GAINESVILLE — The fourth in a position-by-position preview of the UF football team leading up to SEC Media Days.
TODAY: WIDE RECEIVER
What to expect
Whatever the criticism Florida coach Billy Napier faced his first three seasons, no one disputed his ability to identify and attract wide receivers. The 2025 Gators might feature Napier’s best collection to date. The unit features speed and explosiveness, length and leaping ability, and pedigree and potential.
UF’s offseason additions, led by first-year freshmen Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson and UCLA transfer J. Michael Sturdivant, overshadowed Tre Wilson’s much-anticipated return from hip surgery that limited him to five games in 2025 after a breakout 2024 season while a true freshman.
“He looked like a million bucks,” Napier said May 29 at the SEC Spring Meetings. “It was a daily reminder like, ‘Forgot about that guy.’”
UF freshman receiver Dallas Wilson (No. 6) celebrates a touchdown with his teammates Mark Faircloth (right) and Jason Zandamela (No. 50) during the Orange and Blue spring game April 12 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. (UAA Communications/Victoria Riccobono)
The Gators, though, are unlikely to sneak up on anyone in the passing game, given sophomore DJ Lagway’s ability to throw the ball and his options on the perimeter.
Wilson is the most promising member of the group. After he de-committed from Oregon and landed two hours from his Tampa home, the 6-foot-3, 209-pound Wilson wowed coaches during workouts and spring practice before an Orange and Blue game featuring 10 receptions for 195 yards, both school records, and touchdowns of 20 and 19 yards.
Other than Wilson, Brown might be UF’s most intriguing newcomer. The former Orlando Jones standout was the nation’s No. 5 receiver prospect, according to 247Sports, while Wilson was No. 8. The 5-foot-11 ¼, 172-pound Brown was a highly productive receiver (2,871 yards, 21 scores on 164 catches in 2023-24) who also scored four times on special teams in 2023 (3 punt returns and a kickoff return).
The 5-foot-10, 191-pound Tre Wilson returns as a another home-run threat, a faster, stronger version after adding 10 pounds of muscle — and 21 since his arrival in the summer of 2023 at 170 pounds. Despite durability concerns, he went on to tally 61 receptions for 538 yards and scored a team-high 6 touchdowns, but managed just 19 catches for 266 yards and a score in 2024.
UF true freshman Vernell Brown III scored 25 touchdowns and had nearly 3,000 receiving yards during his final two seasons at Orlando Jones. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)
Napier hopes Sturdivant, who spent the past two seasons at UCLA after one at Cal in 2022, continues a glowing track record with transfer receivers at UF. This includes 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall and 2025 fourth-rounder Chimere Dike. Expected to join the two Wilsons in the starting rotation, Sturvidant offers size (6-2 ½, 216) and experience (123 catches, 1,727 yards, 13 scores in three seasons).
Kahleil Jackson, a 6-foot-3, 218-pound redshirt senior, is reliable and sure-handed. Meanwhile, sophomores Aidan Mizell and Tank Hawkins might be the two fastest Gators, though each has yet to show it consistently on game days. True freshman Neashaun Montgomery, a 6-1, 185-pound Miami native, is another UF wideout with blazing speed but will likely have to wait his turn.
What they’re saying
“This is by far the deepest receiver group we’ve had since we’ve been here and documented speed. There’s a bunch of speed out there. So that’s got a chance to be a strength for us. If we can put together some balance there and distribute the ball and get good quarterback play, got a chance to make more explosives in the future. I think ultimately, that’s an area where we need to improve to go the distance.” — Napier
Returnees
TJ Abrams
Tank Hawkins
Kahleil Jackson
Wade Jackson
Aidan Mizell
Taylor Spierto
Tre Wilson
Florida Gators wide receiver Aidan Mizell (11) runs the ball after the catch against the Tulane Green Wave in the Gasparilla Bowl Dec. 20, 2024 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)
Departures
Elijiah Badger
Marcus Burke
Chimere Dike
Ja’Quavion Fraziars
New arrivals
Vernell Brown III (Orlando Jones), true freshman
Naeshaun Montgomery (Maimi Central), true freshman
J. Michael Sturdivant (UCLA), redshirt senior
Dallas Wilson (Tampa Bay Tech), true freshman
Projected depth chart
X-WR (on line of scrimmage) — Dallas Wilson | Kahleil Jackson
Z-WR (off line of scrimmage) — J. Michael Sturdivant | Aidan Mizell
Y-Slot — Tre Wilson | Vernell Brown III
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Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com