Report: Two Florida Gators TEs to Miss Remainder of Spring Camp

Two Florida Gators tight ends are battling shoulder injuries, AllGators can confirm.

Photo: Jonathan Odom; Credit: Alex Shepherd

The Florida Gators tight end room will be thin on scholarship tight ends throughout the final three weeks of spring camp. 

Redshirt sophomore tight end Jonathan Odom (torn labrum) and redshirt freshman tight end Nick Elksnis (broken scapula) will be sidelined for the remainder of spring camp due to injuries suffered in practices. The pair of injuries were first reported by Jacob Rudner of 247Sports. 

AllGators can confirm Elksnis' injury via a program source. Odom, meanwhile, shared through Twitter on Saturday that he will undergo surgery to heal his shoulder on Wednesday.

In addition, redshirt freshman Gage Wilcox was not seen by AllGators in the media viewing portion of practice on Thursday or Saturday.

Due to a lack of positional depth from these injuries, redshirt senior defensive lineman Dante Zanders was seen taking reps at tight end throughout the past week of practices in the media viewing portion of workouts. Redshirt junior and walk-on linebacker Noah Keeter also made the move to tight end. 

Zanders spent the first two years of his Gators career at the tight end position before moving to the defensive line before the 2020 season, while Keeter played tight end and defensive line at local Buchholz (Fla.) High School before making it to the college ranks.

Odom and Elksnis have been expected to see their roles increase in the Gators' offense behind senior projected starter Keon Zipperer, following 2021 starter Kemore Gamble's offseason departure to UCF. 

New head coach Billy Napier runs an offense known for its 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) groupings, which requires deeper tight end depth than Florida fans were used to under former head coach Dan Mullen. 

The Gators will welcome three tight end prospects to campus over the summer which should help bolster depth at the position: King's (Fla.) Tony Livingston, Weatherford's (Texas) Hayden Hansen and Birmingham's (Calif.) Arlis Boardingham.

Stay tuned to AllGators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @SI_AllGators on Twitter and Florida Gators on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.