Gators Wire assistant editor Tyler Nettuno recently spoke with former Florida tight end Ben Troupe in an interview that covered a wide range of topics, including his upcoming book, the evolution of the tight end position and the 2021 Gators squad. Here’s the second segment from that interview.
Former Gators tight end Ben Troupe discussed the upcoming season of Florida football and previewed the offensive group, including the tight end position specifically after the departure of Kyle Pitts.
TYLER NETTUNO: Without Kyle Pitts, what are your thoughts on the current tight end group heading into 2021 with guys like Kemore Gamble and Keon Zipperer?
BEN TROUPE: I think we have one of the best tight end rooms in the country. I think these guys, because of what they saw in front of them, they know what the expectation is. Gamble has already said, they say “You’re the best tight end in the SEC,” and he’s like “No, I’m the best tight end in the country.”
Those are the kind of players you want. Why would I think less? I go to the University of Florida, I played behind Kyle Pitts last year. If the guys in my meeting room, on my team are good enough to beat me out, that’s why I practice the way I practice.
Look, all these guys can be starting right now but we in the same room, so yeah man, I like our group. Gamble plays the position in a disrespectful way, I like it, I like that he doesn’t like other players. If you don’t play for Florida, he don’t like you.
You kind of got to see him and Zipperer in the Florida-Georgia game last year because Kyle Pitts got hurt, and those guys showed what’s to come… Now, if you’re a tight end at Florida and you wear 84, you better be nice. Forget what I did, freaking Kyle Pitts took it to another level. The tight end at Florida is the new “it” position. Look, I know people fell out because Arik Gilbert didn’t come to Florida, now he’s at Georgia, but if I’m Arik Gilbert I’m saying to myself “Dude, just because they’re saying ‘look what Kyle Pitts was doing,’ if I can’t do that, I’m not coming there. I can’t do that.”
So I like our tight end room, I think all those guys are gonna be a weapon. I think 12 personnel, maybe even trey personnel with having three tight ends on the field. The tight end position is back at Florida, and I don’t think it’s going anywhere. Those guys are earning snaps Monday through Friday and they show what they’ve earned on Saturday.
I would’ve never said I was the best tight end when I was in college, but these guys put in that work. Just like I think Emory Jones is going to benefit because he sat behind Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask and he didn’t jump into the transfer portal and even though he’s got Anthony Richardson behind him, it’s something to say when the guy in front of you is doing it the right way and at the highest level, they’re showing you just how to do it. Play in and play out. Game in and game out. Rep in and rep out.
I think our tight end room is the best in the country. I know (Georgia’s) got a 6-foot-6-inch dude that wears No. 0, our tight ends wear tight end numbers. We’ll see when we get to Jacksonville. (Editor’s note: Gamble actually switched to No. 2 ahead of the 2021 season).
TN: The expectation with Emory Jones has been that the offense will look a bit different, focusing on the run and option game. Do you think Mullen will be able to keep up the offensive success in spite of that?
BT: Yes, if you look at the mode of quarterback that Dan Mullen is used to having, that’s Emory Jones. Emory looks more like Dak Prescott, Tim Tebow, Nick Fitzgerald than Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask. The reason why he said “I don’t need you to be a great runner, I need you to be a willing runner,” because he knew the type of quarterbacks he was inheriting. He knew that Feleipe Franks didn’t have the wheels. Kyle Trask is more like a distributor of the football.
Now, he’s got a guy with a big arm that’s got wheels. If you ask me what type of quarterback (I want), I’d like a dual threat. I’d rather have a guy that can get me out of trouble, that I can do RPOs with, but Emory Jones is the quarterback that got recruited by Dan Mullen, he didn’t recruit Trask or Franks. So I think (Emory) is going to light it up.
If we can get the running game going, and it doesn’t have to be the best running game, but it just can’t be the worst running game. If we have a solid run game with a quarterback with wheels and receivers, I like Whittemore, I like Henderson, I think Copeland‘s going to light it up… we got guys. We’ve got Bowman, Wright and Pierce, we have weapons.
They talk about Florida like we don’t have weapons… If Dan Mullen can do what he did what he did with two quarterbacks he didn’t recruit, Emory Jones has been in this system for four years now, this dude is going to light it up. As long as you don’t try to do to much, dump the ball down to the backs, run out of bounds, don’t try to run people over, live to play another play, I think Florida’s got as good a shot as any. We’re going to learn a lot about them the third game of the year, but Emory Jones, I think he’s poised to be a superstar.
TN: I think Dan Mullen has mostly proven himself when it comes to coaching quarterbacks, but it seems like the limiting factor on offense is the offensive line. After losing two starters, how do you feel about that unit?
BT: Those guys are going to have to go out there and want to do it. Running the football is a want-to thing. And that’s with anybody that blocks. That’s receivers, tight ends, fullbacks, offensive linemen, it’s a want-to thing. Running the football is football 101.
Florida’s offense was ranked ninth last year and we couldn’t run the ball, could you imagine what the offense would be if we could? It takes stress off of everybody. You’ve got able backs that can go out and make life easier. If it’s second and 1, third and 1, man we’ve got to get that. We can’t be lining up three wide on third and 1.
I don’t know what it is about offensive line play at the big three schools (in Florida). They get the athletes, but they don’t get the O-linemen. Those guys have to stop being the weak link, because we’re winning in spite of you, not because of you. I said this as a player, I may not be the reason we win, I refuse to be the reason why we lose. Guys work too hard.
So to me, the offensive lineme has got to look themselves in the mirror and stop lying to themselves. I’m not blaming them, but dude, you came to Florida because you’re the créme de la créme, let’s go. It’s time.
The success or failure of the University of Florida in 2021 will rest on the shoulders of five gentlemen: the two guards, the center and the two tackles. Not Emory Jones, not the guys in the backfield, not the tight ends or the receivers. If we can’t have a foundation set by those five guys, it’s going to be a long season because we’re going to make difficult things more difficult and we’re going to make easy things hard.
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