Florida Gators tight end coach William Peagler leaving for NFL
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida tight ends coach William Peagler is leaving the Gators for a job with the Arizona Cardinals. On3’s Matt Zentiz was the first to report the news.
Peagler spent just one season in Gainesville. He previously spent two seasons as Michigan State’s running backs coach, helping the Spartans finish the 2021 regular season with a 10-2 record and reach their third New Year’s Six Bowl. Peagler and MSU defeated Pittsburgh in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 30 with a score of 31-21.
Peagler arrived at Florida and was tasked with coaching the tight ends. It was a group that was immediately struck with bad luck on the injury front. Jonathan Odom and Nick Elksnis both went down with injuries early in camp. That made two defensive linemen, Griffin McDowell, and Dante Zanders switch positions. Peagler also lost Kemore Gamble to the transfer portal and Gage Wilcox to an unspecified career-ending injury.
The tight end group was one of the weaker units for the Gators in 2022. More of an extension of the offensive line rather than pass-catching options, the unit hauled in just 30 catches in 2022.
Florida did get an influx of talent to the room heading into this season. Former defensive lineman Andrew Savaiinaea will make the move over to tight end this spring. An athletic, but undersized defensive lineman, Savaiinaea isn’t a stranger to the position having played some in high school. UF also brought in Tony Livingston who took a grey shirt in 2022.
The Gators are just 10 days from starting spring camp. Florida also lost defensive coordinator Patrick Toney to the NFL but have moved quickly to replace him.
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Gators replace Patrick Toney
News broke on Wednesday morning that Patrick Toney would be leaving to be the Arizona Cardinals defensive backs coach. Billy Napier worked quickly to replace Toney, hiring
“Austin Armstrong is indeed leaving Alabama and taking the defensive coordinator job at Florida, sources tell On3sports,” Zenitz said on Wednesday morning. “Armstrong was Southern Miss’ DC the last two years prior to joining the Bama staff in January.”
During his time in 2021 and 2022 at Southern Mississippi, Armstrong was the youngest coordinator in the NCAA. In 2022, Armstrong’s Southern Miss defense ranked 57th in total defense, giving up 372.2 yards per game and 5.4 yards per play.
Napier and Armstrong’s connection goes back to 2017 and 2018 when Armstrong served as a graduate assistant under Napier at UL.
