Former Gators TE Kyle Pitts Presented Mackey Award, All-American Brick

The Florida Gators aren't shy about honoring one of its greats, and no one has been better than former Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, earning the John Mackey Award and a All-American brick to former remember him.

Former Florida Gators tight end Kyle Pitts has been immortalized in Gainesville, earning a brick in his honor as an All-American tight end as a member of the Florida football program. Pitts was also presented with his John Mackey Award, given to the nation's top tight end.

Forever a Gator Legend. pic.twitter.com/xZbLkAnFQs

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) April 1, 2021

“Just, thank you,” Pitts said to his support systems in the crowd after rattling off several names, according to the press release by the school.

While Pitts was the one saying "thank you" last night, certainly the entirety of the Florida fanbase, coaches, staff and onlookers are the ones to say thank you to the star-studded tight end, destined to be a top-10 pick in this year's upcoming draft.

In 2020, Pitts would reach remarkable highs during his final season at Florida. He accounted for 43 receptions for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns in just eight games played. He would go down as perhaps a generational talent at the position, seemingly effortlessly out-playing the competition down to linebackers, safeties and even cornerbacks.

“Everybody’s having a hard time trying to put you in a box,” Brewster said, directing his comment to Pitts in the crowd. “And what exactly is he? Is he a wideout, is he a tight end? All I know is this, I think he’s the best football player in America.”

The best football player in America. While those are strong words from Gators tight ends coach Tim Brewster, he might be onto something. Both ESPN's Mel Kiper and NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah, perhaps the two most respected draft analysts in the nation right now, have Pitts as their No. 2-prospect in the country.

“To go up and visit with you and visit with your family – Kyle, I want to thank you, I want to thank your parents for trusting me,’’ Gators head coach Dan Mullen said. “The decision to come here is not something that I take lightly, it’s something I take seriously … I thank you for trusting me with your future.”

The Mackey award has long been one of the most prestigious in the country, it holds weight in any regard, similar to the Biletnikoff Award for the receiver position. And Pitts is perhaps the best one to win it, at least in a long time.

“I put (Kyle Pitts) up against every award recipient as far as on the field and off the field,” Jerry Mackey, the nephew and godson of John Mackey said. “So that does us proud when we can find young men that have high character and have high aspirations for not only themselves, but for others.”

In the end, Pitts became the first unanimous first-team All-American for Florida since Vernon Hargreaves III in 2015. He was also the first-ever tight end to be named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, and the first finalist for Florida since Jabar Gaffney in 2001. 

Next up for Pitts is the NFL, a place where he is destined to prove to be one of, if not the greatest to ever do it.