With the Florida Gators set to add former Arizona State wide receiver Elijhah Badger to the roster via the NCAA Transfer Portal, Gators Illustrated takes a look at what the former Sun Devil brings to the program.
Putting it bluntly, Billy Napier and his staff get their guy as they close the book on its 2024 recruiting class.
With Ricky Pearsall off to the NFL, questions arose in spring camp about who would be the guy to replace his production at receiver. The obvious answer is rising sophomore Eugene Wilson III, who tremendously complemented Pearsall last season as an x-factor on offense.
Then there’s Kahleil Jackson, the walk-on quarterback-turned scholarship wide receiver who showed tremendous potential as a deep threat and big-body receiver last season as a starter.
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Florida also has a pair of talented redshirt freshmen in Andy Jean and Aidan Mizell.
There’s also veteran backups Ja’Quavion Fraziars and Marcus Burke, who have yet to find a consistent role on the depth chart, but consistently earned the praises of their coaches and teammates in spring camp.
Not to mention, Florida signed a speedy freshmen receiver duo in Jerrae “Tank” Hawkins and TJ Abrams.
That being said, the vast majority of Florida’s receiving room is either young, unproven or both, and after spring camp, it was evident the Gators could use a seasoned vet with consistent production in the room.
As a result, Florida dipped into the transfer portal prior to spring camp, and they landed on quarterback Graham Mertz’s former Wisconsin teammate Chimere Dike, who had his best success with Mertz as his passer. Still, though, the vast majority of the Gators’ receivers are either veterans who haven’t been able to crack the depth chart or youngsters who haven’t been on campus long enough to make an impact.
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Specifically, outside of Dike and Wilson, Florida’s current receiving corps has combined for 60 catches, 777 yards and four touchdowns in their respective careers.
Spoiler alert- Badger eclipsed all of those numbers on his own in 2022 and nearly did so again last season.
The Gators alleviate that inexperience and then some with Badger. His past two seasons with a struggling Arizona State program showed that.
In 2022, he recorded 70 catches for 866 yards and seven touchdowns. Although his numbers dipped in 2023, he still managed to catch 65 passes for 713 yards and three touchdowns. PFF graded Badger as the No. 78 receiver nationally last season (Pearsall was No. 74).
His catch total last season would’ve tied Pearsall for the team-high, and his yardage would’ve been second. Two years ago, he would’ve been the Gators’ top receiver in all three categories.
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An underrated aspect to Badger’s game is his potential as a kick returner.
Lackluster special teams performances by the Gators over the last two seasons have been a major eyesore, and the lack of a consistent threat at kick returner hasn’t done them any favors. Not to mention, Florida’s two returners from last season (Pearsall and now-Georgia running back Trevor Etienne) are no longer part of the program.
Florida did have options prior to Badger’s addition to the program. Wilson III’s agility makes him an automatic contender. There’s also Hawkins, who was once credited with a 4.25-second 40-yard dash. Additionally, running back Montrell Johnson even indicated in the spring that he was working out at punt returner.
Again though, the one thing Badger has that that group doesn’t is successful experiences in that roles.
Last season, he returned 20 kickoffs for 578 yards, which equates to a 28.9-yard return on average. He also had an 81-yard return in the Sun Devils’ season-opener.
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For comparison’s sake, the Gators averaged under 21 yards per kickoff return as a team last season. Florida hasn’t had a kick returner with over 500 yards in a season since Brandon Powell in 2015, and they haven’t had a player with a single kickoff return of over 80 yards since Solomon Patton in 2013.
Patton’s 2013 campaign was also the last time Florida had a kickoff returner average at least 28 yards a return.
Another point, Florida hasn’t had a kickoff returned for a touchdown since Antonio Callaway in 2016, which was a onside kick attempt against Missouri.
Needless to say, it’s been a long near-10 years since Florida had a threatening return man on kickoffs. There’s potential all around this year’s Gator team to be that person, and Badger could be the best of them. At the very least, he will provide more competition for that role entering fall camp.
Overall, Napier and Co. hit the transfer portal jackpot with Badger. He was the top-remaining receiver in the transfer portal and No. 79 overall transfer in the country, according to the On3 Industry Comparison at the time of his commitment.
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As with any transfer, though, only time will tell just how beneficial the addition will be. For now, the potential to be an instant-impact player is there, and this is an offseason win Gator Nation should celebrate.
