Tag: caden piening

Florida hosted a slew of recruits from the class of 2025 on official visits over the weekend, including Anderson High (Cincinnati, Ohio) tight end and UCF commit [autotag]Caden Piening[/autotag].

While Piening had seen Florida’s campus and facilities before, an official visit showed him everything The Swamp has to offer. Highlights of the trip include spending time with coaches and players, namely tight Hayden Hansen, according to Swamp247 and Gators Online.

“I think the first time we came we saw the nuts and bolts of everything,” Piening said. “This weekend was more of a relaxing weekend. I met all the coaches and had a great time with them.”

One-on-one time with head coach Billy Napier also went a long way with the Central Florida commit. Piening has been locked in with UCF since April, but he’s still leaving the door open for Florida to flip him.

“With UCF, I think they have something building with Coach (Gus) Malzahn and what they have going on,” he said. “I think they are really building up, and I see something that they have a really bright future. Then with (Florida), they have something that’s already going and they have a really strong fanbase.”

Recruiting Summary

Piening is a consensus three-star recruit heading into his senior year. He is ranked the highest by ESPN as the No. 11 Y-style tight end in the class of 2025.

The On3 industry ranking considers all four major recruiting services and ranks Piening No. 636 overall in the class. The 247Sports composite is a similar ranking system and has him at No. 691 nationally.

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This coming summer will hopefully be a big one for Florida football as the program looks to restore glory to the Orange and Blue from the ground up. June will be hot — not just from the rising temperatures but also from the numerous prep prospects making their official visits to Gainesville.

Among those who have made plans to make their way to Hogtown is three-star tight end and athlete [autotag]Caden Piening[/autotag] out of Cincinnati (Ohio) Anderson in the 2025 recruiting cycle. The 6-foot-4-inch, 230-pound pass-catcher recently revealed his itinerary, which has him in Hogtown the weekend of June 14-16 for an official visit, according to Swamp247.

Tight ends coach Russ Callaway has been the point man in Piening’s recruitment, offering the high school junior a scholarship back in January while keeping in close contact since.

“Me and Coach Callaway have made sure we’ve stayed in contact being on the phone at least once a week,” he told Swamp247. “After they offered me Coach Callaway came up to see me in person and so me and my family decided to make the trip and come see how they operate. I think this (March) trip went very well being our first time and the relationship between me and Coach is building by the week.”

During his visit earlier this month, he got a chance to see the words put into action at the team’s practice.

“They use their tight ends very heavy on third down sets, as well as when they get into the red zone that I liked. Not only were they running around catching it, they were also doing the dirty work inside which fits in my play style as being able to do both.

“Coach Callaway mentioned that they are looking for more dual-threat tight ends, I think that my versatility on the field can fit in on what they are trying to build at UF.”

Piening is ranked No. 643 overall and No. 31 at tight end position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at No. 639 nationally and No. 42 among those at the athlete position.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Gators a 32.9% chance of landing Piening, followed by the UCF Knights (28.8%), Louisville Cardinals (18.7%) and Michigan State Spartans (5.5%).

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