By Bob Redman
It’s been a couple of weeks since the Florida Gators added a piece of the puzzle to the offense that is really expected to help this coming year. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall committed and signed with the Gators as a transfer from Arizona State and is immediately eligible to play and participate in summer workouts. Pearsall brings a skill set to the Florida offense that really isn’t there with anyone else and could make a big difference this year.
Florida signed six transfers from other four-year programs and a seventh from junior college through the transfer portal and should be rated as one of the most successful this recruiting cycle. Florida head coach Billy Napier has been pretty adamant about not bringing anyone into the program that he and his staff don’t believe will help his squad.
“We’re in an era here where we can add players to the team at certain times of the year, right?” Napier said to a group of Florida media Thursday night. “December signing day, the winter portal, February signing day and certainly the spring portal. And each individual situation’s case by case.”
They had Pearsall targeted pretty much when he entered the transfer portal following Arizona State’s spring ball. Some on Napier’s staff were on the Sun Devils’ staff during Pearsall’s career and the two sides knew each other.
“We felt like Ricky’s skill set fit our team, fit our offense,” he said. “We had some familiarity. There were some relationships there because the year in Arizona State some of our staff members, some of the common relationships. So I think Ricky’s a good person. I think he’s competitive. I think that he’s proved himself.”
What Florida needed at receiver was a pass catcher that can make plays once the ball was caught. They needed a receiver that can get the ball in the short field and make people miss and that is what they feel they got in Pearsall.
“He’s been a very productive player and I think he can get open. I think he can catch the ball. He’s proved to be a run-after-catch player. I think he’s got some toughness to his game. He can play on special teams. We’re adding a player that has had a ton of production in the past and we feel like the player can help our team.”
By this time of year, the portal has been pretty picked over in terms of quality talent. However, the Gators got a surprise commitment from junior college offensive lineman Jordan Herman and the junior college ranks is a place that could see some quality prospects graduate and be suddenly eligible to play at a higher level of football. That or even players that graduate from their four year schools and still have a year of eligibility left to play.
“I think most of the players you could acquire at this point in time would be graduate transfers,” Napier said. “They would be players that were already in the portal. And, you know I think that there’s junior college players that become available and that’s another way that you can acquire a player at this point in time. So, we’re gonna operate [on a] case by case basis. You know, if we find a player that we think can make our team better, we’ll pursue that player.”