Tag: Dante Zanders

Gators TE Nick Elksnis plans to enter transfer portal

Another Gator is headed to the transfer portal. Tight end Nick Elksnis, a class of 2021 signee, is leaving the program after two seasons.

Florida tight end [autotag]Nick Elksnis[/autotag] became the second Gator in as many days to announce his plans to enter the transfer portal. Elksnis took to Twitter to announce his transfer, but he’ll have to wait until Dec. 5 to officially enter the portal.

Elksnis, a former three-star prospect from the class of 2021 according to 247Sports, was on the field for just 61 snaps over two years at the University of Florida. Injuries have limited him this season and kept him sidelined since Week 5. The specifics of his injury aren’t known to the general public, but the injury report does indicate it’s an upper-body issue.

Elksnis should get some looks from elite programs now that he’s officially stepping away from the program. He fielded offers from Florida State, Miami, Michigan and Tennessee among others as a prep player.

Florida’s tight end situation has been dire all year, and those problems date back to the spring when Elksnis suffered a broken scapula that didn’t require surgery to heal. After Elksnis went down in the spring, so did [autotag]Jonathan Odom[/autotag], leaving Florida with very few tight ends to work with. That’s part of the reason [autotag]Dante Zanders[/autotag] shifted positions, and it took until the South Carolina game to see any production from Odom.

Most of Elksnis’ snaps came in a special teams role, so it’s easy to see why he’s moving on from the program. He joins a growing list of Gators that plan on entering the portal in December, and he likely won’t be the last to leave the program. Billy Napier expected some attrition after his first year at the program, and he likely has a plan to replace whatever talent departs.

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2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Tight Ends

Florida’s tight end room has seen a complete overhaul since the end of last season. Here’s a look at the group heading into 2022.

Next up in Gators Wire’s position-by-position breakdown of the 2022 Florida Gators football roster is the tight end room.

Last year’s starter [autotag]Kemore Gamble[/autotag] was one of the many players that left the team via the transfer portal. While he suits up for the UCF Knights this season, the Gators will test out some new names at the position. Senior [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] is the returning player in the room with the most experience, but a trio of defensive players made the switch to tight end after two others went down with an injury in the spring.

Billy Napier added a pair of tight ends in the 2022 recruiting cycle too, so there’s plenty of depth on the team at this point. The big task for Napier will be to figure out which players deserve the most playing time. Most of these guys are relatively unproven, and Napier likes to run a lot of two-tight-end sets to engage the run game.

There seems to be a clear first and second team in place as the season draws near, but an injury or two could give some rotational pieces an opportunity to shine.

Here’s a look at the nine tight ends listed on the 2022 Florida Gators fall roster.

See also:

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Quarterbacks

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Running Backs

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Wide Receivers

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Offensive Line

This Gator should make an impact after switching positions

Dante Zanders was the first to hit the transfer portal when Florida’s coaching change occurred. Now, he’s carved out a nice spot for himself in the Gators’ offense after withdrawing his name and switching positions.

First-year head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] called it the “story of the spring” back in April following the Gators’ orange and blue game. Fifth-year junior [autotag]Dante Zanders[/autotag], who had entered camp as a defensive end, led the team in receiving yards (56) and held a share of the team lead with five receptions. That performance solidified him as an impact player on UF’s offense, but how exactly did this come to be?

Swamp247’s Jacob Rudner caught up with Zanders after the first week of fall practices and learned that the move was made out of necessity.

“My first thought about moving back to tight end, I was kind of nervous because I gained so much weight and I thought I lost all the agility that you need at the tight end position and to be able to run routes and everything,” Zanders said. “But also I’m a team guy so when coach Napier asked me like, ‘Hey, these guys are banged up and we need more tight ends in the room, is there any way you can help us?’ I just stepped up.”

Stepped up might be an understatement. Zanders has shown an understanding of the tight end position that only a former defensive end could have. He says his leg up on the competition is knowing what the defense is going to do more often than a pure offensive player might. That understanding should translate into plenty of playing time, especially if Florida runs the 12-personnel look that Napier utilized at Louisiana.

Zanders has grown comfortable running a two-tight-end scheme and can see the offense growing as a group. One relationship that’s blossomed in particular is the one between quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] and Zanders. The first-year starting quarterback recalled a moment between the two after the first practice. He wasn’t sure what to make of Zanders’ switch, but the Boca Raton High alumnus assured Richardson that he had his back.

Since that moment, Zanders has been on the rise, and he now has a solid spot on the team for the upcoming season. Remember, six months ago he was thought to be a depth guy at best. And he was in the transfer portal looking for a new home a few months before that.

All it took was a meeting between Zanders and Napier for the two to put a little faith in each other, and that has paid off handsomely during the offseason. Let’s hope the in-season returns are just good.

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Here’s where Florida football stands in ESPN’s top 25 Future Power Rankings

You’re probably not going to like where ESPN ranks the Gators. We certainly didn’t.

