Tag: Caleb Douglas

Depth Chart: Shorter returns from injury, Henderson out

The Gators are getting one starting receiver back this weekend but are losing another to injury. Check out the team’s depth chart ahead of the matchup with Vanderbilt.

The Florida Gators are getting back their top receiver, [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag], this week, but they’ll also be down their No. 2 at the position with [autotag]Xavier Henderson[/autotag] making his way to the injury list.

Shorter has missed the past two weeks with an injury, but he’s now expected to return to his starting role with [autotag]Marcus Burke[/autotag] at the other wide receiver spot. True freshman [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag], who made his first career start for Florida against South Carolina and currently has the fifth-most receiving yards of any pass catcher on the roster, is listed behind Shorter as a second-string option. He was thrust into a starting role when Shorter and [autotag]Ja’Quavion Fraziars[/autotag] hit the injury report, but it appears that Burke will get a shot this week.

Henderson has served as Florida’s punt returner for most of the year, so slot receiver Ricky Pearsall will step in to fill that role while he is out.

[autotag]Ja’Markis Weston[/autotag] is making is debut on the depth chart this week as a third-string option at receiver behind Pearsall and [autotag]Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman[/autotag].

Tight end [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] is also off the injury report, but he’ll serve as the team’s third-string option, presumably to ease him back into playing time. [autotag]Dante Zanders[/autotag] is the listed starter with [autotag]Jonathon Odom[/autotag] behind him. Odom scored his first career touchdown last weekend.

Kicker [autotag]Trey Smack[/autotag] and cornerback [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag] also remain on the injury report. Smack has been sidelined for two weeks now and was seen warming up before the South Carolina game but he wasn’t able to go. Moore’ season is over following surgery and the team hopes to get him back for offseason workouts.

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Depth Chart: Gators light at WR ahead of Week 11 matchup with South Carolina

The Gators might be thin at wide receiver this weekend when South Carolina comes to the Swamp.

The Florida Gators are still dealing with injuries, particularly at the wide receiver position, according to the Week 11 depth chart update released Wednesday evening.

The team’s leading receiver, [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag], is still listed as questionable after missing the Texas A&M game, and backup [autotag]Ja’Quavion Fraziars[/autotag] is out with an upper-body injury. Fraziars made his first-career start against the Aggies last week, so Florida will be down to it’s reserve options on Saturday.

Shorter is still listed as the starter, but freshman [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag] is set to make his first career start if he can’t go. Behind him and [autotag]Xavier Henderson[/autotag] will be Marcus Burke and [autotag]Daejon Reynolds[/autotag] with [autotag]Kahleil Jackson[/autotag] as another option. [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] is the starter in the slot.

The wide receiver room isn’t the only position group to deal with injuries. Starting left guard [autotag]Ethan White[/autotag] was added to the injury report and is listed as questionable with an upper-body injury. White is still listed as the starter, but that decision will be made as kickoff approaches.

Freshman kicker [autotag]Trey Smack[/autotag], who has exclusively served as Florida’s kickoff man this season, is out for a second straight week after missing the Texas A&M game. [autotag]Travis Freeman [/autotag]will back up [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] for all kicking duties.

At linebacker, [autotag]Diwun Black[/autotag] is back on the depth chart and off the injury report. He’s listed as a third-team option behind [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] and [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag].

Tight end Keon Zipperer will miss a second-straight game, and that’s all for the depth chart update this week. [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag], [autotag]Arlis Boardingham[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Elksnis[/autotag] are all out as well.

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Florida’s top receiver out against Texas A&M due to injury

The Gators will be a little shorthanded at wide receiver for Saturday’s game.

It has been a tough week for Florida football’s leading wide receiver [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag], who was limited in practice due to a lingering hamstring issue. Just prior to game time, it appears that the decision to sit him in the road matchup with the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station, Texas, was made by the team according to Swamp247’s Jacob Rudner.

While Shorter joined his teammates on the field for warmups, it was clear that he was not set to play given that he was not wearing cleats — a typical indicator as to whether a player will be active for the game or not. Sophomore [autotag]Ja’Quavion Fraziars[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag] are the most likely replacements for the redshirt junior as both are listed as backups on the Gators’ depth chart.

So far this season, the former transfer from Penn State has amassed a team-high 471 yards on 21 catches for two touchdowns — including an epic 75-yard bomb from [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] on the first play on offense against the Eastern Washington Eagles in Week 5.

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Depth Chart: Florida dealing with injuries ahead of Texas A&M game

We know Florida will have to make up for the loss of Brenton Cox Jr. this week, but that wasn’t the only change made to the depth chart ahead of Texas A&M.

There were a number of notable changes on the weekly update to Florida’s depth chart, most of which had to do with injuries and departures from the team.

Following the departure of JACK linebacker [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]., [autotag]Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr[/autotag]. is now listed as the starter with [autotag]Lloyd Summerall III[/autotag] and David Reese behind him. Summerall should be the No. 2, but he is coming off an injury.

