Florida’s top returning wide receiver, Ricky Pearsall, made the Maxwell Award Watch List on Monday.
The Maxwell Award is in its 87th year and is presented annually to the “most outstanding player in college football.” The preseason watch list consists of 85 players, including Pearsall, who is among the 15 total wide receivers that made the cut. Aside from the two tight ends on the list, the rest of the watch list is made up of quarterbacks and running backs.
Pearsall led the Gators with 661 yards and five touchdowns on 33 receptions. He was the only wideout to play all 13 games for the club, and he could have turned to the draft as a late-round pick. Instead, he opted to return for a fifth year of college ball (his second at UF) and should be the focus of Florida’s passing attack this year.
Although Pearsall lined up mostly in the slot last season, he should see more snaps out wide in 2023. Justin Shorter is in the NFL now and Xzavier Henderson transferred to Cincinnati to reunite with Emory Jones, leaving nearly 350 snaps to replace. Caleb Douglas and Ja’Quavion Fraziars might be the two most likely names to step into those roles by the season’s end, but Pearsall will surely help burden the load as the younger players transition.
The last Gator to win the Maxwell Award was Tim Tebow, who claimed it in both 2008 and 2009. The full watch list can be found here.
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