GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The tight end position has been all but extinct over the last few years. In 2017, the tight ends finished with a total of 26 catches, but is expected to change under Dan Mullen.
The new head coach brings in a system that allows tight ends to utilize their athleticism in space and be more catch-friendly overall.
“I think this year’s gonna be a big year for us,” Gators tight end Cyontai Lewis said. “I mean, we’re getting a lot of action. Like, they’re using us a lot. We’re a more important piece of this offense.
“Like, right now, I think all of us have caught over 55 balls. If you look at all of our career catches, all of us have caught more balls than we have our whole career. So, that should tell you a lot right there.”
Last season was not what Lewis was hoping for but he didn’t let it consume his mind. He kept his head up and performed his duties, whatever they may have been.
“No, it wasn’t frustrating,” Lewis said. “I’m the type of player, I just play and do my part. When my time come, I just do what I have to do. It’s a lot of times I didn’t get the ball, but I just made good blocks to execute on run plays and pass pros; so, it was real good. Never got too frustrated about it.”
That kind of attitude has been with Lewis since relocating to Gainesville. Now a senior, he realizes that time is winding down and is ready catapult his game to another level.
“I’m really just trying to take it slow, but I’m trying to learn everything fast so I can have a great year,” Lewis said. “You know, my last year. I love being here because this is the best time of your life. Here people come back and tell you all the stories about the NFL and stuff like that. I just want to take it slow and just share the moment right now.”
Lewis has seen those moments pass him by in his career. In 2015, Florida won the SEC East and got to Atlanta only to be beaten by the Crimson Tide.
A distraught Lewis also spent a chunk of time in the tunnel following the gut-wrenching loss.
“I still got the confetti in my room that they dropped,” Lewis said. “I got it in the bathroom on the wall; I look at that every day. Like, that was a special moment for us to be able to make it to the SEC Championship and like it hurt me bad not to win, especially playing against Alabama.
“Like every year, I wanna play against Alabama, like every year. So like it just, that’s just like a big moment that I think about every day. Like, I just wanna get back to Atlanta and win in Atlanta.”
Now a senior, Lewis has become one of the leaders on the team. He understands that this is it; this is his last season in a Gator uniform and he doesn’t want it to go to waste.
“Just sitting back and just looking at all my past seasons, I really, I haven’t had the season I wanted to have, like I want to win a championship and I feel like this is my last year it’s time for me to step up," Lewis said.
“Like I feel like I was like a leader when I was young, but I was scared to step up into that position because I feel like I wasn’t doing enough or I wasn’t like in the light of fully like being a leader," Lewis said. "But now I feel like I got it 'cause it's my last year and I can’t do it no more.”
Stay tuned to Gators Territory.
