Two weeks before the SEC Championship game Dan Mullen sat in a room with his record-breaking tight end and they started talking about the future.

Kyle Pitts was in the middle of putting together one of the best seasons a tight end has ever had in college football history but he and his head coach were having a discussion about whether Pitts would play again that season.

Florida had just won the SEC East but Pitts had gotten dinged up in the win over Tennessee. Now, the head coach was having a real, honest, conversation with his Mackey Award front-runner.

"We discussed where he was at, his future and we talked about the opportunity to go play in the SEC championship game,” Mullen said on Sunday night. “And he worked his tail off to get healthy, to get cleared to go play in that game.”

Pitts warmed up before Florida’s game against LSU but was ultimately held out against the Tigers. The coaching staff knew two things. First, Kyle Pitts was a competitor and if his team was playing a game, he would want to be with them on the field and playing. Second, Kyle Pitts has the chance to be a top-ten pick this season and, sometimes, you need to have a tough decision with someone. Pitts expressed his desire to play in the SEC Championship Game and, despite his injury, continued to work towards making that a reality.

Pitts played and did what he’s been doing all season. Seven catches, 129 yards, and another highlight-reel touchdown catch, his 12th of the season.

“I give him a lot of credit for working his tail off to try to get healthy enough to play last night's game,” Mullen said Sunday. “Had a huge game.”

The picture tells the story. A 34-year veteran in the coaching game with his hand wrapped around a player’s head, trying to console him. Pitts, still in his uniform in the Atlanta Falcon’s locker room knows that this will be the last time he wears that uniform. Twelve hours later he’ll announce that he’s foregoing the rest of his junior year for the NFL.

He knows this is the last time he’ll compete as a Florida Gator and it hurts.

“I’ve always wanted to play in the SEC and The University of Florida has allowed me to have the best experience both in the classroom as a top-10 public institution and on the field,” Pitts wrote on Twitter. “I want to thank Coach Mullen for believing in me and my potential and helping me prepare for the next step in my life. Also, I would like to personally thank Coach [Larry] Scott and Coach Brewster for molding me into the player I am today.”

“I will forever miss running out of the tunnel on Saturday’s with my brothers in front of 90,000 fans. I know it is time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life.”

So, while Pitts’ football playing days are far from done, the SEC Championship Game was the end of a chapter in his life. In the picture with Tim Brewster you can see the hurt and the realization that a page had turned and Pitts was grappling with the weight of his new reality.

“You completely respect it,” Mullen said. “I mean, he's a guy that has the opportunity to be a top-ten pick in the NFL draft, a phenomenal athlete, a premiere tight end, I think, in the country.”

Those sentiments were echoed throughout the building on Saturday.

Pitts battled through a lot in his junior season. He sustained a concussion and broken nose in the Gators' win over Georgia. He played in eight games but his impact was immeasurable. He had 43 catches for 770 yards, and 12 touchdowns but just his presence on the field helped the rest of the offense and his teammates.

With his 10-yard reception at the 4:37 mark of the first quarter, Kyle Pitts broke the school record for career receiving yards by a tight end previously set by Aaron Hernandez (2007-09). Pitts is the first tight end in Gators history and the eighth FBS tight end in the last five years (including 2020) with three games of 100-plus receiving yards in the same season.

Pitts production on the field will win him awards and will earn him a NFL contract soon but his position coach made sure to recognize Kyle Pitts the person just as much as the player.

The impact Pitts made on the field is easy to see but with statements like that from Brewster and others in the program, it becomes clear that Florida will miss Kyle Pitts the person just as much if not more than Kyle Pitts the teammate.