Photo caption: Archbishop Wood’s Kyle Pitts holds #6 Florida’s single-season and career records for touchdowns from a tight end. His 11 TD catches are the most from a Gator since 2001.
By Don Leypoldt
Published in the December 10th Bucks County Herald
Halfway through the first quarter in Florida’s October 10th game at Texas A&M, Gator junior tight end Kyle Pitts broke free from the line of scrimmage and outjumped two Aggie defenders to grab a 5-yard touchdown toss from quarterback Kyle Trask.
The location? A&M’s Kyle Field.
The 6’6” Pitts made SEC end zones his personal Kyle Field this year. Pitts captured the nation’s attention in Florida’s 51-35 opening win at Ole Miss by becoming the third FBS tight end in 25 years to have 150+ receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns in one game.
“(Kyle) has the size so he can go over the top of DBs,” said Florida head coach Dan Mullen after the Mississippi game. “He can run away from (line) backers. He’s got tremendous athletic ability to go catch the ball and he’s really developed much better as a blocker. When you combine those things, defensively, who do you put on him?
“He’s kind of a unicorn, right?” Mullen added.
Despite missing 2 ½ games to injury, Pitts’ 11 touchdown catches rank third most in the country. The #6 Gators’ (8-1) explosiveness reminds pundits of Florida’s “Fun-N-Gun” offense which won six SEC titles- and a national championship- between 1991 and 2000.
“I always knew that Florida was a top school,” Pitts explained. “When I got the opportunity to come here, I thought, ‘There was nothing but tradition here so this is something I’ve got to keep on.’ Maybe I can set a new tradition or set new things so that people after me, just like I looked back at them, could look at me.”
“His acceleration and stride,” are where Archbishop Wood head coach Matt Walp sees the biggest improvement since Pitts’ matriculation to Gainesville. “It’s the difference between someone in your hip pocket versus accelerating so there is now a three or four yard cushion,” Walp continued. “When you’re able to break away from individuals at the best of the best in the SEC, that’s something special.”
Wood’s Pitts snagged two more touchdown passes in game two against South Carolina. The A&M score gave Pitts 13 career TD catches, setting a new Florida record for tight ends.
“You can put volumes of information on him and he gets it,” noted Florida tight end coach Tim Brewster. “Football coaches look at: Do concepts that you teach make sense to a player? Kyle can take information from the meeting room, take it onto the field and execute it flawlessly.
“Everyone in the National Football League is good to a certain extent,” Brewster continued. “What separates players in the NFL are the ones who truly become students of the game. Kyle has really embraced being a student of the game.”
Pitts’ 2020 ups and downs were more severe than most. He caught seven touchdowns in Florida’s first three games, then COVID forced the Gators into a three-week sabbatical. Halfway through the Georgia game, Florida’s second contest back, Pitts took a vicious hit and was forced into concussion protocol.
Then on Florida’s sixth play from scrimmage in his return, Pitts galloped 56 yards for the first of three touchdowns against Kentucky.
“It’s been a unique journey,” Pitts reflected. “But I tell myself to stay true to the path and be persistent. Whatever happens, happens but make sure there is nothing held back.”
Pitts always possessed elite receiving skills. His 54 catches and 649 yards both ranked among FBS tight end leaders in 2019. “I think it’s preparation,” Pitts credited. “Kyle (Trask) and I spend a lot of time together after, before and during practice. We hone in on the details, to make sure we get everything right.”
This year, Pitts focused on improving his blocking. “I asked Kyle ‘Does he want to truly become a complete player?’ A guy who can block for the run on first or second down, a guy who can win in the passing game on third down,” mused Brewster. “That is a big transition – to go from not doing much in the run game to someone who is very fundamentally sound, who comes off of the ball and strikes with confidence.”
“If I wanted to make it to the next level, and I have aspirations for that, you can’t be a one trick pony,” Pitts stated. “I don’t want to be someone that they say that about. This offseason, I did my best to try and gain weight and get stronger in the run game, so they can say ‘He blocks and catches.’”
“Kyle Pitts,” Brewster emphasized, “is willing to match his athleticism and his blessings with a work ethic. Kyle has embraced the Grind.”
“I’ve always trained with people who are great competitors like (Detroit Lion) D’Andre Swift and (Georgia’s) Mark Webb,” Pitts said. “There are a lot of guys who I’ve trained with who pushed me since I was younger. It’s always made me have an edge.
“We always liked competing so whether it’s working out, if we’re in the film room or on the field, we’re competing,” Pitts concluded.
A high school All-American, Pitts caught a touchdown pass in both the 2016 and 2017 PIAA 5A state title games. Wood won both games convincingly.
“It’s sometimes hard for individuals, when they are that size and that athletic, to understand how to use that frame to their advantage,” Walp noted. “That’s a key element in that tight end/wide out position. I think where he started to improve significantly here is how to run good routes, but also use his body the way that he does. To position himself so that a defensive back has to go through him to get the football.”
“Wood was an extended family. When I transferred from Abington, everyone at the school welcomed me with open arms,” Pitts shared. “I met some people where I have everlasting relationships with.”
“Kyle has such a good foundation at home with his parents and that resonates,” Walp feels. “In our program, he led by example. Even after coming off of practice, he’d be down there working on his footwork, on his drills, doing everything by himself sometimes. He always put in that body of work.
“His smile is infectious. He represents someone who is excited about what they wanted to do,” Walp continued.
In describing the NFL Draft’s best tight end prospect, Walp ironically recalls a defensive play in the 2016 title game.
“We were playing against Harrisburg and Micah Parsons, who is also a special player. Kyle was playing defensive end and he came and lit Mr. Parsons up,” Walp remembers. “He did things on both sides of the ball for us that were special. That shows someone who was not selfish, and that will never be bigger than the team.”
Most mock NFL drafts peg Pitts as a top 15 selection. “Pitts is a twitchy athlete with terrific size and even better ball skills to attack the football before defenders can disrupt the window,” wrote The Athletic’s (italics) Dane Bugler in November.
“In the Georgia game, we blocked a power scheme where the tight end is matched on a much bigger defensive end. Kyle’s foot work, his hand placement, his speed coming off of the ball,” Brewster described, “produced a flawless block and, to me, a turning point kind of play.
“Everyone sees him go up top, catch vertical passes and score touchdowns. But seeing him execute the run game responsibility that he had on that particular play was enlightening,” Brewster continued. “Every coach strives to have the ultimate trust with his players. I trust Kyle Pitts. Kyle is prepared for the moment. He executes at his best when he is needed the most. That’s (italics) a football player.”
“Accolades are one thing but how are you going to be remembered as a person?” Walp asked rhetorically. “Kyle will be remembered in both avenues. I think the world of him, and nothing but success is going to follow him in whatever he ends up doing.”
