WATCH: Florida TE Keon Zipperer bulldozes Tennessee defenders on wild touchdown catch and run
No. 20 Florida took the lead on No. 11 Tennessee on Saturday with one of the most impressive runs after the catch you’ll see this weekend. Right after converting a fourth down, quarterback Anthony Richardson found tight end Keon Zipperer down the right sideline for a long completion and let Zipperer do the rest.
Zipperer caught the pass around the 22-yard line with defensive back Kamal Hadden trailing. The catch slowed him down and allowed Hadden to attempt a tackle around the waist, to no avail.
The veteran Florida tight end spun out of the tackle and then absolutely bulldozed fellow defensive back Trevon Flowers to power his way into the end zone as Hadden tried unsuccessfully to strip the ball. End result: 44-yard touchdown pass to put Florida ahead in the game 7-3 with 12:41 left to play in the first half.
Florida had converted a key fourth-down just moments earlier when Richardson rolled to his right and found tight end Dante Zanders open near the right sideline. The Gators have used their tight ends heavily against the Volunteers early on despite little usage in the passing game over the first three weeks.
Coach Billy Napier has not been shy on fourth down early on, either.
The Gators have attempted three fourth-down conversions in the game and picked up two of them. Florida converted one on fourth-and-1 from its own 39-yard line, but failed on a fourth-and-2 from the Tennessee 20-yard line later on the same drive with the chance to kick a field goal.
Saturday’s matchup is a key SEC East matchup, one in a series that has been dominated by Florida of late.
The Gators have won 16 of the last 17 in the series but entered Saturday’s contest as a 10.5-point underdog to the Volunteers.