Monday, September 16, 2013

A lack of production from the tight end position

Want to understand why Florida is struggling so much at the tight end position? Let me give you two reasons:




Of course, Leonard dug his own grave at Florida. If he keeps his nose clean, he's a major contributor on a team competing for a SEC crown. Although his numbers are not particularly impressive so far this season, keep in mind he did lead his team in receiving at Tennessee State a year ago with 51 receptions for 733 yards and six touchdowns.

Christian, on the other hand, is an unforced error on the part of the Florida staff. He should be a senior starter at tight end – a guy who could also line up at H-Back and fullback for the Gators as well.

This topic has been addressed previously in a post regarding the tight end position. Clay Burton is a solid contributor at the position. There's no reason he can't be a No. 2 or No. 3 tight end at a place like Florida. But he should not be a primary target in the passing game. The two guys who are no longer on the roster could have been, and that's the reason we've seen such a drop-off in production from the unit in light of Jordan Reed's decision to go pro.

Quite simply, the Gators have to get better at tight end moving forward. C'yontai Lewis appears as if he could be a good start towards improving the talent level at the position. But he's only the beginning. Florida has to go out and find some other guys in the 2014 and/or 2015 classes who can come in and allow the Gators to get more production out of this unit in the passing game. Period.

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