Andrew Savaiinaea – Syndication Server

Florida tight end Andrew Savaiinaea enters transfer portal

The latest Gator to announce his decision to transfer from the University of Florida is offensive lineman turned tight end Andrew Savaiinaea.

Florida continues to lose players to the transfer portal, including depth tight end [autotag]Andrew Savaiinaea[/autotag].

The offensive lineman turned tight end announced his decision on Sunday.

“First, I’d like to give all glory to man above for putting me in the position I am today. I am grateful for the opportunity, memories and relationships that I’ve created here at the University of Florida. I want to thank Coach Napier and the rest of the staff for giving me this opportunity and all who have coached me,” Savaiinaea said in a social media post.

“Also want to thank all those at Hawkins and GatorMade as well. After careful consideration and prayer, I have decided to enter my name in the transfer portal. Thank you Gator Nation!”

Undergraduates are able to enter the portal officially beginning Monday, Dec. 4.

🖤 pic.twitter.com/htNxfOo5fh

— Andrew Savaiinaea (@A_Savaiinaea) December 3, 2023

Savaiinaea made the transition from the line to tight end when Billy Napier took over as head coach and asked players to fill in some depth. Unfortunately, a depth piece is all Savaiinaea ever was for the Gators. He redshirted in 2022 and made no appearances during the 2023 season.

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Gators promoting analyst to tight ends coach position

The Gators think they already have a coach qualified to lead the team’s tight ends, so Florida is promoting from within to fill the empty spot.

The Florida Gators are promoting from within to fill the tight ends coaching spot left by [autotag]William Peagler[/autotag] after his departure to the NFL. Defensive analyst [autotag]Russ Callaway[/autotag] is being promoted, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz.

Callaway played quarterback for Valdosta State but tore his ACL twice from 2009 to 2010 and followed his father’s footsteps as a coach. Callaway’s dad, Neil, was the head coach at Alabama-Birmingham at the time. After serving as a student assistant at VSU his senior year, he served as a defensive assistant for Alabama during back-to-back championship seasons in 2011 and 2012. Billy Napier was also an analyst for the Crimson Tide in 2011 and Callaway was coaching under then-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Kirby Smart.

After Alabama, Callaway coached wide receivers and was the recruiting coordinator for two years at Murray State. He moved on to Samford, where he lasted five years as a wide receivers coach and then quarterbacks coach. Callaway made his way back to the SEC in 2020 as a senior offensive assistant and analyst for LSU and then worked with the New York Giants in 2021 before joining Billy Napier’s staff as a defensive analyst.

Florida is expected to name Russ Callaway as its new tight ends coach, sources tell @on3sports.

Callaway, a former offensive coordinator at Samford, had been an analyst at Florida after stops with the New York Giants and LSU. https://t.co/DlIXY67ten pic.twitter.com/92awkGLBeu

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) March 6, 2023

Although Callaway was working with Florida’s defense in 2022, he should transition into his new role seamlessly. He’s worked with pass catchers before and produced great results. He’ll be working with a group that didn’t perform up to expectations a season ago but should have a bit more depth in 2023.

Juniors [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] and [autotag]Dante Zanders[/autotag] served as starters a year ago and are both returning, and [autotag]Jonathan Odom[/autotag] is also back on campus. [autotag]Arlis Boardignham[/autotag] didn’t play a game last season, but he could be a factor in his redshirt freshman year. Fellow 2022 signee [autotag]Hayden Hansen[/autotag] also returns, and [autotag]Andrew Savaiinaea[/autotag] has transitioned from defensive end to tight end.

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Gators tight ends coach William Peagler also headed to NFL

In addition to defensive coordinator Patrick Toney, Florida is losing tight ends coach William Peagler to the NFL.

After news broke that Florida would be losing its defensive coordinator, [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag], to the NFL, word came in that he wouldn’t be the only Gators coach poached by the Arizona Cardinals.

On3’s Matt Zenitz is reporting that Florida tight ends coach [autotag]William Peagler[/autotag] is also making the move from [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s staff to work under Jonathan Gannon in the pros. Peagler spent just one year with the program after spending time at Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana and Michigan State.

Peagler worked his way up the coaching ladder quickly and found himself as one of the premiere assistants in the game while at Michigan State. He helped developed second-round pick Kenneth Walker III while with the Spartans, but Peageler faced a much more challenging task at Florida.

When he got to UF, the Gators had just lost [autotag]Kemore Gamble[/autotag] to the transfer portal and had just one active scholarship tight end on the roster, [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag]. A couple of injuries forced defensive players to switch positions, including [autotag]Dante Zanders[/autotag] who ended up getting some playing time for Florida at tight end.

