What does Florida football's Desmond Watson weigh? And is he ready to eat up the SEC?

The first thing out of Billy Napier’s mouth when Florida football's fall camp opened was a nod to players who’ve transformed their bodies since we last saw them.

He noted how Jack Pyburn has cut his body fat 6% while adding 10 pounds of muscle. T.J. Searcy’s added 12 pounds of muscle. Princely Umanmielen “improved his max velocity, gained 10 pounds of lean muscle, and he lost seven pounds of fat mass.”

Napier ran down a list of names, but he didn’t mention the one player most associated with the term “body mass.” The one player whose weight is always a point of curiosity. The one player who’d qualify as the biggest man on any campus.

So, just what does Desmond Watson tip the scales at these days?

“It’s still fluctuating. I’m trying to get it down,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that.”

My guess is he’s 431 pounds, give or take a Panda Express Family Meal. That might disappoint fans who hoped Watson would show up sporting washboard abs and 3% body fat, but it shouldn’t be surprising.

This is Watson’s third year at Florida. When he first arrived from Plant City, the hope was he’d get in a high-tech nutrition program, slim down to a svelte 380 or so and become a (semi) lean, mean tackling machine.

By now, it’s apparent there will always be a Battle of the Bulge.

“Des still has work to do,” said Mark Hocke, UF’s director of strength and conditioning. “But I love Des Watson.”

Everybody does. Part of it is the Jolly Fat Guy Syndrome, though these days it probably should be called the Jolly Calorically Challenged Guy. They are easy to embrace, and the entire country seemed to fall for Watson last November.

Opening statement: Everything Florida football coach Billy Napier had to say on report day for fall camp

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He stripped the ball from a South Carolina runner and rumbled toward the end zone. Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler flung himself at the passing iceberg and managed to partially dislodge the ball.

Watson cradled the ball and went down, completing the most memorable eight-yard run in Florida history. The Heisman-like stiff-arm spawned dozens of memes and made Watson a YouTube superstar.

“Coach (Sean) Spencer is calling him ‘The Eighth Wonder of the World,’” Hocke said. “What an unbelievable talent for a guy to be so big, strong powerful and agile.”

Watson is indeed a physical freak. His thighs could pass for oak trees, yet he has the feet of a ballet dancer. Even if they are size 17s.

He became a starter last season, and the biggest problem was stamina. Florida’s defensive line was threadbare, so Watson wore down during games.

That’s what happens when you weigh 415 pounds. Or is it 435? Or 449?

Standing 6-foot-5, Watson is more just plain big than calorically challenged. Even if he became a Jenny Craig fanatic, his build and metabolism would keep him in the upper-300-pound range.

“When I hear about the smaller guys struggling to put on weight, I shake my head,” Watson said. “It’s not a big thing for me.”

He could put on 15 pounds by looking at a Burrito Supreme. But Watson admits he could do a better job watching his weight.

The word he uses is “complacent.” Changing that has become the training staff’s version of The Manhattan Project.

“We've got a team of people working directly with Des,” Hocke said. “We’re going to keep chipping away and getting him in a great place.”

An influx of defensive line talent might help matters. CamRon Jackson and Caleb Banks arrived via the transfer portal. Sophomore Chris McClellan and freshman Kelby Collins will be bucking for playing time.

A little competition never hurt anyone.

“You’ve got to take a step and realize that stuff can happen, and you could be a backup instead of a starter,” he said. “Even if I don’t feel that will happen, you’ve got to know that it’s possible. So that takes away from being complacent.”

We’ll start finding out this week. What percentage of complacency has Watson managed to lose since we last saw him?

“I’m definitely in better condition than I was last year,” he said. “For sure, I’m confident.”

Watson just needs to realize that no matter what he weighs, even the biggest man on campus is not too big to fail.

David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football's Desmond Watson is still big entering 2023 season