How Familiarity Helped Florida Land Transfer WR Eric Singleton Jr.

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- He has not played a game yet for the Florida Gators. He has not even participated in a traditional practice. Nonetheless, Eric Singleton Jr. is continuously impressing those around him.

The Auburn transfer receiver nearly did not make it to Florida, however. The initial plan was for him to enter the NFL Draft. With those plans, Singleton Jr. was invited to the Senior Bowl. Then, head coach Jon Sumrall got a phone call from Senior Bowl executive director Drew Fabian, who is friends with multiple people on staff.

"He's like, 'Hey, Eric may go back to college. Just want to give you a heads up.' When I heard that, I'm like, if he does go back to college, we need to be ready," Sumrall said.

And ready Florida was.

Singleton Jr. set aside his NFL aspirations on Jan. 9 and entered the transfer portal. Shortly after, he was predicted to choose Florida. A day later, he officially signed with the Gators.

Florida wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. led Auburn with 58 receptions last season to go with 534 yards and three touchdowns. | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Targeting Singleton Jr. was obvious for the Gators. While retaining Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III, Sumrall said Florida was still looking for another impact receiver on the perimeter with "top-end juice." Coming to Florida was also an easy sell with the extensive connections.

A three-star in the 2022 recruiting class, Singleton Jr.'s first offer came from Sumrall when he was entering his first season as the head coach at Troy. However, his recruitment blew up, and he ultimately chose Georgia Tech to play under now-Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner.

As a junior in 2024, his position coach was now-Gators inside receivers coach/passing game coordinator Trent McKnight. While he transferred from Georgia Tech to Auburn for the 2025 season, he played for yet another now-Gators assistant in outside receivers coach Marcus Davis, who also originally pursued Singleton Jr. as a high school recruit while at Georgia State.

"Anytime you can eliminate some of the variables or unknowns, it makes the decision-making process easier," Sumrall said. "I think his familiarity with the staff helped. That was huge."

Considering all of the familiarity and his history as an impact receiver with 2,002 career receiving yards and 12 touchdowns, including back-to-back 700-yard seasons with Faulkner at Georgia Tech, Singleton Jr. appears poised for a big season with the Gators.

"It's been like riding a bike for him getting back in this. Eric's a really smart player," McKnight said. "I think he's quiet, but he's very smart. He goes about his business the right way. I think everything he's done right now, he's a pro at how he's going about it."

Eric Singleton Jr. had back-to-back 700-yard seasons with Georgia Tech. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

While early in his time with the program, the tape and the coaches' experiences coaching Sumrall speak for itself.

Sumrall, McKnight and Davis have all raved about Singleton Jr.'s speed, headlined by a 10.3-second 100-meter in high school, and his IQ. McKnight said there's very few portal receivers that can run as fast as him. Sumrall called him an "Olympic-fast" runner. Davis called him one of the smarter players he has ever coached.

That doesn't mean there is not growth to be had by Singleton Jr., but on and off the field.

"I think we're working on some change of direction stuff with him I think that's going to help him elevate his game, but he can take the top off of coverage," Sumrall said. "He's a guy that you get the ball in his hands and see can a guy make a tackle in space versus him, it's hard."

Off the field, the staff wants Singleton Jr. to be more vocal.

"I'm just challenging him to bring somebody with him," Davis said. "You know, bring one of those younger guys with him. Like the (Davian) Groces of the world, or Marquez (Daniel), bring those younger guys, Justin (Williams), all those guys, making sure he brings them with him. Because he's got the influence, he just got to use it in the right way like he's been doing."

With a history of production, his familiarity with the staff and now targeted areas of improvement, Florida believes it has all the tools to make Singleton Jr. one of the top receivers in the country in his final year.

"For him to come and trust us with his last year, it means a lot. We're gonna put our best forward to continue to develop him, to get him where he wants to go," Davis said. "But (recruiting Singleton Jr.) was a good process. He knows the things that he wanted to focus on, and he felt like he could get that here with us."

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