GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Raphael Andrades wanted to play at Florida so much, he would have turned down scholarship offers to other schools so he could walk on in Gainesville.

Thankfully for him, he doesn’t have to.

Florida signed the 6-foot, 190-pound three-star receiver out of Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln High School on Wednesday. He’s not a name Gators fans might recognize, but he was someone UF coach Will Muschamp had been keeping his eye on.

“We’ve recruited him all along,” Muschamps said. “He’s a guy that we liked. He did a great job in camp. That’s why you have a deep board.”

Andrades caught 41 passes for more than 800 yards and a single-season school-record 13 touchdowns last season. His offensive coordinator at Lincoln is former UF standout receiver Jacquez Green, who told GatorNation earlier Wednesday that Andrades wanted to play at UF so badly that he would have walked on.

UF desperately needs playmakers at receiver, and Andrades may have been some insurance in case the Gators don’t land four-star receiver Stefon Diggs (Olney, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel), who is scheduled to announce his choice on Feb. 10. The Gators also signed Latroy Pittman, a four-star player out of Citra, Fla./North Marion who enrolled early, but Muschamp said Pittman may play some safety, too.

Tight end U?

Florida may not have signed many playmakers at receiver, but they did lock up two of the nation's top tight ends.

Colin Thompson (Warminster, Penn./Archbishop Wood) and Kent Taylor (Land O'Lakes, Fla./Land O'Lakes) are ESPNU's No. 2 and 4 tight ends, respectively, and the pair gives the Gators six scholarship tight ends on the roster. In addition to the two freshmen, the Gators return sophomores A.C. Leonard and Clay Burton, redshirt junior Jordan Reed, and redshirt senior Omarius Hines.

Leonard, Reed and Hines combined to catch 43 passes last season.

Thompson (6-4, 252) caught 13 passes for 208 yards and four touchdowns, and Taylor (6-5, 225) caught 30 passes for 480 yards and five touchdowns last season.

"They complement each other very well," Muschamp said. "Both guys are guys we're really excited about."

Recruits get four-year deals

Every player that signed with Florida on Wednesday was given a four-year scholarship. Because of an NCAA rule change, schools are allowed to give athletes a four-year scholarship for the first time instead of the one-year renewable scholarships that were the norm in college athletics for years.

But while the four-year deal sounds better, there's really not much difference. Players can still be dismissed from a four-year scholarship for disciplinary or injury or health reasons just as they could from the one-year renewable deals. Schools are not allowed to pull scholarships for athletic reasons, regardless of whether it's a four-year or one-year deal.

Muschamp said most players and parents aren't aware that the previous scholarships were only for one year, anyway.

"At the end of the day, it's not a whole lot different than a single-year contract [other than] bringing them in in the spring and letting them sign that they have another year," Muschamp said. "I don't know that anybody tells them that they don't have four years on their deal when they sign their [one-year] scholarship."