Spring Look Back: Florida Gators Tight Ends

The Florida Gators are less than two months away from the start of fall training camp. Before practices begin, let’s look back on spring ball and what we learned. Today, we continue our annual spring positional recaps by looking at the tight ends.

Florida Spring Look Back series: QB | RB

WHAT WE LEARNED: Top tight ends developing

In 2023 the Gators had a pair of redshirt freshmen tight ends in Arlis Boardingham, who made 26 catches for 289 yards and four touchdowns with two starts, and Hayden Hansen, who started nine games and caught for 12 passes for 150 yards with two touchdowns.

They were green at the position last season, with Boardingham being a wide receiver in high school and Hansen playing quarterback. They’ve spent the past two years developing under tight ends coach Russ Callaway, and he feels that both made strides this spring.

Hansen transformed his body during winter workouts, dropping 8 pounds, gaining 5.8 pounds of lean muscle and losing 4.6% body fat. The goal for Boardingham was to bulk up and get stronger, and he started lifting more — and heavier — weights this offseason.

“It’s pretty cool with me and Arlis on the field because we both complement each other very well and we’re both working at the areas we’re weak at, and it just so happens to be other areas that we are strong at,” Hayden Hansen said. “He’s trying to get bigger and block. I’m trying to get a little quicker on my routes and come faster out of the break. … The biggest stride I’ve made I think is getting out of my stance and getting to the route. I feel like I got a lot faster, I think I ran 20.3 MPH this offseason.”

BIGGEST CONCERN: Lack of proven depth

While Boardingham and Hansen both have a season under their belts, the rest of Florida’s tight ends — save for one player — are inexperienced.

Rounding out the depth chart is sophomore Tony Livington, who appeared in seven games last year but was limited with injuries, and redshirt freshman Gavin Hill, who switched from defensive line to tight end this offseason.

The Gators added top-100 recruit Amir Jackson to the position this summer, giving them a young but elite talent. They also have sixth-year senior Keon Zipperer on the roster, but he was still unavailable this spring (see below).

The lack of proven depth behind Boardingham and Hansen is why UF added another tight end in Air Force transfer Caleb Rillos, a preferred walk-on. Rillos made eight starts and appeared in 21 games over the past two seasons.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Keon Zipperer’s status

Zipperer was expected to make his return to the practice field after being sidelined for a calendar year. He suffered a knee injury during spring camp in 2023 and missed all of last season.

Zipperer, who had 13 receptions for 177 yards and a touchdown as a starter in 2022, was still out this spring wearing a non-contact jersey and did not participate in any position drills.

It’s unclear if Zipperer was still rehabbing the injury, had a setback in his recovery or was being held out for precautionary purposes, but his absence was both surprising and concerning.

For what it’s worth, Callaway said the senior TE is still “going through some things right now” but he’s super grateful that Zipperer is going to be back, so there’s still hope for his return.

Should that happen, Zipperer would give the Gators a boost and another weapon at the position. If not, they will need Rillos or one of their young tight ends to step up in 2024.

The post Spring Look Back: Florida Gators Tight Ends appeared first on On3.