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The Florida Gator football team is headed to the Cotton Bowl for a match up with the Oklahoma Sooners. However, the Gators will be without a few key offensive players.
The Kyle to Kyle connection won’t be taking a trip to Texas. Tight end Kyle Pitts declared he is opting out of the bowl game in order to prepare for the NFL Draft.
Dreams are turning into reality..🙏🏽 #ForeverFlorida🐊 pic.twitter.com/lfNAfZMu2m
— Kyle Pitts👑 (@kylepitts__) December 20, 2020
In addition, the Gators’ top receiver, Kadarius Toney, has also opted out. Receiver Trevon Grimes and defensive back Marco Wilson declared they too will be focusing on preparing for the draft via Twitter.
Kyle to Kyle
When looking at top duos in college football it’s hard not to mention quarterback Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts. The Heisman Trophy finalist threw for 43 touchdowns on the season and connected with Pitts on 12 of them.
Pitts leads all Florida receivers with 12 touchdowns on the season. Furthermore, the tight end recorded 770 yards in his final season with the Gators.
However, what head coach Dan Mullen and the Florida offense will be missing the most is the mismatch Pitts can create. The size and ability of Pitts made him an offensive threat to all SEC opponents.
Despite missing the Cotton Bowl, Pitts earned an extensive amount of accolades for his performance this season. Pitts was named AP First Team All-American and AP First Team All-SEC. In addition he was the only tight end to be named a Biletnikoff Award finalist. To top it all off, the tight end also finished 10th in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Florida Top Receivers
The Florida offense wouldn’t be nearly as explosive without the contributions of Toney.
https://twitter.com/0fficialC2N/status/1343625034028490754
The receiver leads the Gators with 984 yards on the season and also scored 10 touchdowns. As an all-around playmaker, Toney also played a role in the Florida run game and special teams. He contributed 161 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. When it comes to special teams, Toney was one of Florida’s top punt returners.
The Florida offense will also be without Grimes. The wide receiver recorded nine touchdowns for the Florida offense and became one of Trask’s top targets.
The Gators’ will also be without receiver Jacob Copeland. Copeland will miss the Cotton Bowl due to testing positive for COVID-19.
The Florida offense will look slightly different when the Gators face Oklahoma on December 30. But, this will be a chance to see the next men up for Florida Gator football.
