Tight end Tre McKitty (6-4, 225, Bradenton, FL IMG Academy) is one of the top tight ends on the Florida Gators recruiting board and last weekend he participated in the IMG 7-on-7 tournament.
McKitty, who is known for his catching abilities more than his blocking abilities, believes these tournaments help his game.
“Yes, these events help me, being split out wide is better for my game,” McKitty said. “I’m not really an in-line guy, but I can block when I have too. Being split out and able to catch the ball is better for my game.”
That playmaking ability is something that Jim McElwain likes out of his tight ends and two months ago McKitty visited the Gators and enjoyed the trip.
“Florida is always good, it’s just right down the street for me,” he said of his Florida visit. “It’s always a good time up there, talking to the coaches and hanging out with the players. They always show me a good time.”
So far there are only a handful of prospects on the Florida Gators recruiting board for tight ends and that’s something the Gators told McKitty, as he gets the full court press from Florida.
“They tell me that they’re low on tight ends and that I’m high on their board,” McKitty said. “I talk to all of the coaches from Florida and that’s something that I really like about them. I would say that I talk to Chris Rumph the most, but you know I talk to everybody which I really like.”
When McKitty got to talk to McElwain the Gators head coach explained that the tight end would be used like a lot Jake McGee was used at Florida.
“Coach McElwain tells me that they will use me just like Jake was when he was there,” he said. “I got to meet Jake right before the season started last season and he was telling me about the position and how we was used. I liked what I heard from him.”
McKitty has had the chance to speak with McGee several times in the past and he says the former tight end loved his experience at Florida.
“Jake told me that his time was great at Florida,” McKitty said. “He said when he got down here the new coaching staff was great with him and he said he was really excited about the new coaching staff. He liked it a lot.”
A few months ago McKitty decommitted from Miami and he now plans to wait a while before making another decision, but he does have some visits lined up.
“The only visit I have taken so far is to Florida when I visited in January,” he said. “I have a visit set up for Auburn on the 26th but that’s it right now. I do want to visit Tennessee and North Carolina. I’m taking everything slow right now because my dad won’t let me commit until I have taken all of my official visits. I’m graduating early so it will have to be pretty quick.”
INSIDERS TAKE: McKitty is a guy that Florida is very high on. Early on the Gators appear to be in good shape with the tight end. McKitty hasn’t visited a lot of schools so look for him to visit schools this spring and summer to get a better feel for things.