Florida 2023 Spring Camp Notebook: Observations From Day 5
Photo: Billy Gonzales and Florida's wide receivers; Credit: Zach Goodall
Florida is back on the practice field, with 2023 spring camp underway ahead of head coach Billy Napier's second season with the Gators.
All Gators serves up its notes and observations from the fifth day of spring camp below, with our reporters focusing on Florida's wide receivers under new position coach Billy Gonzales.
Check out our previous 2023 spring camp notebooks:
- Day 2: Focus on new QB Graham Mertz
- Day 3: Focus on new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong
- Day 4: Focus on the defensive line
Eyes on the wideouts
All Gators observed the wide receivers during Tuesday's practice. It was the first media viewing period with Billy Gonzales back in charge of coaching Florida's pass catchers.
The period began with Gonzales making his return to the practice field evident as he vocally instructed the wideouts through individual drills for the first few minutes of media viewing. It consisted of a grab-and-rip sequence, intended to allow wideouts onto the back hip of press defenders in their release off the line of scrimmage and a cone drill that focused on sinking hips in and out of breaks.
Soon after the viewing period began, he individually instructed true freshman Andy Jean, who's received rave reviews in his short time on campus. Gonzales harped on grabbing the back of the defender's jersey and using that leverage to get over the top of the defender, walking the Miami (Fla.) product through the process.
Jean instantly rebounded upon further explanation and received praise for his next rep of the drill.
In the latter, Gonzales forced each participant to scrape the ground as they move in and out of each turn. He sent multiple players back to the start, including Florida returning top receiver from a year ago Ricky Pearsall, demanding precision in technique from his group.
Both talents performed well in the routes on-air session, showcasing their route running skills, soft hands and burst to highlight the position's performance on the day. Each produced highlights with impressive snags on the sideline and back of the end zone.
Pearsall reeled in a poor throw by walk-on reserve quarterback Micah Leon to the boundary, sailing the ball to force him to leave his feet on the out route. However, after reeling it in just a few feet from the sideline, the Gators wideout gained his balance to remain in bounds and work upfield.
Jean's snag on the back boundary of the field can be found in the clip of the day section.
Near the end of the unit's routes on air, they split up into X, Z and H-receiver designations. Notable designations included Caleb Douglas and Ja'Quavion Fraziars highlighting the X-receiver unit. Douglas is expected to start at the position after increased playing time to end the 2022 season.
Participation report
Below are the players that were seen wearing no-contact jerseys throughout the media viewing portion of practice. An asterisk indicates that the player worked off to the side or watched practice instead of being on the field during the media viewing period. Quarterbacks will only be noted if they did not participate in drills, as they wear no-contact jerseys traditionally.
- OL Jalen Farmer
- LB Derek Wingo*
- CB Devin Moore
- CB Ethan Pouncey
- CB Aaron Gates*
- S Kamari Wilson
The following players were removed from the participation report and participated fully during the media viewing window on Tuesday: RB Cam Carroll, WR Zak Sedaros, LB Mannie Nunnery and S Cahron Rackley.
Wingo was seen with the team for the first time this spring. The rising fourth-year linebacker has been absent from practice during the media viewing windows to begin the year while recovering from two offseason surgical procedures. He was spotted off to the side working with athletic trainer Joe Danos.
Pouncey was seen with his position group, the cornerbacks, for the first time during spring camp after working off to the side during the first four practices.
Clip of the day
Our clip of the day from Tuessay's practice features Jean, on the receiving end of a well-thrown pass from quarterback Jack Miller III in the back of the end zone with head coach Billy Napier observing. He got both of his feet in to complete the grab after running a sharp post route within the red zone.
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