March 9 marks the beginning of spring football for Florida as Jim McElwain enters his second season as UF’s head coach. As practices are soon approaching, Inside the Gators will take a position-by-position look at Florida's roster. Today, we look at the Gators’ tight ends.
RETURNING:
DeAndre Goolsby (junior; 6-4, 243)
C’yontai Lewis (redshirt sophomore; 6-4, 228)
Camrin Knight (sophomore; 6-3, 230)
Moral Stephens (redshirt sophomore; 6-3, 240)
NEW ADDITIONS
N/A
GONE:
Jake McGee (graduated)
LAST YEAR: Tight end proved to be one of the most reliable positions on Florida's offense from a production standpoint. At times, Florida would feature even two or three tight ends on the field at the same time, but ultimately McGee shouldered most of the load at this position. After being granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA following his season-ending broken leg at the start of 2014, McGee made the most of it and had a comeback year. He finished with 381 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 41 catches, with nine games this season with at least three catches.
Meanwhile, Goolsby did most of his damage running the wheel route, hauling in balls for big chunks of yardage. He emerged as UF's No. 2 tight end while finishing his year with 277 receiving yards and a touchdown on 17 catches. Lewis exploded for 44 yards and two touchdowns on the first two catches of his collegiate career in the season-opener against New Mexico State, but after that point Lewis' 2015 campaign was mostly quiet as he was sidelined for almost half the year with a hand injury.
KEY QUESTION: Can Goolsby and Lewis make up for the loss of McGee?
During the latter stretch of the year where UF's offense took a tumble, McGee still produced at a consistent level and proved to be one of Treon Harris' most reliable targets. Seeing McGee graduate is a big loss, but it's one the Gators can withstand.
In Goolsby and Lewis, UF has two very skilled pass-catching tight ends. How both progress in the blocking department will be worth watching. Each could still benefit from spending more time in the weight room and adding more strength this offseason.
PLENTY TO PROVE: Lewis entered his redshirt freshman season with high expectations, but his hand injury stunted his growth last year and kept him sidelined for a considerable amount of time. Meanwhile, Goolsby performed well as McGee's backup at tight end. Lewis has the athleticism and pass-catching ability to truly help this Gators offense, but can he make it a legitimate competition against Goolsby for snaps this offseason? Regardless, both Lewis and Goolsby should be featured plenty when UF rolls out with 12 personnel in 2016.
HE COULD SURPRISE: Knight's progress heading into his sophomore season will be worth watching. When Florida rolled out its heavy package at the goal line last year that feature three tight ends, Knight saw a handful of opportunities. But as a true freshman, he had plenty to learn as far as blocking goes. If he could develop in that realm while polishing up his route-running and pass-catching skills, then Knight could serve as another weapon down the road for this Gators offense. A year could make a lot of difference.
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR: How involved Stephens is in UF's plans this spring. Now two seasons into his Florida career, Stephens, a former Rivals250 prospect in the class of 2014, hasn't made much of an impact as a Gator. He rode the pine last year during McElwain's first season in Gainesville, and last fall camp he was jumped in the pecking order by Knight, then a true freshman. Considering the numbers at tight end aren't incredibly plentiful and UF likes to utilize multiple-tight end sets, will this be the spring that Stephens opens some eyes and asserts himself as a legitimate option at the position? Or will his standing stay the same while Goolsby, Lewis and Knight earn practically all of the reps?
