Since Kyle Pitts’ time as a Gator, when he became Florida’s all-time leader among tight ends in receiving yards (1,492), receptions (100), and touchdowns (18), the tight end position has been an overlooked — and often underutilized — part of UF’s offense.
Following a 2025 portal cycle under Billy Napier where Florida didn’t add a single transfer tight end, the Gators signed three in 2026 and added a four-star freshman hoping to bolster Jon Sumrall’s unit. UF also brought in Evan McKissack, who worked alongside Sumrall at both Troy and Tulane, as tight ends coach.
With players rolling into a spring routine in Gainesville, here’s what Florida’s four tight ends bring to the table ahead of the 2026 season:
Amir Jackson
A rising redshirt sophomore, Amir Jackson is set to enter his third season with the Gators. After redshirting his freshman year, Jackson logged a modest three receptions for 29 yards and a touchdown in 2025, largely playing behind Hayden Hansen and Tony Livingston.
McKissack spent time recruiting Jackson when he coached at Troy and got to know the young tight end early in the recruiting process. Though he didn’t land Jackson at Troy, McKissack said he’s excited to reunite with the 6-foot-5, 235-pound tight end at Florida. In fact, right when McKissack landed the job at UF, he made a point to spend time with Jackson’s family.
“I felt like that was God, be honest with you, because I love the kid,” McKissack said. “That's one thing in recruiting, is there's nothing like building relationships with these kids … he's doing some really good things.”
The newly hired tight ends coach is also excited to see how the Gators’ new additions at tight end will force Jackson to compete at his best. Though his production has been restricted by limited reps and a struggling Florida offense, Jackson has not only the speed and size, but the mental toughness to earn a spot in UF’s rotation.
“Amir is really taking off, especially from a mental standpoint,” McKissack said. “ I mean that joker’s in here practicing formations, aligning, assignment, execution, and I think that's been a really big focal point for his growth. That way he can play fast, because he is fast. I mean, heck, he clocked about 20 miles an hour a couple of weeks ago.”
Luke Harpring
Also entering 2026 as a redshirt sophomore, Luke Harpring has experience under UF’s new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and is set to bring a new skillset to Florida’s offense. He caught 13 passes for 158 yards as a Yellow Jacket in 2025 and was ranked the No. 13 tight end in the portal by 247sports transfer rankings.
Working with McKissack thus far, the coach has seen Harpring improve the physical aspects of his game. He said he’s challenged the transfer to help grow others around him and is pumped for the intangibles he brings to Gainesville.
“You see a guy like Luke Harpring playing the BYU game, the guy's got a freaking bum ankle, and he's busting his rear end,” McKissack said. “Those things are probably not a measurable type of quality, but those things I definitely was able to observe in watching their tape, and so fired up that they're here.”
Lacota Dippre
Heading into his redshirt junior campaign in 2026, Dippre came to Florida from a James Madison unit that went 12-2 in 2025. He caught 17 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore en route to a playoff berth for the Dukes.
With playoff experience, McKissack called Dippre a winner and expects the 6-foot-4 tight end to add depth to the tight end room. Along with a solid receiving line, Dippre earned a 70.2 run blocking grade and a 68.9 pass blocking grade in 2025, making him a dependable blocker under a tight ends coach who spent the past two seasons developing Tulane’s offensive line.
“The biggest thing that we were looking for, is in order to make this room more impactful, is we got to find guys from the right cloth,” McKissack said. “Dippre obviously at James Madison, was utilized in a lot of different ways, from special teams to even the offensive structure they had, and they went to the College Football Playoff.”
Evan Chieca
Rising senior Evan Chieca joined the Gators after three years as a New Haven Charger. He redshirted in 2023 before posting 43 receptions for 334 yards and five touchdowns across his next two seasons.
One of the biggest driving factors in his recruitment was his desire to be a Gator. McKissack was adamant that Chieca knew he wanted to be at Florida, and the Gators scooped him up after he made visits to Alabama, LSU and Kentucky in December. Moreover, Chieca is expected to further improve the depth of UF’s tight end room and add versatility to the offense as a vertical threat in 2026.
“Evan wanted to be a Florida Gator, and when you watch this film close enough, you saw his ability in a place like New Haven to play with a high motor, effort,” McKissack said. “Definitely gives us the ability to move him around, to be more in line at times and to open up this offense where we get in some good 12 personnel packages.”
Heze Kent
Heze Kent signed with the Gators in December and enrolled in January as a four-star tight end out of Brunswick, Georgia. Kent notched 95 receptions for 2,051 yards and 21 touchdowns and added 694 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns on 100 carries throughout high school and is expected to greatly develop at Florida.
Though Kent has been held back by injuries, he’s been pushing through and is becoming more available for workouts, according to McKissack.
UF’s tight ends coach also said Kent has combined “two really good weeks” and has been putting in extra work on the cardio deck. Cutting weight is something the Gators have been working on with the 305-pound tight end, targeting short-term goals in the spring rather than immediately jumping into long-term weight-loss goals. McKissack said Kent has great athleticism and has been gradually losing weight.
“Tremendous hands, can run, you know, a great – I don't even like to call it project – he's a great football player, he's got it in him,” McKissack said. ”The biggest thing is understanding, when a guy's a freshman and they come here, you're coming to play here. You're not coming just to be a Florida Gator, you're coming to play for the Florida Gators.”
With his weight posing a temporary roadblock to development, many at UF view Kent as a “project tackle”. However, McKissack stressed that the freshman came to Florida to play tight end and has been answering the challenge thus far. The key now is consistency.
“He can definitely do it,” McKissack said. “It's just about his ability to freaking go face each challenge each day.”
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is a junior sports journalism student in his fourth semester at The Alligator. He is currently the sports desk's football and enterprise beat writer, and previously served as a reporter for men's tennis, sports enterprise and football. He is currently pursuing a public relations minor and is an avid Duval sports fan. (#DTWD)
