At Riverside, Tae'shaun Gelsey is a man for all seasons.
In the fall, he's a powerful receiver with the height, strength and athletic punch to give defensive backs nightmares. In the winter, he's an all-around threat on the court for the Generals' playoff-chasing basketball squad.
What's not to like?
A multi-talented athlete who's leading the Generals' march toward a potential playoff berth in Florida high school football, Gelsey joins the Times-Union's Super 11 list for top-rated prospects in the 2024 FHSAA season in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida.
Whichever sport he's playing, Gelsey brings big-time skills.
After a sophomore football season with 32 catches for 503 yards and five touchdowns, he upped his stats even further in 2023 with 48 receptions for 859 yards and nine touchdowns. Then came hoops season, when he averaged nearly a double-double (13.3 points, 9.8 rebounds) in the Generals' run to the regional second round.
For Gelsey, the two-sport approach has paid dividends.
"It's very helpful with muscles, conditioning, teamwork, being able to pass, being able to be a leader at that," Gelsey said. "So basketball has played a big part in my football."
Whatever the sport, few Gateway Conference recruits in this decade have risen faster from junior year to senior year.
At the end of June, Gelsey announced his commitment to Florida, picking the in-state Gators ahead of Auburn, UCF, Kentucky, Tulane and Wake Forest. With the Gators, he said, the coaching staff plans to deploy him in a combination slot tight end role.
In any pass-catching position, Gelsey is a tough matchup because of his combination of size, strength and pure playmaking energy. His model receivers, he said, are Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins, "receivers that aren't the fastest but can get open and use their bodies."
The best part for Riverside? Gelsey is no one-man band.
He's part of a dynamic wideout combination along with Myles Kendrick, who committed to Indiana during the same June ceremony in which Gelsey selected the Gators.
"It means the world, because he's like a brother to me," Gelsey said.
It's quite a pairing on the stat sheet. Kendrick caught 40 passes for 710 yards and nine touchdowns last year, plus a 100-yard pick-six on defense. Factor in the return of quarterback Glenn Foreman III and running back Shermon Davis, and the net result is big trouble for opponents.
"This year, it's going to make for a lot of big plays for both of us," Gelsey said. "With him being on the other side of the field, it takes a lot of pressure off, just knowing that they can't guard both of us."
Before he heads to Gainesville, Gelsey has unfinished business in Jacksonville with a Generals team that improved by four games last year, from 5-7 to 9-3.
"We're a real young team and a lot of people are looking up to me," Gelsey said. "I'm making sure that they can look up to me and know to do what's right."