Florida’s football program reached stratospheric heights during the first decade of the 21st century under head coach [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag], but since his departure, the team has taken a massive U-turn back into a level of mediocrity not seen since before [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag]’s tenure. Exacerbating the issue is the coaching carousel that the Orange and Blue experienced in recent years, having burned through three new skippers before bringing on [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] to right the ship.

There is little question that the new administration has a steep hill to climb to get the Gators back to their previous level of success. Even though [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]’s tenure saw three straight New Year’s Six bowl game appearances, it still came to a tumultuous close as the program imploded upon itself due to neglect, leaving things in shambles for the next coach to clean up.

With that in mind, ESPN senior writer Adam Rittenberg recently published his college football’s top 25 future power rankings and where he placed Florida may rustle a few jimmies among the Gator Nation. Take a look at his entry below.

22. Florida Gators
2022 Future QB ranking: Not ranked
2022 Future offense ranking: Not ranked
2022 Future defense ranking: 21
2021 Future team ranking: 8

Scouting the Gators: Florida is the type of program that could surge in these rankings as soon as 2023. There’s always talent in Gainesville, and coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] looks like a smart hire for a program that hasn’t made the CFP and last won the SEC in 2008, the Gators’ most recent national championship. But an unexpected transition — no one pegged [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] to be fired at this time last year — could lead to a down year or two, especially in the improving SEC East Division. The biggest immediate question is the offense and whether dual-threat quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] will provide a consistent spark. Richardson must show greater accuracy and fewer mistakes in the pass game, but he has sophomore eligibility and room to grow under Napier.

Florida also received some QB insurance in Ohio State transfer [autotag]Jack Miller[/autotag]. Running back could become a multiyear strength. [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] followed Napier from Louisiana to Florida after a 12-touchdown season as a freshman in 2021. Johnson leads a sophomore group that includes [autotag]Nay’Quan Wright [/autotag]and [autotag]Demarkcus Bowman[/autotag]. Florida also added ESPN 300 recruit [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag]. Junior [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] leads a young wide receiver group with opportunities to shine. The Gators need sophomores [autotag]Trent Whittemore[/autotag] and [autotag]Xzavier Henderson[/autotag] to stay healthy, or someone else to emerge. They return two veteran tight ends in [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] and [autotag]Dante Zanders[/autotag] but need options for 2023 and 2024. Offensive line has some concerns, especially depth at tackle, but returns junior center [autotag]Kingsley Eguakun[/autotag] and some other interior pieces. Florida has a 2023 commitment from [autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag], ESPN’s top-rated center in the class.

The defense has fewer immediate questions. Florida returns proven players such as safety [autotag]Trey Dean III[/autotag], end [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. and tackle [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag]. Both Cox and Dexter could play multiple seasons and lead a line that needs others to emerge this fall, including sophomore end [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag]. Florida could become a back-to-front defense in Napier’s first few seasons, as the secondary returns Dean and sophomores [autotag]Rashad Torrence II[/autotag] and [autotag]Tre’Vez Johnson[/autotag] at safety, and talented young cornerbacks such as [autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]., an ESPN top-50 recruit who appeared in every game as a true freshman. [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag], ESPN’s top-rated safety and No. 18 overall recruit, headlined Napier’s first class. Seniors [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] and [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] lead a linebacker group that will look to build long-term depth this season. [autotag]Derek Wingo[/autotag] has sophomore eligibility, and Florida added ESPN 300 linebacker [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] in the 2022 recruiting class.

Despite just making the top 25 list by a few spots, the future is beginning to look bright again in Gainesville. Napier and Co. have done a great job on the recruiting front so far, and once the new regime has its plans for the future fully implemented, the Swamp should once again be a favorable destination for the best in the business.

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Injuries are forcing Florida football to get creative this spring

Florida has been forced to be creative and shuffle its personnel around after suffering injuries at several different positions.

Coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s offensive formations at Louisiana frequently featured tight ends. He is having difficulty implementing that philosophy with the Gators because of the injuries that piled up at the position.

Napier said that he feared that redshirt freshman Gage Wilcox has suffered a ‘career-ending injury’ during practice earlier this spring on Thursday. Florida was already thin at the position after it was reported that sophomore [autotag]Jonathan Odoms[/autotag] and redshirt freshman [autotag]Nick Elksnis[/autotag] will miss the rest of spring ball due to injuries. Senior [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] is currently the lone active scholarship tight end on the roster.

The amount of injuries that the Gators have suffered at tight end and other positions this spring has forced Napier and staff to be creative.

In order to mitigate depth issues, Florida has drastically shuffled its personnel. It moved senior defensive end [autotag]Dante Zanders[/autotag] back to tight end, which he last played in 2019. The coaching staff also switched redshirt junior [autotag]Noah Keeter[/autotag] to the position from linebacker. Finally, defensive tackle [autotag]Griffin McDowell[/autotag] has caught some passes this week to help out the unit.

