Florida Gators add Air Force tight end in Caleb Rillos

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•04/17/24•

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators have landed their first commitment from the transfer portal. Former Air Force tight end Caleb Rillos plans to enroll at the University of Florida and will walk on to the football team. Rillos graduated from the Air Force in three years and wants to pursue an MBA or a Master’s in mechanical engineering.

Rillos made eight starts and appeared in 21 games over the past two seasons. The tight end only has three receptions for 70 yards and one touchdown in two seasons but that is playing for an Air Force offense that ran the ball 1,521 times to just 192 pass attempts over the past two seasons.

Originally from Golden, Colorado, Rillos lettered in football, basketball and lacrosse at Ralston Valley High School. He was named to the first-team all-state honors in football as a senior. Rillos recorded 57 catches for 766 yards and 12 touchdowns his senior year while graduating as the class valedictorian with a 4.5 grade point average.

Florida Gators tight end scholarship chart

Total scholarships used SeniorJuniorSophomoresFreshmen
Tight end6Keon Zipperer*Arlis Boardingham*
Hayden Hansen*
Tony Livingston		Amir Jackson^
Gavin Hill*

How Caleb Rillos fits into the Florida tight end room

Russ Callaway has a lot of players in his room but what exactly does he have? Arlis Boardingham and Hayden Hansen have ascended the depth chart this spring. Boardingham is an athletic pass catcher who continues to make strides as a blocker. While not the same type of athlete as Boardingham, Hansen is the more well-rounded tight end at this time. Senior Keon Zipperer has not been able to return to practice since injuring his knee in March of 2023. Tony Livingston continues to come along and Gavin Hill has moved from the defensive line to tight end this offseason.

The Gators are excited about Amir Jackson, who is an ultra-athletic tight end scheduled to enroll this summer. Rillos will walk on with two years to play and he brings experience to the group with a lot of blocking film from his days running the wing-t at Air Force. He showed athleticism in high school as a pass catcher and Florida was one of several schools that reached out to the soon-to-be Gator.

Rillos should be able to compete with the other guys already in the room and could be a surprise player when the Gators return to the field this summer.

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