Florida Gators TE Kyle Pitts Teases Return for Senior Season Over NFL
It’s been a long time coming since Florida has had—and been in a position to efficiently utilize—one of the best offensive weapons in college football.
Entering the 2020 season, the talk surrounding the Florida Gators offense started and stopped with one man, Kyle Pitts.
Regarded as one of the top tight ends in the nation due to his premier receiving ability for someone of his stature, Pitts has quickly grown into a national phenomenon as one of the most difficult athletes to game plan for across the college landscape.
To this point, the assumption of many surrounding the program and around the country was that this would be the last rodeo for Pitts as a Gator.
Already recording 22 receptions for 355 yards (16.1 yards per catch) and seven touchdowns on the season, Pitts has met and even exceeded the preseason expectations many could have laid out for him. Establishing himself early on in the season, Pitts recorded a whopping six touchdowns in two games.
As a result, his role this upcoming Saturday projects to be yet another large one, especially with Georgia missing Richard Lecounte III from their lineup in the secondary due to an auto accident he was in following Georgia’s win versus Kentucky. Lecounte is expected to make a full recovery.
In preparation for the storied rivalry against the Dawgs, Pitts will enter what many thought to be his third and final game in Jacksonville while repping the orange and blue.
However, in a press conference on Wednesday, Pitts shut down the ideas this will be his final Florida-Georgia game as a player.
“I wouldn't necessarily say this might be my last,” Pitts said on Wednesday. “But it's always fun playing against Georgia because it's a high-level game, and each year it comes down to the wire.”
The idea that Pitts returns for his senior season is surely one that is fun to think about. It brings excitement for the continued success of an already high powered Gators offense in the future.
The difficulty of stopping someone who is a 6-foot-6, 240-pound tight end equipped with the athleticism of a wide receiver to utilize all over the field is astronomical.
However, even if a drastic drop in his production occurs over the second half of the season, the talent that Pitts has flashed throughout his collegiate career to this point is enough for him to go in the first round of the NFL Draft.
As a tight end, it doesn’t get much better than that, and Pitts can agree.
“I don’t really like that. I wouldn’t say I like to hear it, but I don’t really pay attention to the media and read things. I don’t read articles and stuff like that,” Pitts said, asked about his reaction to being considered a top NFL pick. “It’s kind of nice knowing that my dream is coming, and it’s even better because they’re talking about first-round because not many people get to even make it to the NFL. So that’s a blessing.”
In my opinion, these comments from Pitts stem from the mindset of living in the present and allowing himself to be focused on the task at hand: Taking down the Dawgs for the first time in his career at UF.
His focus is in a different spot than the NFL Draft, and rightfully so, as Florida is still in contention for the SEC East, SEC, and National Championship as it stands today.
The 2020 season has brought loads of surprises. However, the Kyle-to-Kyle connection, which has emerged, is likely one that isn’t going to last past this season despite the plethora of those who wish it would. Quarterback Kyle Trask is set to move on after his redshirt senior season, while Pitts will have NFL teams all over him.
It’s crucial to appreciate what is taking place at the moment, something Pitts is doing really well.
“Being able to have the opportunity [of going to the NFL] is something special. But just try to keep my head down and focus on what I’ve been doing and keep getting better,” is the mindset he carries.
