Florida tight end Kyle Pitts has been praised for his size and receiving ability by dozens of outlets and players alike. But to Tight Ends Coach Tim Brewster, his talent is far more simple.
“Football makes sense to Kyle Pitts,” he said over Zoom on Wednesday. “And that's the thing you ask as a coach, you ask as these kids, is does football truly make sense to them? And with Kyle it certainly does."
Pitts is no stranger to praise, and Brewster planned on keeping it that way. Among the typical traits Pitts is lauded for, Brewster added that his physicality in the run game makes him a well rounded talent.
“He’s a tough-minded guy, a physical guy,” Brewster said. “There’s nothing not to like about him.
But Brewster didn’t use the last of his praise on Pitts. To him, Florida’s tight end group is one of the best in the country, and Pitts is only a part of that: He made sure to commend every other tight end in the corps, too.
“I’ve been thrilled to death with Kemore Gamble,” he said. “Keon Zipperer’s done a really nice job. Jonathan Odom, my true freshman, OK, he’s coming off of a surgery. But I’m going to tell you what: This young guy’s going to be a heck of a player.”
Brewster worked under Dan Mullen at Mississippi State as a wide receiver’s coach. He cited Mullen’s offensive scheme as big reasons why he joined him at UF. He stressed that Mullen’s scheme would give every tight end in the group the opportunity to prove themselves.
“We can play with two tight ends. We can play with three tight ends,” Brewster said. “It's the thing I was so excited about to come to the University of Florida and get back with Dan in this offensive philosophy, in this offensive system.”
Brewster isn’t the only member of the team that’s celebrating position group depth, though. Redshirt senior Stone Forsythe, who started all 13 games last year at offensive tackle, singled out the experience on the offensive line that Florida has this year.
“Last year, we're all inexperienced. There was four of us and only one returning starter,” Forsythe said. “This year is just, it's four returners basically.”
While Forsythe said that the o-line doesn’t plan to put a particular emphasis on the run or pass game, redshirt junior Malik Davis will be looking to brush up on both. The running back has a history with injuries, but now that he’s healthy, he’ll look to prove he can contribute at every aspect of the offense.
“And with my injuries — just the way I play and the type of moves I make — it was kind of hard for me to go out there and make those moves and make those plays,” he said. “But now that I’m a 100 percent comfortable and healthy, it’s easy for me to go out there to make those plays like they know I can.”
Davis certainly had talent to look up to. While injured, he watched the likes of former Gator LaMical Perine bring a presence to the backfield. While he may not have been in Florida fans’ minds during that time, he’s confident he will be once the season starts.
“When people go down with injuries, people tend to forget,” Davis said. “That’s how sports go. I’m ready to refresh their memory.”
Contact River Wells at rwells@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @riverhwells.
Kyle Pitts flexing after he scored a touchdown at home against Vanderbilt last season. Tight Ends Coach Tim Brewster had only good things to say about Pitts to media Wednesday.
