Early Entry Review: Telfort benefitted from getting acclimated this spring
One of the main reasons why offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort opted to sign with Florida, rather than remain in his hometown and play for a school like Miami, was that he was looking to mature in a setting away from home.
As a 2017 spring semester early enrollee, Telfort got a good feel of what being a collegiate athlete who’s roughly a five-hour drive away from home is all about.
In the early goings, transitioning from Miami Booker T. Washington High School to being a student-athlete at UF was a challenging experience for Telfort, a sports management major. Getting adjusted to the grueling nature of college workouts was a grind, while according to his mother he experienced some bumps in the road on the academic end early on.
“The experience was different for him, as far as the timeframe of getting up, going to class and then practices,” Gerta Telfort said.
“The workouts were really hard for him. Lifting weights, the time that they gave him to put into working out. He was always tired, because he was not so used to working so hard on the field. Then they gave him a structure of what he was supposed to do. He has to be at football at a certain time. It’s not like high school, when you’re walking on the field any time you want. He had a time to be there.”
However, throughout the course of the spring, Telfort got successfully acclimated – and his performance in workouts and practices, as well as in the classroom, gradually improved. Telfort’s mother was pleased to see her son finish the spring semester on a strong note academically.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth in him,” his mother said. “When he comes home, he’s more mature in the decisions that he’s making.”
The progress she’s seen from her son physically is evident. According to her, the 6-foot-6 Telfort has dropped close to 10 pounds and now weighs in the 310-pound range.
“There was a time when I had seen him and he looked like a totally different person,” Telfort’s mother said. “There’s more muscle. He doesn’t have the flab that he had before. His neck is bigger. He looks more solid, more muscular.”
During the spring, Telfort saw extensive snaps in practice primarily at second-string left tackle, backing up starters Martez Ivey and Jawaan Taylor. While Kavaris Harkless missed the spring with a knee injury, Telfort manned the left edge of the second-team offensive line while Stone Forsythe repped at right tackle.
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Overall, the coaching staff was pleased with what it saw out of Telfort’s progress throughout the spring semester – with Florida head coach Jim McElwain calling the Miami native a player who loves to compete and battle in drills.
“The guy that I think took huge strides for us was Kadeem, and being here in the spring,” McElwain said recently when discussing Florida’s depth at offensive tackle. “There’s an example of a guy, without those 15 opportunities. … well, he’s now a veteran going into summer. He’s a guy that will be able to help us.”
Although Telfort signed with Florida while Mike Summers was still its offensive line coach - before he left to Louisville in January - the freshman offensive tackle has built a strong bond with new O-line coach Brad Davis and has taken a liking to his style of coaching.
“He loves Coach Davis," Telfort's mother said. "He stays on him and he keeps it real, the way he’s working with him. I met Coach Davis and he called me. He’s really on the same page with Kadeem. Coach Davis said he loves Kadeem, said he has a great personality and he’s very respectful. He’s coachable, so that’s the good thing about that.”
In the O&B Debut, Telfort got his first taste of playing in the Swamp in front of tens of thousands of fans. Considering the nature of the spring game - the 1's on defense squared off against the 2's on offense for the majority of the contest - Telfort was faced with the daunting task of squaring off against defensive end CeCe Jefferson and Co. on most snaps. Against Telfort and the rest of the second-string offensive line, Jefferson and Florida's first-string pass-rushers managed to get into the backfield often.
“It made him hungry for more, made him want to strive harder,” Telfort’s mother said of the spring game experience.
Regardless, especially after what he put on display this spring throughout practices, the Florida coaches are quite high on Telfort's upside - and there's a shot he could avoid a redshirt and crack the rotation at one of the tackle spots. Although he has room to improve his technique, Telfort plays with good pad level - and his massive frame is something you can't teach.
"He can bring that motivation. He has that in him," Telfort's mother said. "When he sees that someone wants to give up, he’s got that push. He’s the type of person that, let’s say somebody gets by him. Believe me, the next time he’s going to make sure that he’s gets the technique to make sure to do right, because he doesn’t like to give up.”
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