2023 Florida Football Position Preview: Wide Receivers

Florida’s wide receiver room is young, but at the top of the depth chart is Ricky Pearsall, a fifth-year player ready to lead an inexperienced group and serve as a lifeline for new quarterback Graham Mertz.

Pearsall flirted with the draft for a bit after the Las Vegas Bowl, but he opted to come back to Florida and is the unquestioned leader among UF wide receivers in 2023. With that said, Pearsall still might not be the most talented player on the roster.

Before Keary Colbert left Billy Napier’s staff for the NFL, he brought in a trio of elite wide receivers. All three freshmen could see playing time this season, and most are expecting them too.

It’s an interesting group catching passes this year in the Swamp, but uncertainty doesn’t mean doom. Syncing up with Mertz is what will matter most, and Napier has already shown he’s willing to use whoever is playing best to find that chemistry on the field.

Here’s a look at each of the wide receivers on Florida’s roster.

Starter: No. 1 Ricky Pearsall (Sr.*)

Receiving Stats:

There’s no doubt that Ricky Pearsall is the top receiver on Florida’s roster. He even wears the number proudly on his chest, knowing what it means to don the No. 1 jersey in Gainesville.

Pearsall spent 2022 as Florida’s primary slot receiver following a three-year stint at Arizona State. He put together a career year and considered the NFL draft but opted to come back for another year in the Swamp. He’s looking to build on a 661-yard season and score more than five touchdowns in 2023.

Following the departures of Justin Shorter and Xzavier Henderson, Pearsall’s role in Florida’s offense should change. He’ll still line up in the slot often, but it won’t be surprising to see him out wide either. He’s also going to be returning punts to start the year.

Pearsall is a crisp route runner that has NFL potential if he can stand out as one of the premier talents in the SEC this season.

Starter: No. 88 Marcus Burke (R-So.)

Receiving Stats:

Even though Pearsall is the team’s top receiver, he’s not expected to be the team’s starting ‘X’ receiver, who is typically out wide on the weak side of the line. That could be Marcus Burke, who has a bit more size at 6-foot-4 inches and 199 pounds.

Pearsall’s route-running prowess allows him to carve up defenders in the middle of the field, but Burke can go challenge one over the top and win a physical battle.

It’s reasonable to expect Burke, and the entire wide receiver rotation, to change throughout the year, but a third-year player with 11 college games under his belt is more likely to start the season off than a freshman still learning the playbook.

Burke has played some ‘Z’ receiver in the past, so you can expect to see him on the heavy side of the line as well throughout the year, especially if one of the freshmen steps up.

Starter: No. 2 Caleb Douglas (So.)

Receiving Stats:

Caleb Douglas played in eight straight games as a freshman and could take over the ‘X’ receiver spot from Burke at some point, but 247Sports is projecting him as the starting ‘Z’ receiver to start the season, meaning he’ll line up out wide on the same side of the line as the tight end/slot receiver.

Douglas’ debut came against Eastern Washington last year, and he reeled in his first career reception for a 62-yard touchdown. He started two games for the Gators. The first came against South Carolina where he led all receivers with 53 yards and three catches, and the second was the Las Vegas Bowl.

It’s far from a guarantee that Douglas will be a starter all season for Florida, but he seems like a lock to start the year with a significant role in the wide receiver rotation.

Backup: No. 0 Ja'Quavion Fraziars (Sr.)

Receiving Stats:

Ja’Quavion Fraziars hasn’t taken off in his three years at Florida, but the 6-foot-4-inch, 218-pound wide receiver has the size to make an impact in Year 4 at the Swamp. There’s also equal room for him to get lost in the shuffle of a position room with all the opportunity in the world.

Dan Mullen stockpiled receivers built the same as Burke and Fraziars physically, and Napier is likely to favor his guys (Douglas, etc.) when decision time comes and the depth chart is filled out.

Still, Fraziars has flashed big-play ability in the past, but he needs to be more consistent when he gets opportunities.

Backup: No. 16 Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman (So.)

Receiving Stats:

Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman transferred to Florida after spending the spring at Independence Community College. He immediately contributed, playing in  12 games for Florida and hauling in seven passes for 138 yards. Bowman started the season as a special teams player but saw more time at receiver later in the year.

Drops have been an issue at times, but Bowman has received mention from Napier throughout fall camp, so he’s likely to be a part of the receiver rotation early on.

The Freshmen: No. 6 Andy Jean (Fr.), No. 21 Eugene "Tre" Wilson (Fr.) and No. 11 Aidan Mizell (Fr.)

The freshmen in the wide receiver room have already been referenced a few times in this article, so let’s introduce them.

First, is Andy Jean, a 6-foot-1-inch, 198-pound receiver out of Miami Northwestern. Jean is the freshman who gets mentioned the most by coaches to the media and the feeling is that he’ll get a chance to make an impact as a freshman.

Jean doesn’t have the height that some of the other receivers on the roster do, but he’s quick and physical down the field. Look for him to compete with Fraziars for snaps out wide.

Eugene “Tre” Wilson is the starting slot receiver of the future for Florida and he should get decent snaps as a reserve. Expect him to compete with Chiaokhiao-Bowman for the backup spot and to be a factor in the return game. Wilson is explosive once he gets the ball in the middle of the field. He can turn a 10-yard play into a touchdown with one move.

Aidan Mizell is another guy that lines up out wide that relies on his speed. Both his parents ran track for the Gators, and he has a personal best of 10.65 seconds for the 100-meter sprint. Those are elite numbers, but Mizell spent most of his senior year recovering from injury. This could be a relatively light year for him, so he can build up his body for the SEC.

Reserve: No. 22 Kahleil Jackson (R-Jr.*)

Receiving Stats:

A third-generation Florida football player, Kahleil Jackson is entering his fourth season with the Gators. After sitting and redshirting as a freshman walk-on, he saw action in two games as a sophomore.

Jackson played in six games as a junior last season, hauling in his first career catch against Eastern Washington and a career-long grab of 23 yards against South Carolina. It’s unlikely Jackson sees regular playing time with a serious injury or two to the players listed ahead of him, but he’s still a name Gators fans should know heading into the season.

Billy Napier put Jackson on scholarship this year for a reason, and he will get snaps in blowout situations.

The Walk-Ons: No. 33 Daniel Cross (R-Sr.*), No. 30 Taylor Spierto (R-So.), No. 19 Alex Gonzalez (R-Fr.), No. 80 Zak Sedaros (R-Fr.),

Redshirt senior Daniel Cross joined the Gators as a walk-on in the fall of 2018. This will be his sixth and final year with the team. Cross graduated from Florida with a journalism degree last year. He played in 2018 against Idaho.

Redshirt sophomore Taylor Spierto joined the team in the fall of 2021 and made his debut last season against Eastern Kentucky. Before college, he was a standout wide receiver and free safety for Franklin High School in Tennessee.

Redshirt freshman Alex Gonzalez is entering his second year with the Gators after walking on last summer. He has yet to take a college snap, but Gonzalez had a strong senior year for Lehigh Senior in 2021.

Zak Sedaros also walked onto the team last summer and redshirted after seeing no action. He’s a member of the Gators track and field team as well.

Freshmen Brian Green Jr. and Jackson Wade joined the team this summer as preferred walk-ons. Green is out of Orange Park High in Jacksonville, and Wade played his high school ball at North Paulding in Dallas, Georgia.

Read more

Check out the rest of our position previews:

• Quarterbacks

• Running backs

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Story originally appeared on Gators Wire