Florida’s star tight end to return for Kentucky game on Saturday
When you were crushed 63-3 in your last outing, you probably don’t want to hear that your next opponent is getting back a star player.
That’s the story out of Florida, however. Just in time for Saturday’s game against Kentucky, the sixth-ranked Gators will welcome back star tight end Kyle Pitts, according to head coach Dan Mullen. Pitts has missed the last two games with a facial injury.
Considered the best tight end in the nation, Pitts has caught 24 passes for 414 yards and eight touchdowns through five games with the Gators. He was on the receiving end of a vicious hit from Georgia safety Lewis Cine in Florida’s 44-28 win over the Bulldogs on Nov. 7. Pitts exited the game with a concussion and later underwent surgery on his nose. Cine was ejected for targeting.
When healthy, Pitts is one of Florida’s prime weapons for quarterback Kyle Trask, who has thrown for 31 touchdowns on the season.
“Pitts is tall, long and ultra athletic,” wrote the NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah this summer in his draft analysis of the tight end. “His versatility allows the Gators to use him in a variety of alignments. He gets a lot of reps as an inline tight end, but he will also play on the wing, flex out in the slot or split all the way out to the perimeter of the formation. He uses an arch release to free himself from the line of scrimmage and he gains ground quickly with his long, smooth stride. He’s outstanding stretching the seam and isn’t afraid to extend for the ball in traffic.”
Kentucky is coming off that 60-point loss to top-ranked Alabama last Saturday. The Wildcats were down 10-or-more players because of injuries and COVID-19 concerns. Asked if he knows yet about player availability for the trip to Gainesville, UK coach Mark Stoops said that was still up in the air.
“It is what it is,” said the coach, who added that Kentucky will do everything possible to play Saturday’s game. “We’re not going to run and hide from anybody. We’ll be there.”
Saturday’s game is set for noon on ESPN.
This story was originally published November 23, 2020 at 2:26 PM.
