One of the brightest spots of the 2020 college football season for the Florida Gators was a pair of Kyles who both made waves in the Heisman Trophy award race. While both put up numbers rarely seen outside of the context of video games, one of the two truly stood out in the eyes of ESPN’s staff writer Bill Connelly.
Kyle Pitts, the first-ever tight end finalist for the Biletnikoff Award and the winner of the John Mackey Award, was Connelly’s most outstanding tight end this past season after putting up ridiculous statistics in just eight games played — he missed three games due to a head injury sustained against the Georgia Bulldogs and opted out of the Cotton Bowl against the Oklahoma Sooners in order to prepare for the National Football League’s amateur draft.
Here is what Connelly had to say.
Favorite tight end: Kyle Pitts, Florida. Of course. This was a year for fun experimentation at the tight end position — Ole Miss’ Kenny Yeboah was dangerous as a deep threat and racked up heavy yards after catch, UCLA’s Greg Dulcich was a wonderful vertical threat, and 24 tight ends averaged at least 40 receiving yards per game. Pitts was their leader. He caught 43 balls for 770 yards and 12 TDs in only eight games. Also: zero drops. Goodness.
Keep in mind, Pitts actually achieved all of that in less than eight games, when you consider that the injury — which resulted from a hit that was penalized with a targeting call — was before the first half of play was even over. There is little doubt that Florida’s star tight end will find great success at the next level, especially considering that he is projected to go in the first round in practically every mock draft.
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