Florida Gators Tight Ends – 2010 vs. 2011

Part four in a series where The Bull Gator and I go over the Florida roster differences from this season to last and what to expect in 2011.Check out past installments: quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers.

2010: Jordan Reed – RFR, Desmond Parks – RFR, Michael McFarland – FR, Gerald Christian – FR

Preseason Rating: C

Postseason Rating: F

Woohoo! Our first F grade for the 2010 season! Too bad grades don’t go to G or H as I would have had to given those serious consideration when it came to rating the Gators’ tight end performance in 2010.

I know what some of you are thinking…Jordan Reed had a pretty good year last year when you look at the contributions he made as quarterback. While that might be true, I am strictly focusing on the contributions of Reed and his cohorts while they lined up as tight ends. With that in mind, let’s look at the stats for the tight ends in 2010:

Jordan Reed – 12 games played, 6 catches, 79 yards, 1 TD
Desmond Parks – 0 games played
Michael McFarland – 0 games played
Gerald Christian – 0 games played

Some may say that it wasn’t the tight ends’ fault that their stats were so abysmal in 2010 – it was the style of offense we ran, our bone-headed offensive coordinator, and the lack of quarterback production. While I agree with you on the last part of that statement, let’s not forget that the Gators had that same style of offense and that same bone-headed offensive coordinator in 2009. And in that year, does anyone know who the leading receiver on the team was? I do! I do! It was our tight end, Aaron Hernandez, who accounted for 68 catches, 850 yards and 5 touchdowns. Sure glad that he decided to skip his senior year and go pro!

2011: Josh Postell – RJR, Jordan Reed – RSO, A.C. Leonard – FR
Preseason Rating: B

Woohoo! Our first non-C grade for the 2011 season!

It may be a huge leap going from rating a unit last year as an F to then thinking that they will be above-average the next year, but that’s just what I am doing. The major reason for this will be Jordan Reed’s commitment to the position. Unless things go horribly wrong in 2011 (yet again!), Reed should finally be able to focus on playing the position that he is best suited for. The only way that I can see him taking snaps as the QB again would be if we wanted to run some sort of wildcat formation, especially by the goal-line, and wanted to use his big body to get us a couple of important yards. Besides those rare occasions, look for Reed to be the go-to TE that John Brantley so desperately needs.

With Reed locking down one TE position, the Gators will turn to true freshman A.C. Leonard to hopefully lock down the other when we go to the infamous two tight end set. While I have never seen Leonard play in a real college football game, my expectation levels for him are sky high. I anticipate that Leonard and Reed will provide a valuable one-two punch that Charlie Weis will turn to again and again during the season.

And while Josh Postell is not a name that every fan of UF knows at this moment, he is a guy who has been around the team for three years now, was converted to TE from WR over the summer, and has been known to make a play or two when his number is called. Postell still needs to put on a little more weight for his new position, but regardless he should provide the back-up power that is needed to make this unit one the team’s strongest heading into the 2011 season.

One thing that deters me from giving the TEs even a higher grade is the unit’s lack of depth. Besides Postell, there really aren’t any guys that you can invision providing valuable reps at the tight end position this year. There was originally a thought that sophomore Gerald Christian would play both linebacker and tight end for the Gators in 2011, but that talk has died down over the past few months. However, should an injury to Reed or Leonard occur, look for Christian to possibly make the jump back over to the offensive side of the ball where he at least has some knowledge of the playbook and the position itself.

All in all, the 2011 tight ends have a ton of potential and the size, speed, and catching abilities to be great fits in the new Weis-led offense. If everyone can stay healthy and the quarterback has enough time and enough mental stability to get the ball in their general vicinity, don’t be surprised if a tight end once again leads the team in receptions, yards and receiving touchdowns. And if that happens, we may all be saying, “who was that Aaron Hernandez guy you speak of?”