The Top-5 Tight Ends in Florida Gator History

Nov 22, 2014; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators tight end Clay Burton (88) runs with the ball against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 52-3. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

In Florida’s prominent and illustrious football history, only 11 tight ends have been drafted into the NFL.

Even during the golden era of the ’90s, not one tight end from those great Gator teams ever made it to the NFL. In fact, it was not until the 21st century that Florida started producing NFL-caliber tight ends considering six have been drafted since 2000.

To put that into perspective, more tight ends were drafted from Florida in a 13-year timespan after 2000 than in 64 years since the NFL draft’s inception in 1936.

As a former tight end in high school, this article strongly resonates with me. I know what it is like to block the defensive end on a run play, or bump a defender before going out for a pass. I know what it is like to not necessarily be your quarterback’s first option but to still run every route hard.

By playing the position, I came to respect and appreciate what was required of it.

With such a limited number of prominent Gator tight ends, I had to do a good amount of digging for this top-5. Somehow, I was able to find statistics and names to formulate this list.

There are no honorable mentions this time around, so let’s reverse the clock and revisit some Gator greats!

Next: No. 5 Chris Faulkner