Florida Gators 2022 Enrollee Profile: TE Arlis Boardingham
Arlis Boardingham, tight end
School: Birmingham (Calif.)
Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 235 pounds
On3 Consensus Ranking: Three-star, No. 542 (national), No. 19 (position, ATH)
Recruitment History
The cherry on top of Billy Napier's transition class.
Getting into the race for Boardingham late in the process, Florida utilized the previously established connection between the California native and former USC wide receivers coach Keary Colbert.
The two picked up where they left off when Colbert was recruiting Boardingham to the Trojans. Colbert served as the secondary recruiter alongside tight ends coach William Peagler on the hunt for the Van Nuys (Calif.) product.
Traveling across the country to the University of Florida in January, having docked one official visit to Texas, Boardingham got a glimpse of what his life would look like on the east coast if he were to take his talents to Gainesville.
Leaving impressed with what the Gators had to offer, he labeled Florida as a top-two contender with Oregon. The two programs — each under new leadership — were squaring off in a 50/50 battle, as he put it, for his pledge.
Following the last official visit of his process to Eugene (Ore.) from January 21-23, Boardingham began his strenuous decision-making process between the two illustrious programs.
Pushing back his commitment date from National Signing Day on February 2 to February 9, he waited over two weeks to announce his intentions for the future.
In the end, Florida won out over the Ducks. He gave the Gators their final commitment of the 2023 cycle and the most promising pass-catching prospect of the three tight ends they took.
Where Boardingham Fits
The Gators' new offensive system will be heavily dependent on the usage of tight ends. Boardingham will see plenty of early snaps as a result.
Following the spring, which saw multiple players at the position go down with injury and defenders flip to the spot out of need — most notably Dante Zanders and Noah Keeter — the probability of a true freshman tight end receiving a high snap count this season rose exponentially.
That, in large part, is due to that new scheme.
Set to operate in two tight end sets in a higher volume than most of college football in 2022, the Gators were tasked with hauling in adequate talent at the thin position.
That shined through in the staff's transition cycle as they pulled in three prospects.
With Boardingham, Hayden Hansen and Tony Livingston all bringing something different to the table, there is only one who is equipped to see substantial early playing time. That potential comes as a result of a lack of experience currently on the depth chart and the dual ability to perform as a pass catcher and blocker immediately upon arrival.
That player is Boardingham.
Following his commitment to the Gators, Napier coined Boardingham as a potential mismatch weapon for Florida, given his wide receiver-like skills in his tight end body.
"If you watch the tape closely, he’s really playing receiver, playing inside ‘backer and outside ‘backer. He was 6-[foot]-3 and quarter, 235 [pounds] on the visit and really has some growth potential. This is a track athlete. He ran an 11.4 [second] 100-meter last year as a junior at that size and could run even better than that this spring. He can go run the full route tree as a receiver if you watch the tape. He has some play strength and physicality on defense, so my experience would say those equate to a mismatch-type of player that we’ll be able to use him a lot of different ways on offense."
That ability to be more than an extension of the line of scrimmage fits the mold of versatility the staff has desired since they began the rebuilding process in December.
Boardingham will be one of the beneficiaries of the Gators' attempt to utilize youthful talent as they draw in positional depth for all units on the trail.
Zanders and the lone tight end on the roster with significant in-game experience for Florida, Keon Zipperer, are slated to receive the bulk of playing time to start the year.
However, Boardingham provides luxury for the Gators as they rotate to keep fresh legs on the field. He will likely be utilized most in the passing game this upcoming season, namely in short-yardage and goal-to-go situations.
However, as he progresses, Boardingham will become a familiar face in the Gators system as a multifaceted tight end prospect who can line up anywhere on the field.
His prowess as a red zone threat will be his early-career calling card as he matures into a starting role.
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