As the Gators search for a new crop of playmakers following the departures of their top-3 receivers from last season, a pair of highly touted freshmen are pushing for early playing time.
Tight end Nick Elksnis will probably unfairly be compared to Kyle Pitts throughout his career. He’s wearing the No. 84 jersey like Pitts, he’s almost the same size as Pitts and his skillset is similar to Pitts’. He averaged more than 19 yards per reception and scored 12 touchdowns over his final two seasons at the Episcopal School of Jacksonville.
Elksnis has been one of the biggest stars of Dan Mullen’s Instagram Live streams this fall. He’s made several catches where he’s had to jump up and high-point the ball between two defenders. And he’s done that to front-line defensive players, too; he’s not just taking advantage of walk-ons.
Those are the types of plays that you can’t coach, and they have fans and his teammates excited for what his future might hold. Elksnis should have a role as a bigger wide receiver this year and take over as the starting tight end in a year or two once he improves his blocking.
“He’s tough,” redshirt senior Kemore Gamble said. “He’s a tough – I keep trying to cuss – he’s tough. And he’s tall and long, he’s fast, he’s athletic.
“He’s like a brick wall. He’s got muscle in his hands.”
Elksnis is a walking mismatch that Mullen is probably giddy about getting to build his offense around as he gets older and more refined in the techniques of the position. At 6-foot-6 and 243 pounds, he’s way too strong and physical for a defensive back to cover. He’s too fast and athletic for a linebacker to cover.
So, what do you do as a defense to stop him? The only option you have is to double-team him, which will open things up for another receiver on the play.
One of the beneficiaries of that could be Marcus Burke, a top-200 wide receiver from Jacksonville. He presents similar mismatch problems as Elksnis. At 6-foot-4, he has a huge catch radius, and he can box out defenders on slants and back-shoulder throws. He’s also athletic enough to beat defensive backs over the top and get open out of the slot.
He caught 66 passes for 1,341 yards and 13 touchdowns over his final two years of high school and led Trinity Christian Academy to the 2020 state championship.
Burke has won a bunch of his one-on-one battles in fall camp, and he’s made several diving catches. He just seems to have a knack for getting open that belies his youth. He should compete to be the fifth or sixth receiver in the rotation this season.
Mullen is pleased with what he’s seen from Elksnis and Burke and is excited about what they’re going to do down the road.
“They’re doing good, learning,” Mullen said. “There’s a lot of learning curve. They’re out there getting reps. You can see both of them are going to have really bright futures with us with how they play. They both have excellent skillsets.
“Obviously, Nick has a little advantage having gone through spring. He had the opportunity to go through spring, so, coming out there, he at least knows how practices work, knows what’s going on. He’s run the plays in the offense once before. Both of them are going to have really good futures with us.”