It’s been a good couple weeks for Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier. He’s picked up two long-awaited SEC wins. One is his first win over LSU and another is his first top-10 win since the Gators beat No. 7 Utah in his first game as their head coach.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg made sure to give him some love in their college football Week 13 takeaways.
He considers Napier, along with Oklahoma’s Brent Venables and Auburn’s Hugh Freeze to have further redeemed themselves with big wins on Saturday.
“But Napier, Venables and Freeze all strengthened their profiles and elevated hope for the future by leading their teams to signature wins in Week 13.”
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Rittenberg was impressed by Florida’s continuing to bend but not break on defense and the performance of true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway. This all culminated in what could have spoiled Ole Miss’ playoff ambitions.
“Napier, whose Florida team had outclassed LSU the week before in The Swamp, likely eliminated Ole Miss from CFP contention with an excellent second half. A Gators defense that struggled early allowed only three points in the final 39 minutes and intercepted Jaxson Dart twice in the closing minutes, and Florida got impressive play from its own young quarterback, DJ Lagway.”
Napier was also given credit for having shown “real signs of promise before Week 13.”
Florida took No. 8 Tennessee to overtime, losing 23-17. But more impressively took Georgia down to the wire despite Lagway being carted off with a hamstring injury. While the final score was 34-20, those who watched know that it was a one-score game until about four minutes to go. That gave Florida props, but now he’s beaten ranked opponents.
Now, Florida has a shot to finish with its first winning record since 2020 and win its first bowl game since 2019.
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Rittenberg concluded his takes by saying Napier, along with Vernables and Freeze, has given “tangible evidence to cite that better days might be ahead.”
Western Carolina Catamounts (2-2) at Florida State Seminoles (6-1)
Tallahassee, Florida; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: Western Carolina plays Florida State after Cord Stansberry scored 20 points in Western Carolina’s 82-69 loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Seminoles are 3-1 on their home court. Florida State is 5-1 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 12.4 turnovers per game.
Western Carolina finished 11-8 in SoCon action and 10-6 on the road a season ago. The Catamounts averaged 11.3 assists per game on 28.2 made field goals last season.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
It’s been a good couple weeks for the Florida Gators.
First, they take down No. 22 LSU, 27-16, with a bend but don’t break approach. Then, they follow that up by upsetting No. 9 Ole Miss, 24-17. With that latter win, heads really began to turn. It was one thing to put up fights against Tennessee and Georgia, but now, they’re beginning to take down these formidable opponents.
The analysts are starting to talk them up. ESPN’s College Gameday analyst Kirk Herbstreit is ready to hand head coach Billy Napier the award for coach of the year. He made sure to include that he thinks quarterback DJ Lagway is going to be something special.
“Can a guy with a team that will finish 7-5 win the coach of the year award? He should!!” Herbstreit said in a tweet. “Billy Napier and [the Florida Gators, after being 4-5 and losing two straight, have beaten LSU and Ole Miss. So impressive to see this fight from the Gators and their fans after having a tough year. And, oh yeah, DJ Lagway is the REAL DEAL!”
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Big Cat from Barstool Sports jumped on X (formerly Twitter) and said, “The Florida Gators may need a playoff berth.”
Now, that can be written off as two guys getting excited, but key writers are noticing too. Florida received votes in the latest AP Poll.
Brian Brian Fonesca of the NJ.com/Star-Ledger and Ian Kress of WLNS-TV (a CBS affiliate in Lansing, Michigan) ranked them No. 25. David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press ranked them No. 24. It’s only four points, but they’re the only five-loss team to receive votes.
Unofficially, they’re ranked No. 33 in the country. If they had beaten Tennessee or Georgia to have that slightly better 7-4 record, could very well be in the top 25 right now. It’s hard to vote for a 6-5 team, that’s totally fair, but the willingness to do so by a handful of writers is a good starting point. If they win out, including a quality bowl win, to finish 8-5, finishing ranked is realistic.
Those who are signing on now are seeing what could be on the horizon in 2025. This is how they are playing now. This team might have won eight or nine games had this been yearlong. Wait until they play the portal some more this summer to bring in more talent, Napier gets that offensive coordinator and Lagway comes in with nearly a year of play under his belt.
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The Florida Gators have put the country on notice. They gave Napier the time to rebuild after Dan Mullen’s collapse, and that time is beginning to pay off.
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