Florida Gators 2025 Breakout Candidate: Tank Hawkins

This offseason, while Florida Gators fans jumped at every big-name wide receiver to enter the portal, obsessed over five-star receivers in the 2025 cycle and begged the Gators to get more weapons for quarterback DJ Lagway, Tank Hawkins sits forgotten.

The class of 2024 four-star from IMG Academy did not see much of the field his true freshman year, only playing 95 total snaps across six games. In that time, he caught 10 passes for 100 yards and a single touchdown.

His best performance came in Week Six against UCF, where he led the team with seven receptions on eight targets, racking up 60 total yards with 44 coming after the catch. His 2.86 yards per route run also led the team that week.

While he has yet to show much towards being capable or worthy of a large role in Florida’s offense, his potential is undeniable.

Legendary coach Al Davis once said “You can't teach speed,” and for Hawkins, that is not a problem. Out of high school, Hawkins was already one of the fastest players on Florida’s roster. He is reported to hold Florida’s team record for the 40-yard dash with a shocking 4.37 time as just a freshman.

His speed was already put on display in the early action he saw in year one. On his first career touchdown catch against Sanford, Hawkins blew past two defenders before catching a 36-yard toss from Lagway. In his first year, it was uncharacteristic to see Lagway underthrow someone deep, but Hawkins’ insane pace made even the prettiest deep ball fall a bit short.

🚨🐊Touchdown, there ain't no way to keep 'em quiet ... he 'bout to incite a riot ... DJ Lagway throws his first career TD hitting Tank Hawkins in the end zone. Florida #Gators freshman QB is quickly proving his five-star pedigree.pic.twitter.com/3dUhVdOCJi
— OnlyGators.com: Florida Gators news (@onlygators) September 8, 2024

While his speed is hard to come by, it is not his only strong trait. Hawkins has shown great route-running ability in his short time at UF as well. Of the 15 targets he has seen in his career, only two have been considered ‘contested’ according to PFF. His mixture of speed and great stop-and-go ability make it hard for defenders to stay in front of the electric wideout.

Excited to see this on the field more next year👀 @Tankk_1k pic.twitter.com/ycOE6pCGEg
— Dylan Olive (@DylanOlive_UF) December 29, 2024

Though the traits are clearly there, Hawkins has some factors that may hold him back from being ready to break out.

Listed on Florida’s official roster at 5-foot-9.5 and 176 pounds as of July 26, Hawkins was the shortest and smallest receiver on scholarship for Florida in 2024. Though his size is not an extreme outlier, it will likely be something he needs to improve before becoming a Gators starter. While the SEC often has some of the biggest and strongest defenses in the country, Gators receiver Eugene Wilson still found success at a similar size his freshman year. Listed at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds in his first year, Wilson’s weight jumped to 183 his sophomore season, likely similar to how Florida hopes Hawkins can transform.

For now, Hawkins’ size isn’t as big of an issue as it may seem. Though maybe a somewhat optimistic comparison, Hawkins has some similarities to former Alabama and current Miami Dolphins star Jaylen Waddle, who as a freshman was just half a foot taller than Hawkins and weighed just one pound heavier.

Unlike Hawkins, Waddle broke out his first year at Alabama, going for over 800 yards and seven touchdowns as a freshman. Though the production is nowhere close to similar, Hawkins has the same game-breaking speed and similar route-running potential as the young Waddle. Comparably, around 10% of Waddle’s freshman year targets were considered ‘contested’ by PFF, while Hawkins sits at around 13%.

Though both smaller-framed blazers at the receiver position, Waddle played a very different role than Hawkins has so far in his career. As a freshman, Waddle played 67.9% of his snaps from the slot and finished his college career playing over 77% of his snaps there. His average depth of target was 10.7 yards downfield his first year and he finished with a 9.6 average on his career. Oppositely, Hawkins played only 47% of his snaps in the slot while seeing an average depth of target (ADOT) of less than five.

While Florida has a strong core of slot receivers headlined by star Eugene Wilson, it is hard to understand why Hawkins has not been tried in a similar way to Waddle from that position. Though Waddle is an extremely aggressive comparison, their skill sets are somewhat similar and the Bama receiver seems to be the perfect mold for a player with Hawkins athleticism.

As well, Hawkins’ 4.6 ADOT is far lower than Waddles, despite showing an ability to win deeper down the field. On only three targets 10+ yards downfield, Hawkins’ received an 85.5 PFF grade, almost 25 points higher than on targets less than 10 yards downfield. Despite likely being the fastest player on the field at any moment, Hawkins’ speed wasn’t utilized downfield enough in his first season.

Overcoming the questionable role, Hawkins still finished with a 2.17 yards per route run, which would be the 20th-best in the SEC amongst receivers with 15-plus targets. Y/RR has been a good data point for predicting success at UF, and Hawkins finished above big-name freshman receivers such as Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo as well as finishing as the 4th highest freshman in the SEC. As of now, he has the second-highest Y/RR of all Gators receivers on next year's roster.

If Hawkins can find more playing time in the slot next season, as well as receiving more targets downfield, it is easy to envision the breakout from a player with such potent athleticism. On top of his potential, he also clearly has a strong connection with the Gators starting quarterback on and off the field.

While the Gators’ receiving core is missing experience, Hawkins has all the skills needed to earn a big role in 2025. Though Jaylen Waddle 2.0 may be too much to ask, if Billy Napier and staff can find the right role for him, fans could very easily be questioning how they overlooked the young, talented speedster after a strong year two breakout.