Florida's most dynamic player opts out

Gators receiver Kadarius Toney joins two other playmakers in the passing game in skipping Wednesday's Cotton Bowl versus No. 6 Oklahoma

John E. Hoover|

Florida's most dynamic player opts out

Kadarius Toney, Florida’s most dangerous and dynamic offensive player, has opted out of the Cotton Bowl.

Toney, who was named All-SEC at three different positions and earned AP All-America honors on Monday, announced his decision on Twitter.

Toney, a senior, led the Gators with 70 catches and 984 receiving yards and scored 10 touchdowns this season

He also ran the football 19 for 161 yards and a TD, and averaged 22.1 yards on kickoff returns and 12.6 yards on punt returns, including one TD on a punt return.

Toney was the second Gators player of the day to announce he would skip the Cotton Bowl, joining fellow wideout Trevon Grimes.

Heisman finalist quarterback Kyle Trask already was without the services of his All-American tight end Kyle Pitts, who announced his decision to opt out on Dec. 19.

No. 6-ranked OU and No. 7 Florida play Wednesday night in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium.

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Published Dec 28, 2020

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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