Nickelback Kamar Wilcoxson’s third-string spot at the STAR position was left blank this week.

Wide receiver [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] might be the most notable addition to the injury report. Florida’s leading receiver is listed as questionable for Saturday’s contest with a lower-body injury. Shorter ranks in the top 10 for receiving yards among SEC players and has hauled in a pair of touchdown passes this year.

Expect sophomore [autotag]Ja’Quavion Fraziars[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag] to receive an increased workload if Shorter can’t go.

Tight end [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] is also dealing with an injury and won’t play on Saturdays. An Instagram post that was later deleted sparked some fear that he’d be out for the rest of the year, but Billy Napier said there’s still hope for him to return this year.

“Keon, I don’t know where that got blown out of — that’s wild,” Napier said with a smile. “Keon’ got a little bit of a knee (injury). Nothing long-term there. It’s very much to be determined based off his rehab and recovery right now. We don’t expect him to be available this weekend, but long-term no issue there.”

Inside linebacker [autotag]Scooby Williams[/autotag] is questionable to play as well, but the corps of [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] and [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] should hold up with true freshman [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] and sophomore [autotag]Derek Wing[/autotag]o behind them.

Linebacker [autotag]Diwun Black[/autotag], tight ends [autotag]Arlis Boardingham[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Elksnis[/autotag] and cornerback [autotag]Devin Moore [/autotag]were all listed as out once again. Napier provided an update on Moore following a shoulder surgery that will keep him out for the rest of the season.

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Florida releases Week 6 depth chart, Trey Dean returns from injury

The Florida Gators have released their depth chart for their Week 6 game against the Missouri Tigers, with multiple players showing improvement with their injury status.

The Florida Gators have released their depth chart for their Week 6 game against the Missouri Tigers.

Notable changes from last week include the return of safety [autotag]Trey Dean[/autotag] III from his lower-body injury and quarterback [autotag]Jack Miller[/autotag]’s upgrade from out to questionable. Dean is listed as a starter and Miller, according to On3’s Nick de la Torre, was a limited participant in practice for the first time this season.

Miller’s inaction was due to a thumb injury he suffered in the preseason. Because of his absence, the backup quarterback position has been up in the air, with [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] being the team’s unquestioned starter.

Last week, redshirt freshman quarterback Jalen Kitna was thrown into the game for a few plays after Richardson came out of the game to get his ankle looked at. After showing promise with the starter sidelined for a few plays, Kitna was given the nod to play most of the second half, after the Gators’ victory was secured. He went 8 of 12 with 152 passing yards and a beautiful 62-yard TD throw to freshman wide receiver [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag].

Notably, [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] is listed as the starting linebacker and not on the injury report. Miller has been dealing with an injury all season, with ESPN’s broadcasters saying the injury was a fractured bone in his foot. This is a good sign for the Gators, as Miller’s presence is vital to the success of the defense.

The Gators will take on the Missouri Tigers in their annual homecoming game on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for noon EDT. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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Billy Napier impressed with backup QB Jalen Kitna’s performance against EWU

We finally got to see Jalen Kitna in action and the results were pretty impressive. Here’s what Billy Napier had to say about his second-string quarterback.

Plenty of Florida’s backups and second-teamers got noticed after Sunday’s win over Eastern Washington, but head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] took time to praise quarterback [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag], specifically.

Kitna has been listed as the team’s backup since [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] went down with a thumb injury, but this was his first time actually seeing the field. He impressed with a pair of deep passes and ended up with 152 yards and a touchdown on 8 of 12 passing. While that kind of performance may surprise some fans, Napier has seen Kitna develop into a decent quarterback.

“I’m going to tell you, the last probably two weeks, he’s really grown up a lot. You go back to training camp, probably the fourth or fifth day of training camp, he got injured, so he missed significant time. But since Jack’s injury and he started getting those twos, you’ve seen some growth there.

“All the guy does is throw completions in practice and that’s what he did today. Two Thursdays ago he was 100% completion percentage in practice. I don’t know if that’s ever been done. The guy’s a pretty smart player. He’s learned our system. For the most part, the ball went where it was supposed to go today.”

Kitna played most of the second half for the Gators, but he was called into action early when [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] went down in the first half. Richardson returned after that series, but Kitna made the most of his time on the field and found [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] for a 22-yard gain.

“We were still in the meat of the game and I know we are trying to put the drive together and are not going to change up the game plan for any of that,” Kitna said. “I know Coach has a specific way he calls things and I know my job is to come in there and to operate the system. All the quarterbacks in the room are taught to operate that system the same way. Whoever came in, we were calling the best play for that situation. Obviously, I got that play call and ran it how we were taught.”

When Kitna returned to the game, it was smooth sailing on offense. Kitna found true freshman [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag] for a 62-yard touchdown in the third quarter, but the offense eventually let off the gas after going up by nearly 50 points. Kitna didn’t mind and enjoyed leading the team to a win.

“Man, it felt good,” he said. “Obviously, being there, being prepared for my team, I got a job to do and going out there, it just kind of feels a bit like practice, it’s not too hard. We got our plays, we got our game plan, it was exactly what we saw. We were preparing for it all week. Just going out there and doing my job.”

