Florida’s tight end room has been a bit of a question mark in recent years, but Florida now has depth at the position thanks to recruiting and transfers.
The main stars of the position room should remain the same as last year. [autotag]Arlis Boardingham[/autotag] and [autotag]Hayden Hansen[/autotag] both excelled in different roles last season, so it shouldn’t be hard to get both on the field for significant snaps each game.
The tight end position is unique in that it requires pass-catching ability and blocking ability. Billy Napier loves to run the 12 formation, which usually requires multiple tight ends, making this a vital group to the offense.
Let’s take a look at every tight end on Florida’s roster heading into the regular season. Check out Gators Wire’s other position previews for the 2024 season below.
Starter: No. 8 Arlis Boardingham (R-So.)
Stats:
| Year | GP | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | Long | AVG/G |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 2023 | 12 | 26 | 289 | 11.1 | 4 | 25 | 24.1 |
| Total | 13 | 26 | 289 | 11.1 | 4 | 25 | 22.2 |
Boardingham had a breakout season at Florida last year and emerged as the team’s top pass-catching option at tight end. He was left off the All-SEC Freshman Team last year, but he’s earned a nod to the John Mackey Award Preseason Watchlist, which honors the best tight end in college.
The big question for the former four-star recruit is how much he can improve as a blocker this season. He played receiver in high school, but catching passes is only half the game at the college level. Improving on seven dropped passes is also on the wishlist.
Pro Football Focus gave Boardingham an offensive grade of 57.5 last year based on a 65.8 pass-play grade, 52.3 pass-blocking grade and a 41.7 run-blocking grade.
Starter: No. 89 Hayden Hansen (R-So.)
Stats:
| Year | GP | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | Long | AVG/G |
| 2023 | 12 | 12 | 150 | 12.5 | 2 | 38 | 12.5 |
Hansen gets the “starter” tag here for two reasons. Florida’s going to use him plenty when they run the ball or need better pass protection than Boardingham can provide, and Billy Napier likes to run a lot of sets with multiple tight ends. He’s going to be on the field often.
Pro Football Focus didn’t grade Hansen much higher than Boardingham as a run-blocker last season (45.5), but he’s a significantly better pass-blocker (70.5). Florida’s offensive line should improve this season, which might open Hansen up for a few more passes, but he’s best served as a de facto lineman whenever possible.
Injured: No. 9 Keon Zipperer (R-Sr.)
Stats:
| Year | GP | REC | YDS | TD | Long | REC/G | AVG/C | AVG/G |
| 2019 | 8 | 3 | 31 | 1 | 25 | 0.4 | 10.3 | 3.9 |
| 2020 | 12 | 11 | 145 | 2 | 39 | 0.9 | 13.2 | 12.1 |
| 2021 | 13 | 11 | 133 | 0 | 30 | 0.8 | 12.1 | 10.2 |
| 2022 | 8 | 13 | 177 | 1 | 44 | 1.6 | 13.6 | 22.1 |
| Total | 41 | 38 | 486 | 4 | 44 | 0.9 | 12.8 | 11.9 |
An ACL injury shut down [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] last year, and he’s still working his way back from it. He didn’t participate in spring camp and he appears somewhat limited in fall camp. He probably won’t be ready for the start of the season, but Zipperer could see the field in the second half.
Before the injury, Zipperer was the clear starter coming into the 2023 season. Now it’s about ending his college career on his own terms.
Backups/Reserves: No. 87 Gavin Hill (R-Fr.) and No. 86 Tony Livingston (So.)
Behind Boardingham and Hansen are two second-year players, sophomore [autotag]Tony Livingston[/autotag] and redshirt freshman [autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag].
Livington played 114 snaps as a freshman last season after taking a gray shirt in 2022. However, the vast majority of those snaps came on special teams. Of the 26 offensive snaps Livingston took, he lined up in the slot just four times.
Coming out of high school, many expected Livingston to move from tight ends to the offensive line. He’s still in the TE room for now, but expect him to back up Hansen more than Boardingham.
Hill is a former defensive lineman who switched to the tight ends room in spring camp. There’s a learning curve to get over, but Hill could be another inline option at the position for Billy Napier’s offense.
Impact Freshman: No. 7 Amir Jackson (Fr.)
The only scholarship freshman on the roster is former four-star recruit [autotag]Amir Jackson[/autotag] out of Georgia. He might be the second-best pass-catching option on the depth chart, and Napier isn’t afraid to play freshmen who are earning their spots.
Expect Jackson to get snaps this season, even if he ends up redshirting. He’s the future at the position for Florida, and it would be nice to see him in games that DJ Lagway gets significant snaps in.
Walk-Ons: No. 81 Dawson Johnson, No. 82 Caleb Rillos (Sr.) and No. 85 Scott Isacks III (R-So.)
[autotag]Caleb Rillos[/autotag] spent four years at Air Force, appearing in all 26 games (18 starts) for the Falcons over the past two seasons. He reeled in eight catches for 97 yards in 2023 and scored his only touchdown in 2022.
Rillos might be 6-foot-5-inches and 252 pounds, but he says he’s more of a receiving tight end than a blocker. Of course, he improved his blocking greatly in the triple-option offense that Air Force runs. If there’s a walk-on in Florida’s tight ends room that will see the field relatively often, it’s Rillos.
[autotag]Scott Isacks[/autotag] is the only returning walk-on in Florida’s tight ends room. He appeared in seven games for the Gators last season, mostly as a member of the return unit on special teams. Hopefully, he can notch his first career catch in Year 3 with UF.
Freshman [autotag]Dawson Johnson[/autotag] is the final tight end on the roster. He joined the program this summer as a preferred walk-on, so he’s not expected to contribute much outside of practice. Still, this is a 6-foot-3, 225 pounds athlete will a family full of Division I athletes. One of Johnson’s brothers plays for Ohio, and the other two are college lacrosse players.
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