It’s the Pitts for Gators
Florida struggling to find replacement at TE
GAINESVILLE — The Florida Gators lost the best tight end in the country in December when Kyle Pitts declared early for the NFL draft.
On Sunday, the most talented tight end in college football, LSU transfer Arik Gilbert, announced he would re-enter the transfer portal and no longer plans to enroll this spring at UF.
“I will not be announcing my final decision until I am enrolled into school and on campus,” Gilbert wrote on his Twitter account.
The change of heart was a gut punch to an offense pushing to replace the record-setting Pitts, a 2020 consensus All-America, with the supremely gifted Gilbert, the No. 5 player overall in the 2020 recruiting class.
The 6-foot-5, 253-pound Gilbert just turned 19 Feb. 22 and caught 35 passes in eight games for LSU in 2020. The Georgia native could have thrived in Dan Mullen’s tight end friendly scheme.
NCAA rules on discussing unsigned players prevented Mullen from commenting on Gilbert’s situation. But during 12 seasons as an SEC head coach, Mullen said he has learned a player needs to find the right fit in order to fulfill his potential.
“I love doing things for kids,” Mullen said. “I’m competitive, and I think you’re competitive and you want guys to come, but you want to make sure you get guys for all the right reasons in the end. I
think when you see a kid — this a great fit for somebody — and they end up at that school, you’re really pleased.”
Pitts fit the Gators like a glove. He now leaves huge shoes to fill.
“He’s generational,” tight end coach Tim Brewster said. “He’s just absolutely different in his skill sets and the things that he can do.”
But Pitts also did more than lead the 2020 Gators with 12 touchdown grabs and become just the eighth unanimous All-America in school history.
Pitts offered a blueprint and plenty of encouragement to his teammates.
“He tried to help others get better, shared his knowledge,” Brewster said. “It wasn’t about him. Everybody took so much excitement in watching the way that Pitts played. Now everybody wants to be like Pitts.
“It’s not ‘Be Like Mike.’ It’s ‘Be Like Kyle.’ “
The 6-foot-6, 246-pound Pitts’ skill set will be difficult to duplicate, which is the reason he is on track to be a top-10 NFL draft pick in April.
Veterans Kemore Gamble and Keon Zipperer, redshirt freshman Jonathan Odom and first-year player Nick Elksnis, who enrolled in January, aim to bring their own personalities and talents to the position while trying to match Pitts’ tireless approach.
“We’ve talked to those guys about, ‘You don’t have to do what Kyle Pitts did,’ “Mullen said. “What you have to do, though, what he did was he maximized, worked his tail off, lot of extra time, continued to grow and develop, and we highlighted his strengths.
“When I talk to those guys, ‘I don’t expect you to live up to what Kyle Pitts did, but I do expect you to live up to be the best that you can be. OK? And I expect you to live up to your strengths and utilize your strengths at the highest of levels.’ ”
Gamble and Zipperer each had moments last season. The two reserve tight ends combined for five touchdown catches after Pitts suffered a concussion against Georgia and missed 2½ games.
But like many Gators during a 55-20 Cotton Bowl loss, Gamble and Zipperer had a night to forget, dropping several passes between them.
The development of the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Odom — son of former Gators’ All-America offensive tackle Jason Odom — and early returns on 6-foot-6, 237-pound Elksnis offer further options at the tight end position.
“We’ve got, I think, a really talented room,” Brewster said. “Everybody’s worried about us losing Kyle Pitts, and we’re certainly going to miss Kyle and everything he brought to it, but I think these other guys are really going to do some great things next season.”