Florida Football: Arlis Boardingham’s big day propels the Gators

As is the case with a lot of Florida football commits, we get excited when they sign, but then the realities of college football dictate that we have to wait before we actually get to see them on the field.

So it was a great reminder yesterday that one of the key pieces from the 2022 recruiting class has the capability of reaching his ceiling and beyond as Arlis Boardingham more than doubled all his career totals to help propel the Gators to a 38-14 victory over Vanderbilt.

Florida Football: Boarding School

Boardingham was considered a four-star tight end by 247 and ESPN in the class of 2022. He had a verified 4.6 40-yard dash coming out of high school.

Last season, Boardingham only appeared in one game and redshirted.

But as we noted prior to the start of the season, the seeds were planted for him to have a much larger role in 2023.

After a catch against McNeese State and Tennessee, Boardingham found the endzone for the first time in his career against UNC Charlotte. He had two more catches against Kentucky before his breakout performance yesterday.

Part of what makes Boardingham an intriguing player is his ability to get yards after the catch, a key theme from yesterday’s game across the board. Of his 99 yards receiving, 61 of those yards were after the catch.

Boardingham finished his day with seven catches and two touchdowns.

https://twitter.com/GatorsFB/status/1710792107458441623

With the lack of depth and high-end talent Florida football has at tight end, the Gators need Boardingham to continue to progress. His overall blocking could still use work, though for what it is worth, Pro Football Focus gave him credit for the best run-blocking day he has had as a Gator.

Even if Boardingham doesn’t duplicate 99 yards next week against South Carolina, the added attention the Gamecocks will need to give him should open up even more opportunities for the rest of Florida’s offense.