Florida freshman receiver [autotag]Tank Hawkins[/autotag] is making a name for himself in fall camp.
Gators head coach Billy Napier spoke highly of his receivers room as a whole following Saturday’s scrimmage, but it was Hawkins who stood out after reeling in a pair of touchdowns.
“One was in the red zone and another one was on a vertical play,” Napier said. “He has continued to improve, but, in general, I think that group had a good day.”
Florida’s offense is begging for a young receiver to break out behind the projected starting trio of Chimere Dike, Elijhah Badger and Eugene Wilson III.
Hawkins only showed up eight months ago, but he’s adjusted to the speed of the college game well. A former track star who could have ran for Florida’s elite program, he has the kind of speed that’s going to make him dangerous against any slow-footed defensive back in coverage.
“(Hawkins) got here in January. He’s had a great offseason,” Napier said. “He’s definitely playing faster. His skill level is improving. He’s getting comfortable. Like we’ve talked about before, we kind of have those top three and then you got this group that’s competing. He’s in that group.”
Napier added that the coming week would be critical for the receivers room. Miami comes to town in two weeks for the season opener, and Florida needs to establish a depth chart.
The second fall scrimmage on Saturday should provide a better idea of which players are second-and-third-stringers and which ones have fallen into the reserve category. Hawkins has some work to do to climb up a depth filled with hungry young receivers.
Behind those starting three mentioned above, redshirt junior Kahleil Jackson figures to see the field for significant snaps, and redshirt freshmen Andy Jean and Aidan Mizell are both in that competition group. Fellow true freshman TJ Abrams is also looking to overtake Hawkins on the depth chart.
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