybody wants more targets, but I feel very blessed for where Im at.

Its a delicate balance to be grateful, but also be hungry for more.

I try and walk that line.

Brent Barnes couldnt find Kolar, and that was unusual.

From his very first practice as a freshman at Norman North, Kolar had been impossible to miss.

But on this night, after a close loss to a rival during Kolars junior season, one of Barnes top players was nowhere to be found.

The stadium had emptied, and the bus was about to leave.

Barnes finally spotted Kolar standing in a mostly dark end zone reenacting a play he didnt make.

Kolar was in position to haul in a potential game-winning touchdown, but the ball was overthrown.

It wasnt anything that you say, He should have made the play, or even, He could have made the play.

But in his mind, it was like, I should have made the play to win the game, Barnes said.

I remember loading the bus and thinking, thats why hes different.

It validated everything in my mind about him.

It embodied who he is as a competitor and as a teammate.

Advertisement Kolar was an A student in high school who had a 35 on his ACTs, one point from a perfect score.

With only one ironclad offer to play Division I football for much of his recruiting process, Kolar pondered attending a service academy.

But he went to Iowa State, which showed the most consistent interest.

While becoming one of the nations top receiving tight ends, he majored in mechanical engineering and minored in biomedical engineering and ultimately got a masters degree in finance.

He finished with a 3.99 GPA (wait till you hear how he blew his 4.0).

In 2021, he won the William V.

Campbell Trophy, given to college footballs top scholar-athlete.

Yet, Kolar cracks, Im the disappointment of the family doing football.

His father, Randy, is the chair of the civil engineering department at the University of Oklahoma.

Sixty-five years young, Randy still bikes to work every day.

His mother, Maria, gave up her volleyball ambitions to attend Yale Law School.

She teaches criminal procedure classes at the Oklahoma City University School of Law.

Kolars older brother, John, was once a highly touted quarterback at Oklahoma State before joining Charlie at Iowa State.

Hes a high school teacher and coach.

Kolar has a younger sister, Katie, a setter for the Cal State Northridge volleyball team.

And he has two younger brothers: Ben, a high school junior who has already gotten scholarship offers from some of the nations top college football programs, and Sam, a focused missionary at a catholic outreach group in Kentucky.

Hes the smartest out of all of us, said Kolar, who still hasnt gotten over the fact that Sam scored one point better than him on the ACT.

Hes actually using his brain to help the world.

Unlike me, Im just bashing my head into the C gap.

Kolar, 26, is self-aware and self-deprecating.

Asked about a big play he made against Cincinnati last year, Kolar joked that the Bengals forgot about the fat white guy running down the seam.

Advertisement He turned one of his summer media availabilities into a denouncement of hot yoga classes.

Anything where I am getting screamed at and doing burpees is not yoga, he said.

Kolar also has no problem playfully needling teammates.

When there were reports that Odell Beckham Jr.

was dating Kim Kardashian during the 2023 season, Kolar made sure to ask the receiver about it ...

in front of teammates and reporters in a crowded locker room.

Hes a super funny guy, said his locker mate, wide receiver Tylan Wallace.

Well be in a special teams meeting and hell just say stuff.

But people come back at him, too.

The retorts are usually about his intelligence.

It seems to only be negative comments, Kolar said.

Like when I mess up, its, Oh, you won the academic Heisman and you cant even get the play right.

I probably deserve it.

Not very effective as a point-of-attack blocker.

Requires more toughness as a run blocker.

Kolar reads his pre-draft scouting report from NFL.com and offers a wry smile.

I dont actually disagree, he said.

I dont think I was a great point-of-attack blocker in college.

But Im definitely proud of how far I have come.

Kolar didnt block much in high school.

Barnes barely remembers a time when he asked him to put his hand in the dirt.

But, hes extremely competitive, hes very talented and he cares about winning, Barnes said.

If you have all of those things, you can block.

Kolar blocked some on the perimeter in college, but he didnt do much in-line blocking.

He caught 157 passes for 2,044 yards and 20 touchdowns over his final three collegiate seasons and was one of quarterback Brock Purdys favorite targets at Iowa State.

