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Florida sophomore WR preparing for potential breakout season in 2024

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Florida sophomore WR preparing for potential breakout season in 2024


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Head coach Billy Napier made clear who will serve as a focal point to the Florida football offense in 2024. After Eugene Wilson III posted 8 catches for 128 yards, including a 60-yard TD catch, in UF’s spring game, Napier said he intended to get his “money’s worth” from Wilson entering the 2024 season.

Napier re-iterated that point before the start of Florida Gators fall camp on Tuesday, when asked about getting the ball in the hands of playmakers.

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“We’re always going to be intentional about who we get the ball to,” Napier said. “Tre Wilson being at the top of that list for sure.”

Last season, Wilson earned All-SEC freshman honors, with 61 catches for 538 yards and a team-high 6 TDs. With UF leading receiver Ricky Pearsall gone to the NFL, Wilson will become the primary target for quarterback Graham Mertz.

Wilson also showed the ability to carry the ball on jet sweeps as a true freshman, with six carries for 55 yards, including a long of 18 yards.

“I most definitely don’t disagree with him,” Wilson said about Napier wanting to get him more touches in 2024. “But at the same time, it’s a team game and being able to give our team the best chances to win and drop down and get in the box as many times in the game as you can to give our team the best chance to win.”

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Wilson said he’s even open to getting more involved in the return game on special teams this season after returning one punt and one kickoff last season.

“I feel like, especially in our past, we’ve had a lot of returners that, you know, had the game in their hands just off of returns, punt returns, kick returns,” Wilson said. “So just being able to have that aspect to change the game, I feel like something I really look forward to.”

How Florida football WR Eugene Wilson III is preparing for more usage in 2024

The 5-foot-10, 183-pound Wilson said he’s ready for the challenge of more touches in 2024. He’s put on about 10 pounds of muscle on the offseason training with new UF strength and conditioning coach Tyler Miles, which should help him handle the contact he will receive in the physical SEC.

“From the winter to the spring, I put on about 10 pounds and really just tried maintaining it over the summertime with the heat and all the sweat and all that,” Wilson said. “I was trying to lose no weight, but at the same time, I’m not trying to be too heavy; trying to keep a little twitch going. But the strength staff, they do a really good job helping us maintain and getting stronger every day.”

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Recovery is another important aspect to surviving the grind of fall camp and a 12-game season. Wilson said he picked up tips from watching the Netflix documentary “Receiver” to better take care of his body.

That includes more trips to the cold tank to alleviate muscle soreness and prevent muscle pulls.

“I would say a lot of it is probably not fun,” Wilson said. “But at the end of the day you have to take care of your body because it’s a moneymaker.”

Wilson’s combination of speed (he was clocked as high as 22 miles per hour over the summer) and shiftiness make him a tough cover for opposing SEC defensive backs.

“He is one of the best receivers in the SEC and I’m glad that, one, he’s on my team and two, I get to go against him every day,” Florida senior cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. said. “Iron sharpens iron. He goes out there, he practices hard. He challenges me. I challenge him. It’s only going to make us better.”

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Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone

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Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone


PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Video of a traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral over an awkward exchange between the driver and a deputy who accused her of holding a phone while driving.

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“You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone,” the deputy tells 36-year-old Kathleen “Katie” Thomas.

“Obviously not,” Thomas says while laughing and holding up her right arm, showing that she’s missing her right hand.

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“So you wanna call this a day?” she asks.

“I don’t want to call this a day. You had a hand up, manipulating,” the deputy responds.

“You just said my right hand,” Thomas counters.

“Well, I thought I saw your right hand,” the deputy says.

“So you didn’t,” Thomas responds.

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Thomas posted the bodycam footage on Instagram and TikTok where it gained millions of likes.

In the video, although she shows the deputy she doesn’t have a right hand, the deputy doubled down.

“I’m asking you now; did you or not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.

“I did not,” Thomas responds.

“You did not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks again.

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“I did not,” Thomas responds.

“Hand to God, you didn’t have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.

“Hand to God,” Thomas says.

Court records show Thomas was given a $116 citation despite the presented evidence, but it was later dismissed at the request of the deputy involved.

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.





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Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida

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Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida


A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday night on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida. 

The explosion occurred at about 9 p.m. ET. Blue Origin said there were no injuries from the incident. 

“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said in a statement. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station also confirmed in a separate statement that “all personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities.”

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A Blue Origin rocket explodes on a launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. May 28, 2026. 

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Blue Origin was scheduled to fuel the rocket Thursday evening ahead of a planned test firing of the rocket’s engines.

Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its third New Glenn rocket last month.

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This rocket was being prepared for the fourth New Glenn mission as soon as June 4 to launch 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo internet service, which competes with Elon Musk’s Starlink. 

The 48 satellites were not aboard the rocket during the test. It was not immediately clear how much damage the launch pad and ground equipment sustained, or how long it might take to repair it.

Space Launch Complex 36, where the explosion occurred, is the only launch pad equipped to launch New Glenn rockets.

The New Glenn rocket is key to Blue Origin’s and NASA’s moon base plans, and the explosion will likely be a setback. Next year, the New Glenn is supposed to launch another Blue Moon lander as part of the Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit.

In a social media post, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote, “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”  

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The New Glenn rocket had just been cleared on May 22 to return to flight after being grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration after an anomaly with the second stage during an April 19 launch.

In a statement Thursday, the FAA said it was aware that the rocket had “experienced an anomaly during a static fire test on the pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” adding that the “test was not within the scope of FAA licensed activities.”

The FAA also noted that “there was no impact to air traffic” from the explosion. 

Bezos wrote on X Thursday night, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”

Musk wrote: “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”

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Florida to pay Sumrall’s assistants a combined $11.2M in 2026

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Florida to pay Sumrall’s assistants a combined .2M in 2026


GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Jon Sumrall’s assistants will make a combined $11.2 million in 2026, a significant investment for a program desperate to win more often.

Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner tops the list after signing a three-year, $6.6 million contract to leave Georgia Tech and join Sumrall in Gainesville. Faulker will get $2.1 million in 2026 – the first $2 million coordinator in school history – and has a $100,000 raise set for each of the next two years.

Only six college offensive coordinators were paid $2 million or more in 2025, according to CBS Sports. Fifteen defensive coordinators topped $2 million.

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Florida defensive coordinator Brad White signed a three-year, $5.85 million deal that starts at $1.85 million and also includes a $100,000 raise in 2027 and 2028.

The Gators released the contracts Thursday in response to a public records request.

Sumrall signed a six-year, $44.7 million contract last year that averages $7.45 million annually. The Gators will dole out more than $20 million to Sumrall, his staff of 15 assistants and a front office led by new general manager Dave Caldwell.

Four of the assistants are scheduled to earn at least $1 million during their deals.

Defensive line coach Gerald Chapman and offensive line coach Phil Trautwine will join Faulker and White in the seven-figure club. Chapman, the lone holdover from former Florida coach Billy Napier’s staff, will make $950,000 this year and $1 million in 2027. Trautwine, meanwhile, starts at $750,000 and jumps to $1 million. Both signed two-year deals.

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Their salaries show Sumrall’s commitment to rebuilding the team along both lines of scrimmage in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.

Napier’s 12-man coaching staff was paid a combined $7.5 million in 2025. The Gators posted three losing seasons in Napier’s four years.

The rest of Sumrall’s staff range between making $350,000 and $600,000 annually, all of them on two-year contracts.



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