Florida Gators 2022 TE Options Following CJ Hawkins' Flip to Stanford

The Florida Gators will have to go back to the drawing board after C.J. Hawkins surprisingly flipped to the Stanford Cardinal yesterday.

It looks like the Florida Gators and tight ends coach Tim Brewster will have to go back to the drawing board at the tight end position.

Yesterday, 2022 TE prospect and former Gators commit C.J. Hawkins surprisingly announced his intentions to de-commit from the university, pledging to the Stanford Cardinal instead. For that reason, Florida now has no tight end committed to enroll next year, forcing the program to take a look at what else could be out there.

For early commitments, they are typically never 100% set in stone. A prospect, such as we saw with Hawkins yesterday, could easily de-commit from their first-option program to another so long as they haven't signed their NIL (national letter of intent). That process takes place in December and January.

For Florida, that could mean plenty of options remain on the table even if they are now "dead set" on playing for another program next fall.

Today, we took a look at some potential options for Florida, including one commitment that's already on the table for 2022, simply playing a different position.

Here are five potential 2022 tight end options for Florida:

1. Tony Livingston, King (Tampa, Fla)

Livingston is already committed to Florida at the moment but at the offensive tackle position. While he is currently being brought in to play with Gators offensive line coach John Hevesy along its offensive line, the 6-foot-4 athlete has played tight end for his entire career, never playing on the o-line.

He's also dropped his weight significantly, down from 260 pounds to a nimble 230 pounds according to his Twitter profile. Not only will this make it more difficult for him to add the weight again in order to play the intended position at UF, but it could also make his primary recruiter, Brewster, much more intrigued to see what Livingston can do within his position group.

Livingston originally committed to Florida in March of this year and has not yet wavered from that commitment. If Florida wanted to, they could simply keep his commitment and play him at tight end instead.

2. Benji Gosnell, Carroll County (Pilot Mountain, NC)

Gosnell, 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, was originally committed to Ohio State before de-committing from the university in July of this year, expected to explore his options further. Last year, however, Gosnell announced his top three schools, including the Buckeyes, North Carolina and the Florida Gators. 

With his recruitment now wide open, one can imagine Florida is still hot on his tail, checking in on the tight end's interest in the program. Thanks to his prototypical size, Gosnell would make an excellent addition to the Florida tight end room, something that Brewster has made one of the best in the country.

Though he hails from North Carolina, don't be surprised to see Gosnell travel a bit south as he continues to move up in the rankings as a tight end. For now, however, it appears Gosnell has his eyes set on Virginia Tech and North Carolina as his two options, but with Hawkins' de-commitment, Florida could reach out to the big-target TE at any moment. 

3. Mason Taylor, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla)

Taylor, 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, is currently committed to the LSU Tigers. While that commitment seems to be solid, don't be surprised to see Florida push to bring in the big-man tight end to somewhere closer in his home state, especially considering that Florida has recruited players from his high school for years.

Taylor was originally offered by the Gators in June of this year. He is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame edge rusher Jason Taylor and the nephew of former NFL All-Pro linebacker Zach Thomas. He earned the offer following a workout with Brewster during a high school football camp over the spring.

"UF has always been a top school for me since I was young, as I grew up in Florida," Taylor told AllGators in June. "I’ve known and grown up seeing this program grow as well ... the tight ends in Florida’s offense are used a lot and that means a lot for a recruit like me."

With Hawkins no longer an option for Florida, don't be surprised to see them circle back to Taylor to see just how iron-clad his commitment to the Tigers is.

4. Jaleel Skinner, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla)

Skinner is set to make his commitment later today, with Texas, Miami, FSU, Clemson, Alabama and Florida hats on the table. The odds seemingly aren't in Florida's favor, but Skinner is thought to be the best tight end in the nation at the moment, so Florida will certainly be in his ear until he tells them not to be.

While Skinner, 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, didn't include Florida in his July final five, he is apparently including them in his hat selection, when he makes his commitment later today. If Florida wants to quickly forget about Hawkins' flip, landing a player with Skinner's talent would be a coup.

Again, this is likely not to happen, but the possibility is there, and it would be ignorant not to put him on the list.

5. Trent McGaughey, Conroe (Conroe, Texas)

The Gators don't have too many offers currently sent out to tight ends, but they do have one sent out to the 6-foot-3, 224-pound uncommitted TE out of Texas. McGaughey is built similarly to an H-back and could be one of the more intriguing additions as he would be a versatile option within the TE room.

He was originally offered by Florida in Feb. 2020 and hasn't made much noise after that. While he is a long shot to be a heavy target for Florida, his name is one worth monitoring as we look to see what Brewster and UF have in store to replace Hawkins within the class.

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