Blocking wasnt high on his list of priorities.

The Ravens didnt draft Kolar with the idea of making him a blocking tight end.

Yet, 11 picks after they selected Kolar in the fourth round in 2022, they were back on the clock.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had just taken the guy the Ravens wanted, Memphis wide receiver Calvin Austin.

Baltimores draft board was wiped clean, so it decided to take a flyer on Likely, a pass-catching tight end out of Coastal Carolina.

Advertisement Likely passed Kolar on the depth chart during their rookie seasons, with Kolar playing just two games after hernia surgery.

Kolar was active in Week 1 the following season, but he struggled against the Houston Texans and was scratched the next week.

Blocked very poorly, had a drop, he recalled.

I had to look at myself in the mirror.

In realizing he was going to have to embrace a blocking role, Kolar first overhauled his body.

He weighed 260 as a rookie, but he concedes a lot of that was beer.

We had a good time in college.

Hes now 270, but its a much better composition.

I wasnt strong enough when I came into the league, he said.

I was so weak through my midsection because I had two core surgeries in two years.

Thats so important to blocking.

Everything in blocking is how you can connect your feet to your hands and create power through the ground and strike with low pads.

I had a huge disconnect in my core.

Mouser used to chide Kolar about his blocking.

Imagine his surprise when he started getting video texts from Kolar blocking opposing D-linemen.

Mouser stayed at Kolars place in the Baltimore area last offseason while he attended a coaching clinic at the Ravens facility.

Kolar grabbed the cushions from his couch for a blocking demonstration.

Its incredible what hes done, Mouser said.

Everyone has their favorite Kolar story.

The gregarious tight end is more than happy to entertain by telling a few of his own, like the time he blew off an assignment and it cost him a perfect 4.0 GPA.

It wasnt even a class for my major, Kolar said.

We finished spring ball and we went out all weekend, and I forgot to turn in a couple of discussion posts.

All I needed to do was go on there and say, I really liked your answer, great job.

And I would have gotten an A.

But I forgot to do it.

I emailed the professor, and I respect her.

She stood her ground.

It still ticks me off.

Just stupidity.

Advertisement But man, we had a fun weekend.

Mouser has his own stories about a player who would be doing his homework in the training room one moment and then playing board games with teammates the next.

He was locked in a tight golf match with Kolar two years ago, and Kolar needed to get up and down from the sand on the 18th hole.

When Kolar duffed it, Mouser let out a belly laugh.

Kolar threw his sand wedge at his college tight end coach.

One of the most authentic human beings Ive ever met in my entire life, Mouser said.

Hes got such a big personality, and for being as academic as he is, hes a guy who people like to be around.

Hes the kind of guy who can put in cornrows and wear a durag and, at the same time, hes hanging out with a bunch of engineers.

From a personality standpoint, you dont go your whole life and meet two Charlies.

Kolar and Mouser have such a tight relationship that Kolar calls him before every game.

Mouser named his daughter Charlie, who knows Kolar as Uncle Chuck.

Spend even 30 seconds around Kolar and youd never know it, but there was a time not long ago when he wasnt having much fun playing football.

His junior year at Iowa State, he battled injuries and grew frustrated when he felt he was losing ground to some of the other top collegiate tight ends.

Mouser challenged him to enjoy the moment.

They began to regularly discuss Seinfeld episodes, and Mouser advised Kolar not to take things so seriously.

Kolar has never needed that reminder again.

I take incredible effort and time and seriousness into the things that are important to me: my faith, my relationship with my family, (my fiancee) Madie, my friends, Kolar said.

The way I approach my career: Im incredibly diligent with my body, with getting better, with practicing hard, knowing my film.

I never want to have a mistake mentally.

...

I try and keep the important things important, but a lot of things arent that important.

Advertisement When Im done playing football, I just want to look in the mirror and be able to say that I worked as hard as I possibly could, I was the best teammate that I could possibly be and I had the most fun I could possibly have.

I feel like if I do those three things, Ill be at peace with myself.

I also want to win a Super Bowl, but thats kind of an obvious answer.

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