Florida football: Another big name staying put for Gators
He was really the last hold-out for next season for Florida football. On Sunday, this dual-position athlete decided to stay in Gainesville.
Now, Dan Mullen and Florida football have a nice complement returning on offense for the 2020 season.
Sunday, dual-position athlete Kadarius Toney announced on Twitter he would be returning for his senior season with the Gators.
He joins Trevon Grimes — who announced earlier he would be returning — and Jacob Copeland as returning wide receivers with experience next season.
Tight end Kyle Pitts — a favorite target of Florida football quarterback Kyle Trask — is also back.
https://twitter.com/0fficialC2N/status/1218961916376354818
“I would like to announce that I [sic] will be returning to be a Gator another year .. 2020,” Toney said on his tweet. “We Got [sic] Goals To Accomplish and I Wouldn’t Want To Miss It For The World.”
Often referred to as “Joystick,” Toney missed part of the season with an injury but did amass 194 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches this season. He had 253 yards on 22 plays and a touchdown from scrimmage.
In his three seasons with Florida football, Toney has 1,025 yards on 97 plays and three touchdowns from scrimmage.
Now, Mullen has a solid receiving corps back for the 2020 season that will also include younger players who saw very little action this past season.
Freshman Dionte Marks participating against UT-Martin and Towson this season, but had no catches. Fellow Florida football freshman Ja’Markis Weston did not play this season. Redshirt junior receiver Rick Wells saw no action in 2019, but did have a catch against Charleston Southern and was on special teams.
They will join incoming freshman Xzavier Henderson, who recently committed to Florida football during the All-American Bowl.
Henderson is rated as the No. 10 receiver in the country and the No. 59 recruit overall, nationally by 247Sports Composite.
The 6-foot-3 1/2, 180-pound Henderson from Miami Columbus High School, picked the Gators over Alabama, Clemson and Georgia.
According to Sports Illustrated, Xzavier Henderson is also a track star in high school clocking speeds of 11.06 in the 100-yard dash, 21.53 in the 200-yard dash, and a 46.77 in the 400-meter dash, which he won the 4A Florida State Championship in 2019. He ran a 4.55 40-yard dash last May.
Next. Running back Lorenzo Lingard Jr. transfers to Florida. dark
That gives the Gators a ton of speed at wide receiver to replace four strong wide receivers who graduate this year — Freddie Swain, Josh Hammond, Van Jefferson and Tyrie Cleveland.