Dante Zanders rises to the top of the UF depth chart

Florida Gators tight end Dante Zanders was at the top of the depth chart for his position when it was released on Wednesday evening.

It’s a result that turned some heads as Zanders made the move back to tight end following a number of injuries at the position throughout spring practice.

Zanders has seen both sides of the football in his time with the Gators. He started as a tight end through his first two seasons. Before the 2020 season, it was announced that he would be moving to the defensive line.

Now, he’s back at tight end and will see serious snaps on Saturday against No. 7 Utah and throughout the season.

Zanders now back to offense

Playing defense has proven to be beneficial to the Boca Raton native as he’s transitioned back to offense.

“With our old scheme, we used to drop, and we would slant inside and everything,” Zanders told Gators Online and others. “So like I can see from their body language like what they’re doing, if they’re going to drop, if they’re going to rush around the edge, if they’re going to try to come inside, and also help me be more physical.

“I feel like, when I first came in and my confidence wasn’t as high as it is now because I wasn’t really like — I was a smaller guy. I wasn’t really as big as the defensive ends that we used to play against. So playing defense and just hitting every day during practice and banging with the offense and tackles and each other just built my confidence to tight end to help me with my blocking.”

The tight end group as a whole

Considering the Florida offense will feature two tight end sets, Zanders wasn’t really focused on the depth chart to begin with.

“Everybody in the tight end room, everybody in every room looks for everybody’s success,” he said. “My individual success is going to bring the team their individual success. So that’s why everybody sees, if the team wins, everybody wins.”

Alongside Zanders on the depth chart was fellow tight end Keon Zipperer, who will also see significant playing time on Saturday.

“Keon has been a great help,” he said. “Me and him out there, we constantly talk. He’ll ask me questions. I’ll ask him questions, just things that we both still need to learn to improve on since this is really both of our first years like actually playing multiple reps at the position.”

Napier on the rising tight end

Florida head coach Billy Napier reflected Wednesday night on Zanders’ path from backup defensive lineman to starting tight end.

“Dante Zanders, where would we be without the guy? He’s been a godsend and certainly, what a great kid to be around,” Napier said. “He’s got a great story. I can still remember when we first got here and he walks in the office and he’s thinking about leaving.

“It’s a great story. We had a couple injuries in spring ball. He makes the move. He’s a very bright kid. He picks it up quickly. I think the guy’s got a future. He’s 6-5, 260-pounds. He’s heavy-handed, strong at the point of attack. He can run, he can catch and he’s smart enough to process it all. I think to play that position you have to be very intelligent.”  

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