Gerald Christian puts weight on own shoulders

Rewind five years and relocate to Dwyer High, a tree-dotted campus just north of the busiest intersection in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

At any Dwyer football practice in 2009, observers could see future Louisville tight end Gerald Christian, Florida State tight end Nick O'Leary, North Carolina State quarterback Jacoby Brissett, Tennessee linebacker Curt Maggitt, former Louisville receiver Robert Clark, Baltimore Ravens safety Matt Elam, Maryland defensive tackle Keith Bowers and at least another handful of future Mid-American Conference players.

All on one field. All in the same uniform.

"I mean, at least 10 college coaches would come in every day," said Brissett. || "It still didn't seem like enough."

That 2009 season, Christian's final high school team claimed the Florida Class 4A state championship, winning its playoff games with lopsided certainty, posting wins of 53-0, 65-7, 42-6, 41-15 and 42-14.

It was a pivotal year in the development of Christian, who stands to be an integral part of new Louisville coach Bobby Petrino's offense and appears primed to be one of the top tight ends in college football.

That season's experience, Christian said, built the foundation for where he is now.

He played tight end, receiver, fullback and linebacker as a high school senior. After winning the state title, Christian played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in Texas and signed to play at Florida with Elam and Clark, his best friend.

"We worked really, really hard," Christian said. "My last year, we just said we weren't graduating without a state championship and we went out and got it done. It was a big year for me."

That season also turned out to be the last stable football campaign for Christian for a few years.

Christian's main recruiter from Florida, Charlie Strong, left to become the head coach at Louisville after the 2009 season. Florida head coach Urban Meyer resigned a year later.

After redshirting as a freshman in 2010, Christian spent spring practice in 2011 at linebacker before switching back to tight end in the fall.

He became increasingly frustrated under new coach Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.

Christian vented to Clark, who empathized. Brissett, then a freshman quarterback at Florida, could sense that his friends wanted out.

"(Christian) was doing what the coaches asked him to do, then all the sudden he wasn't playing," said Brissett, who eventually left Florida, too.

"I was with (Christian and Clark) in film and team meetings and you could see they weren't being used. It was weird."

The connection to Strong made a Louisville transfer easy for Christian and Clark.

At 6 feet 3, 244 pounds, Christian's first year at U of L was spent on the scout team, giving future NFL safety Calvin Pryor and linebacker Preston Brown what Christian calls "realistic looks" at a big tight end.

Those practices helped Christian in 2013, when he caught 28 passes for 426 yards and four touchdowns.

But Christian, friends and fans alike couldn't shake the feeling that he was being underused again, this time under former Louisville offensive coordinator Shawn Watson.

"With Coach Watson's system, it was more like we had schemes and you just ran the scheme," Christian said.

"With Coach Petrino, there are plays targeted for me. … He's good at putting people in a position where it's hard on the defense."

That excites Christian, who set personal bests this summer with a 430-pound bench press and a 495-pound squat. He swears he doesn't follow NFL draft coverage, but he's studied how Petrino has used tight ends in the past.

That's reason enough, he said, to set a personal goal of 100 catches in 2014, which might be his stablest football season since 2009.

"I strive to be the best. I want to be the best," Christian said. "I have high expectations. I want to be the best tight end in the nation, so I just have to keep working."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).