In The Tight End Room, Billy Napier Has A Really Tight Group

TE Dante Zanders was "the story of the spring," said Billy Napier. (UAA Photo)

By KYLE CURTIS

GatorBaitMedia.com

“Tight end is one of the hardest positions to play in football. It’s right up there with quarterback and cornerback. You have to have the skills of a wide receiver and the strength of an offensive lineman, and it’s not easy to balance those two,” NFL Hall of Famer Tony Gonzales.

Back during Spring practice, one of the underlying concerns was the health and depth of the tight end room for the Florida Gators. The Gators took an initial blow with the transfer of Kemore Gamble to in-state rival UCF.

Additionally, both Jonathan Odom and Nick Elksnis, the two scholarship tight ends left on the roster, were injured and held them out for the remainder of spring

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In Billy Napier fashion, he welcomed the next-man-up mentality while recognizing they were short at a position vital to his offensive scheme. Dante Zanders started playing football in middle school where he was the center for his local youth league. Once he moved to high school, he made the transition to tight end and then eventually defensive end. “The coach asked what position I played the first day of tryouts,” Zanders said. “I looked at my friend next to me and was like 'I don’t want to play to center anymore,' and I told them I played tight end.” Zanders went on to be recruited for both defensive end and tight end across the country before ultimately choosing Florida. Over the past two years, Zanders has contributed to the Gators’ defense as a defensive end until the lack of depth in the tight end room. This gave him a chance to prove himself. “I came to Florida thinking I was going to be a tight end, after two years I transferred over to the other side of the ball, I thought defense was the right position,” Zanders said. “Then Coach Napier showed me a different way… He told me he could get me where I wanted to go, just trust him. That’s what I’ve done.” Zanders did just that while showing what he can do during spring through practices and was the leading receiver in the Orange and Blue game with six catches. Napier called his development "the story of the spring." With Zanders holding down the fort during Spring, it gave Odom and Elksnis time to get healthy for the fall. During last year’s season, Elksnis took a redshirt season while appearing in just three games while Odom was primarily in a special team’s role. Odom is ready for his role to be elevated along with potential breakout star and fellow tight end Keon Zipperer. “The coaches sat us down, me and (Keon) Zipperer, and said 'y’all two are the leaders of this room,'” Odom said. “The time is now; the time is here.” After much doubt in the midst of spring practice and some concern that the tight end room could be a weak point, Napier put trust and confidence into his guys. Now there’s real potential that the Gators have a four-headed monster waiting to be released in Odom, Zipperer, Elksnis and Zanders. In a run-heavy offense, blocking will be key but will also open opportunities for the double tight end sets to have more of an impact in the passing game as well. Odom continued to stress how close this group has been even going back to Kyle Pitts’ days. “That is a huge key that Coach Napier made us all realize is that this is more than football and we are tied together at the hip for life,” Odom said. “The bond in the tight end room is amazing.” A potential weak point of the Gators’ offense at one point in the offseason can now be argued to be one of Florida’s strongest. Working together and being the glue of the offense will be a focal point for Napier’s tight end room but is a task that will be faced head-on with full force from a close knit group of guys.