Florida redshirt sophomore Jordan Reed proved he could do a little bit of everything last season.
Reed bounced from tight end to receiver to quarterback throughout his redshirt freshman season. He finished with five touchdowns rushing, three touchdowns passing and one more receiving.
But under first-year coach Will Muschamp, Reed's role has been cemented. Reed enters this fall first on the depth chart at tight end. It's a position he intends to hold onto throughout the 2011 season.
“I'm excited about being the tight end,” Reed said. “It's been a lot easier on me than last year, knowing that I've just got to worry about one position.”
Reed, a New London, Conn., native, has reached out to fellow Connecticut native Aaron Hernandez for advice. Hernandez' last season at UF was Reed's first year on campus, and Hernandez quickly took the redshirt freshman under his wing. Hernandez, going into his second season with the New England Patriots, had 563 yards receiving and six touchdowns during a strong rookie campaign.
“We still talk all the time,” Reed said. “He tells me to watch film and learn the defense and coverages and it will be easier for me.”
Florida quarterback John Brantley said he expects the 6-foot-3, 237-pound Reed to thrive now that he's focusing on just one position.
“Jordan Reed is one of the best athletes on our team,” Brantley said. “Having him at tight end creates mis-matches on linebackers and we're excited about that. He's bought into that position.”
To prepare for tight end, Reed said he spent extensive time with Florida strength coach Mickey Marrotti in an effort to improve his upper-body strength.
“That's what I had to work on a lot this offseason,” Reed said. “That's been one of my main focuses, becoming a better blocker.”
Reed, who was recruited to Florida as a quarterback, found a silver lining in bouncing from quarterback to tight end last season.
“That's a lot mentally,” Reed said. “But it helped me out in the long run at tight end because reading the coverages at quarterback. I can also do that at tight end and get open a lot easier.”
