Hands Man sets visit

Over the last two weeks the tight end position has started to emerge as a newfound weapon in the Gators arsenal. With that in mind it should come as no surprise that one of the state's top prospects at the position, Tampa (Fla.) Jefferson tight end Trent Pupello, has garnered an offer and emerged as a target.

According to the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Pupello, he does extremely well with being a target.

"In our offense the tight end isn't a major target. I had twenty-two passes thrown my way and I caught all twenty-two of them."

The logical guess would be that he didn't get his sure-handedness from his father, former Gator player Joe Pupello, who as an offensive lineman only saw the ball when it was being snapped.

According to the younger Pupello, the offer from the Gators was special to his father. "He was thrilled with it. It made him proud that they offered."

Despite being a Gator legacy, Florida was late to the party.

"I've been talking to them, but they've just started coming after me hard not to long ago. It felt really good to get the written offer from coach Meyer."

The offer led to him making an unofficial visit to Gainesville for the Vanderbilt game and to set up an official for the Florida State game.

"I had a good time there. I don't have any complaints about it. I just really liked it. I liked it enough that I'm going back for my official visit when they play Florida State."

Pupello now has right around fifteen offers and several colleges that he is concentrating on at the moment.

"There's Florida, Florida State, Clemson, Ole Miss, Nebraska and LSU. I haven't really narrowed it down. I have offers from all of them. I know Florida State is going to get a (official) visit from me. I want to try to take all five of them."

Click Here to view this Link.Although he may be new to the picture for many Florida fans, Pupello has been a hot commodity since the spring.

This past April he tested off the charts at the Miami NIKE Camp. He came in first among the tightends in all four testing categories. He ran a 4.74 (laser timed) forty, vertical jumped 28 inches, did 23 reps of 185-pounds and then ran a 4.31 shuttle.

Rivals100.com National Recruiting Analyst Jeremy Crabtree had this to say about him after the camp:

"Tampa Jefferson standout Trent Pupello came into the camp as a reputation as one of the tops in the state and he did nothing to disappoint. With his massive frame, Pupello easily looked like he could spin down to offensive line if he had to. He did show good bursts of quickness, but the most impressive thing about him no question at all was his hulking frame."

This weekend Jefferson faces off against Bradenton Southeast in the first round of the playoffs.