As well as Kitna performed, Napier was cautious to label him as an elite backup. Sure, Kitna did well against an FCS program, but can Napier trust him in the fourth quarter of the Georgia game if Richardson goes down? Probably not. At least, not yet.

“Let’s be careful here,” Napier said. “We’ve been through this once before, I think. The guy completed some balls today, he also made a few mistakes today, too. The beautiful thing about today is he got to play, so he’s going to have more confidence. He’s going to be able to learn from this experience. He’s going to realize that the work he’s been doing paid off.”

Kitna might not be a stud SEC backup on the brink of transfer, but that’s not what he’s expected to be. Napier is clearly satisfied with his progress and now the kid has some reps under his belt in case an emergency does come up.

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5 major takeaways from Florida’s blowout win over Eastern Washington

Florida got out to an early lead against Eastern Washington and never looked back. Here’s what we learned about the Gators from the victory.

The Florida Gators dominated the Eastern Washington Eagles on Sunday,  52-17.

A blowout win is expected whenever Florida gets the chance to host an FCS squad, but last year’s debacle against Samford proved that these games can’t always be taken for granted. The defense didn’t look hot through the first few drives of this game, but the offense seized the momentum early and the rest of the team fell in line.

Eastern Washington managed to score a pair of touchdowns once the second team came in, but this was a Florida win all the way. It’s hard to learn anything from a contest with a skill gap as big as this one, but the second team coming helps us assess Florida’s depth at certain positions. With that in mind, this week’s takeaways will focus on the freshmen, backups and reserves that impressed the most.

Florida needed a big win after facing three top-20 opponents through the first four weeks of the season, and this should help boost the team’s confidence heading into another conference matchup.

Gators pick up commitment from 4-star WR on national signing day

Hightower (Tex.) receiver Caleb Douglas committed to Florida over LSU on Wednesday.

Florida has finally added a wide receiver commit in the 2022 class, as Hightower (Texas) prospect Caleb Douglas, a four-star recruit and the No. 296 player in the country according to the On3 consensus rankings.

Douglas took an official visit to UF on Jan. 14, and he named the Gators as his leader multiple times over the last month. LSU made a late push, offering the 6-foot-3-inch, 185-pound player on Jan. 19 and getting him on campus this past weekend for an official visit, but he ultimately chose Florida over the Tigers.

He announced his decision via a video posted on his Instagram account.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CZfKuifo1oQ/?utm_medium=copy_link

Even though adding Douglas was expected, it’s a big pickup for a team that didn’t have any receivers committed after Jayden Gibson, who was originally committed to UF, eventually signed with Oklahoma on early signing day.

Before the addition of Douglas, Florida’s 2022 class ranked 20th in the nation, per 247Sports. His signature should give it a slight boost, but UF will need to pull off a player like five-star linebacker Harold Perkins or four-star safety Jacoby Mathews to sneak into the top 15.

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Gators coaches to visit this 2022 wide receiver target

Billy Napier and receivers coach Keary Colbert will visit three-star Texas receiver Caleb Douglas ahead of his visit to LSU.

Florida hasn’t added any receivers this offseason, either through the transfer portal or the 2022 recruiting class. That could be set to change, though, as the team is in a good position for Missouri City (Texas) Hightower prospect Caleb Douglas.

The three-star receiver has called Florida his leader in the past, and he has a good relationship with new receivers coach Keary Colbert, who originally recruited Douglas (a former Trojans commit) to USC. However, the Gators aren’t without competition.

Douglas is set to take his final visit this weekend to LSU, and Florida’s staff wanted to meet with him one more time before that trip. According to 247Sports’ Blake Alderman, Colbert and head coach Billy Napier will have an in-home visit with Douglas on Thursday.

The No. 462 overall prospect in the class per the 247Sports Composite, Douglas already took an official visit to Gainesville the weekend of Jan. 14, and it seems that the Tigers are the only real competition to land his services at this point.

While Florida offered the 6-foot-3-inch, 185-pound prospect back on Dec. 6, LSU got in considerably later, only offering him a week ago. However, it seems to have made up enough ground in that time to get him on campus. UF will hope to fend off the challenge and welcome Douglas into the class on national signing day on Wednesday.

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Five remaining 2022 prospects that LSU needs to land

LSU needs to make one final push for these five recruits

Brian Kelly currently has 13 signees in his initial recruiting class with LSU. He has also added another 11 through the transfer portal with more likely to come if he has his way.

The high school recruiting class is led by offensive tackle Will Campbell and quarterback Walker Howard. The team is still looking for a running back commit, with TreVonte Citizen being the target out of Lake Charles. Defensively they have Harold Perkins and Jacoby Mathews in their crosshairs.

With the class winding down next week with the final signing period, there are five recruiting battles the Tigers need to win.

Each one of these recruiting battles is coming down to SEC showdowns between the LSU Tigers squaring off with Auburn, Alabama, and Florida.