Kyle Pitts proves he’s the best TE in the nation in Florida’s opener

We should hand Florida football’s Kyle Pitts the John Mackey Award already.

Kyle Pitts showed us he’s the best tight end in the country in Florida football’s first 2020 victory.

The Florida Gators went into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday afternoon with a few statements to make. Though some argued the Gators could be upset by Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels in his Oxford debut, Dan Mullen had no time for this nonsense. He devised a game plan to allow Pitts and quarterback Kyle Trask to thoroughly dominate in the first window on Saturday.

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Can Kyle Pitts put together the best tight end season in college history?

Though Ole Miss did put up points in this one, Kiffin’s Rebels offense couldn’t hang with what Mullen drew up. He’s used to beating the Rebels from his previous job and certainly didn’t let Ole Miss fans forget about that. Trask had a field day through the air by completing 30-of-42 passes for 416 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. His favorite target Saturday was clearly Pitts.

In his 2020 season debut, Pitts led the Gators in seemingly every major receiving category. He had eight catches for 170 yards and four touchdowns against the overwhelmed Landshark defense of Ole Miss. Those were all team-best marks. Only running back Nay’quan Wright averaged more yards per catch (25.0) on the day for Florida than did Pitts (21.3). What a performance by Pitts!

Though Florida will only play 10 conference games this season, possibly as many as 13 if the Gators make the College Football Playoff and reach the national championship, you can’t put a price on the competition Trask and the Florida offense will go up against. They’re only going to play Power 5 teams, which only elevates his candidacy for the best season by a college tight end ever.

What blew our minds today from Pitts was the array of touchdowns he scored for the Gators. His first one was your typical one-yard reception to take an early lead. His second towards the end of the half was an incredible 15-yard diving grab that turned our heads. His third was a jaw-dropping 71-yarder with an assert your dominance stiff arm in it. As for the fourth, it just wasn’t even fair.

Pitts’ SEC opener performance vs. Ole Miss caught the attention of ESPN’s NFL Draft expert Todd McShay. He complimented the entire Florida offense, saying the running back room is strong, but the real key here is he said Pitts is the best tight end in college football. The NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has compared him favorably to Darren Waller of the Las Vegas Raiders.

What Saturday in Oxford showed us is Trask might be a Heisman Trophy contender, and possibly a first-round pick at quarterback. He’s really thriving in Mullen’s offense. As for Pitts, I mean, what else can you say? He just hauled in more touchdown grabs than some Power 5 teams may get all season long from the tight end position. Pitts is a lock to be the first tight end drafted next spring.

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