Tag: Rick Wells

2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Wide Receivers

Let’s take a look at Florida’s options at receiver for the 2022 season. Behind Justin Shorter and Xzavier Henderson, who else can we expect to contribute?

As we move through our position-by-position breakdown of the 2022 Florida Gators fall roster, one of the bigger question marks on offense is the wide receiver room.

Florida lost three of its top five pass catchers from last season during the offseason, leaving [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] and [autotag]Xzavier Henderson[/autotag] as the presumed starting tandem out wide and [autotag]Trent Whittemore[/autotag] as the natural successor to [autotag]Rick Wells[/autotag] in the slot. Transfer [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] was brought in via the transfer portal and should be a valuable asset as well.

These are the four players expected to make an impact at the receiver position in 2022 for the Gators, but there’s always room for someone to break through with 18 players in the position room. The top of the depth chart here is pretty thin, so the backup spots are almost all up for grabs at this point.

Here’s a look at all the wide receivers listed on the 2022 Florida Gators’ fall roster.

See also:

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Quarterbacks

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Running backs

Florida football’s 2022 NFL draft and free agent tracker

Didn’t watch the draft or catch all of the undrafted free agent signings that relate to UF? Gators Wire has got you covered.

The 2022 NFL draft has come and gone and another crop of talent is headed to the pros from Gainesville. Three players heard their names called over as many days of the draft, but several more former Gators are finding deals as undrafted free agents.

There’s no guarantee that any of the recent signees make it on an opening day roster or even a practice squad for that matter, but it’s the opportunity most of these players have been working toward for most of their lives. Squandering this chance to fulfill the dream of being an NFL athlete is something they aim to avoid.

There could be more to come too. While names like linebacker [autotag]Jeremiah Moon[/autotag] and running back [autotag]Malik Davis[/autotag] are already locked up, players such as offensive lineman [autotag]Stewart Reese[/autotag] and wide receiver [autotag]Rick Wells[/autotag] are still available.

With that said, let’s take a look at each member of the 2021 Florida Gators football team that currently finds himself with an NFL team.

Patience paying off for Rick Wells in his sixth season

Wells is making an impact on the field after a difficult start to his Florida career.

Name: Rick Wells

Number: 12

Position: Wide Receiver

Class: Redshirt Junior

Height: 6’1″

Weight: 200 lbs

Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida

High School: Raines

Twitter: @Rick_Wells3

2020 statistics:

REC YDS AVG TD LNG
12 120 10 0 20

Overview:

Wells was a three-star recruit from Raines High School in Jacksonville coming out of high school, and he was the first player to join the 2016 recruiting class under then-coach Jim McElwain. Wells held firm on his commitment, and he eventually signed with the Gators.

The early part of Wells’ college career was marred by off-the-field incidents. He was arrested for an airsoft gun incident in 2016 before the beginning of the season, and he eventually redshirted after not appearing in a game that year. Then, he missed the entirety of his redshirt freshman season in 2017 due to his involvement in the credit card fraud scandal.

Wells was internally disciplined in the summer of 2018 for another airsoft gun incident that involved five of his teammates, as well, and he only made one catch for 10 yards as a redshirt sophomore despite appearing in 10 games, mostly as a reserve receiver and on special teams.

It was largely the same story in 2019. Wells was suspended for the season opener for unknown reasons, and despite playing in nine games, he only boosted his catches from one to two for 27 yards.

The 2020 season, however, was when things finally started to go right for Wells. Though he was buried on the receiver depth chart by Kadarius Toney, Trevon Grimes and Jacob Copeland, he still had the best season of his career, by far. Appearing at receiver in 10 games, he totaled 120 yards on 12 catches.

Wells understandably took advantage of the extra year of eligibility allowed to players due to COVID-19, and he returned in 2021 for his sixth year in his biggest role yet.

2021: Through three games, he already has seven catches for 82 yards, and he caught the first touchdown of his college career in the season opener against Florida Atlantic. Though he’s still a backup, he’s one of Florida’s primary rotational receivers, and he should be in store for a career year during his final campaign in the orange and blue.

Video:

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Gators receiver Rick Wells sees hard work begin to pay off

Florida receiver Rick Wells has persevered through a lot in his Florida career, and now he’s set to be a major contributor in 2021.

It was a moment that was a long time coming. In fact, it was six years in the making.

Late in the first quarter against Florida Atlantic with a 7-0 lead, Florida quarterback Emory Jones took the shotgun snap from the nine-yard line, and he turned and fired a bubble screen to graduate student Rick Wells. The blocking set up for Wells, and he burst through the hole to score a touchdown.

It may have looked like a routine pitch and catch to anyone watching, but for Wells, it was anything but. It marked the first career touchdown catch for the sixth-year player.

“Just giving him his first touchdown when I threw it, and when he scored he came back and told me, ‘Thank you.’ I told him, ‘You know I got you,’” Jones said. “I already knew what he had been through with his time here. Off the field, he’s been through a lot and not a lot of people know about it. I was just excited for him to get the opportunity to go make a play and go score. He’s definitely going to be in the rotation a lot, and he’s been making plays. He’s ready.”

It’s rare to see a player in the transfer portal era stick around this long to wait for a shot, but for Wells, this season in many ways represents a shot at redemption. The beginning of his career was marred by off-the-field incidents.

[lawrence-related id=49585,48560]

Before he arrived on campus, he was arrested after an incident with an airsoft gun, and he spent the entire 2017 season away from the team as part of the credit card fraud scandal. He had a second airsoft gun incident in 2018 and missed the season opener in 2019 for unknown reasons.

As a result, he entered the 2021 season with just 15 career catches for 153 yards.

But Wells is eager to leave those mistakes in the past and move forward. And right now, it seems he’ll be doing so as a featured player in the Gators’ offense.

Wells, who attended Raines High School in Jacksonville, was the first commit in Florida’s 2016 class. Alongside linebacker Jeremiah Moon, who also joined UF in 2016, Wells is the longest-tenured player on the roster. He’s been through two coaching staffs, witnessed a 4-7 season and several New Year’s Six Bowl wins. Now, he figures to be a major contributor in his final campaign.

[lawrence-related id=52681,52676,52652,52616,52612]

[listicle id=52535]

[vertical-gallery id=52455]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.