Napier said Florida is also struggling with depth at inside linebacker, safety and offensive line and only have enough bodies for a third team behind the starters and backups.

“We’re thin,” he said Thursday after the Gators wrapped up their first spring scrimmage. “When you have three guys get injured — scholarship players at a position that’s already a little thin — that throws a wrench in your plans.”

Florida added five midyear transfers in January and could potentially make that double-digits, according to Napier.

“I think we live in a new era, right?” he said about the transfer portal. “There’s certainly a new way of operating in college football,” he said. “You can anticipate us being very aggressive in the portal this spring. We need players. That window of time is coming. We anticipate doing a lot of business and we’re looking forward to it.”

Napier and the Gators are also planning to present five walk-ons with scholarships for the spring semester.

It’s all hands on deck for Florida right now as it continues to battle injuries.

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Florida’s TE room just got tighter after ‘potentially career-ending’ injury

Terrible news for Gators fans and Gage Wilcox. We hope the best for the young man.

The tight end position has been an area where Florida football is running thin this spring and things just took a turn for the worst on Thursday. Head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] announced that redshirt freshman [autotag]Gage Wilcox[/autotag] suffered what he called a “potentially career-ending” injury during an early practice, joining redshirt freshman tight end [autotag]Nick Elksnis[/autotag] and sophomore tight end [autotag]Jonathan Odom[/autotag] in the medical tent.

According to Swamp247, Wilcox had missed practice over the past four sessions but could not be ascertained exactly when the injury occurred. When asked about the event, Napier offered, “It’s very unfortunate. That’s part of the game though.”

It is also still unclear exactly what the nature of the injury was.

The absence of Wilcox, Elksnis and Odom leaves only [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] as the lone active scholarship tight end on the roster this spring. However, the recent squeeze at the position has Napier and his staff trying out senior defensive end [autotag]Dante Zanders[/autotag] and walk-on junior linebacker [autotag]Noah Keeter[/autotag] as possible replacements.

The former was recruited as a three-star at the position out of high school and appeared there a total of 15 times in his freshman years. The latter was a two-way player in high school, with tight end being his role on the offensive side of the ball. So at the very least, there is some experience behind that shallow depth.

You can count on the Gators taking a serious look at the transfer portal in the coming weeks to help fill this gaping void. In Napier’s own words: “When you have three guys that get injured at a position that was already thin, it throws a little wrench in your plan.”

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Another Gator withdraws his name from the transfer portal

Another Gator is out of the transfer portal. Welcome back, Dante Zanders!

One day after reports came in that defensive end Lloyd Summerall III would be withdrawing his name from the transfer portal and returning to Florida, defensive lineman Dante Zanders became the second Gator to return to the program.

The rising redshirt senior will play for Billy Napier next season, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz. Zanders saw his most productive season with the Gators this year, recording six total tackles and half a sack across 12 games as a reserve defensive lineman. He previously played tight end for Florida and switched positions in 2020.

Zanders spent a little over a month in the transfer portal after entering on November 29. He was the first to leave after Billy Napier was named as Florida’s new coach, but whatever reservations Zanders had about the new regime seem to have settled down.

With Zanders and Summerall returning to Florida, only one player remains in the transfer portal for the Gators. Mohamoud Diabate, Florida’s leading tackler this year, has yet to make a decision, and Emory Jones hasn’t yet technically entered the portal. Those are two of the bigger names to announce, so it would make sense that Napier has met with them already.

Florida has already lost Jacob Copeland to Maryland, Gerald Mincey to Tenneessee and Khris Bogle to Michigan State.

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Pair of Florida football players enter the transfer portal

Offensive lineman Gerald Mincey and defensive end Dante Zanders have reportedly entered the transfer portal.

Whenever there’s a coaching change, you can expect some players to choose to leave in the fallout, especially in the transfer portal era. After announcing Billy Napier as the next head coach on Sunday, Florida saw two players choose to leave the program on Monday.

Per reports, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Gerald Mincey and redshirt junior defensive lineman Dante Zanders have entered the transfer portal, meaning that schools can now contact them as they look for a landing spot.

Mincey was a three-star recruit (per the 247Sports Composite) out of Fort Lauderdale in the 2020 recruiting class. He appeared in one game in 2020 as a redshirt freshman, seeing action in Florida’s Cotton Bowl loss to Oklahoma in the final game of the year, and he appeared in nine games in 2021 as a reserve offensive lineman.

Zanders was also a three-star recruit, but the Boca Raton product originally committed to Florida to play tight end. In his first two years on campus, he appeared in 15 games as a reserve tight end and didn’t record any stats. He moved to defensive end ahead of the 2020 season, and he appeared in every game after missing the season opener, totaling five tackles.

He appeared in every game in 2021 as a redshirt junior, but he still only totaled six tackles (four of which came against South Florida in Week 2) and half a sack.

These aren’t major losses for the Gators, but they will decrease their depth along the trenches heading into 2022. Napier may look to the transfer portal himself this offseason to help shore up the lines of scrimmage.

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