The position group never truly shined throughout 2022, but Zipperer, Zanders and [autotag]Jonathan Odom[/autotag] are all returning in 2023. Redshirt freshmen [autotag]Arlis Boardingham[/autotag], [autotag]Hayden Hansen[/autotag] and [autotag]Andrew Savaiinaea[/autotag] will also be in the position room under the new coach.

Florida has until March 4 to hire a tight ends coach before the start of spring camp.

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2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Outside Linebackers

The Gators have a decent amount of depth at outside linebacker, but it’s Brenton Cox Jr. who leads the group heading into the 2022 season.

After going over the defensive linemen on the team in detail, it’s time to talk about Florida’s outside linebackers room heading into 2022.

These are the edge rushers of the team that are expected to cause havoc opposite of [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag] at the strongside defensive end spot. [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. leads the group and is returning for his third year at Florida.

The Gators are only losing two players at the position, [autotag]Jeremiah Moon[/autotag] to graduation and [autotag]Khris Bogle[/autotag] to the transfer portal, and they added two freshmen in the most recent cycle. Florida still has plenty of depth on the edge, though. Cox should be good for 13 starts barring injury, and there’s a trio behind him that can do the job if he does need any rest.

Here’s a look at all eight outside linebackers/JACK/edge rushers on the 2022 Florida Gators football roster.

Billy Napier’s efforts out west pay off for Florida football

Florida’s 2022 recruiting class features players from all over the country, including two from the West Coast.

Florida’s new head coach Billy Napier traveled all over the country to put together his 2022 recruiting class in just two months.

While plenty of time was spent on the areas closest to Florida, Napier made sure to get out west and talk to some of the top undecided talents on the other side of the country. Those efforts appear to have paid off for Florida as Napier added Van Nuys, California athlete Arlis Boardingham to the class a week after national signing day.

“Arlis is a unique athlete,” Napier said at his Friday press conference. “If you watch the tape closely, he’s really playing receiver, inside backer and outside backer. He was 6-foot-3-and-a-quarter, 235 pounds on the visit and really has some grow potential.

“He can go run the full route tree as a receiver, and he has some play strength and physicality on defense. I think my experience would say that equate to a mismatch type of player.”

As Napier rattled off more positives about Boardingham, including an 11.4-second 100-meter time as a junior, it became obvious why the coach was willing to pursue someone on the other side of the country so intensely. Boardingham has a chance to make a difference on this roster, and Napier wasn’t willing to let him slip away to Oregon over proximity.

The same can be said about Napier’s other west coast signee, Andrew Savaiinaea. The three-star defensive lineman out of Washington held offers from Cal, Oregon and Kentucky before Florida got into the mix. At 6-foot-3-inches tall and 259 pounds, Savaiinaea has the kind of size needed to make it in the Southeastern Conference.

Napier considers Boardingham and Savaiinaea to both be high-character players with a ton of upside.

It’s not easy to put together a class of 18 recruits, especially when a coach is given just two months to evaluate, recruit and sign them. Florida may have had to go out of its comfort zone a bit, but the returns appear to be well worth the effort.

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3-star Washington defensive lineman commits to Gators

Graham (Wa.) Graham-Kapowsin defensive lineman Andrew Savaiinaea pledged to the Gators following a visit to Gainesville, where he received an offer.

Florida’s 2022 recruiting class grew by two on Monday when Graham (Wa.) Graham-Kapowsin defensive lineman Andrew Savaiinaea announced his pledge to coach Billy Napier and his staff. Savaiinaea had been on campus this past weekend for an official visit, where he picked up an offer.

He declared Florida his leader while on the trip, per On3’s Corey Bender, and shortly after returning home, he committed to UF. Savaiinaea, who also had offers from a number of Pac-12 schools such as Oregon, UCLA, California, Washington State and Oregon State. He announced his pledge to the Gators on his Twitter account Monday afternoon.

New beginnings…📝 #GoGators #Committed pic.twitter.com/RQKoyoBRbX

— Andrew Savaiinaea (@A_Savaiinaea) January 24, 2022

Savaiinaea is the No. 732 player in the 2022 class and the No. 104 defensive lineman. As a senior, he totaled 18 tackles, three sacks, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble, according to MaxPreps. He also played some tight end, catching 24 balls for 317 yards and nine touchdowns.

He is expected to primarily play defense in college, potentially edge rusher, and if that’s the case, he’s the third defensive lineman to join the class in addition to Jamari Lyons and Chris McClellan, who have both already signed.

With the addition of Savaiinaea, Florida’s class ranks No. 26 nationally and is no longer the worst in the conference, now ranking 13th among SEC teams.

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