Florida Football freshman Tank Hawkins keeps having his name pop up during camp
![Florida Gators wide receiver Tank Hawkins (10) makes a catch during spring football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4648,h_2614,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2F213%2F01j593vq5cqmmc5zwrx0.jpg "Florida Gators wide receiver Tank Hawkins (10) makes a catch during spring football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]")
All spring camp, Tank Hawkins kept having his name pop up as a standout performer for Florida Football. Reports coming out of camp indicated that Hawkins was torching everyone, and fans were excited to see him showcase his potential during the spring game.
But Hawkins was kept to a low profile during the spring game and didn't do anything to flash to the public.
Fast forward to the fall, and Hawkins is once again having his name pop up time and time again. Whether it translates to the field once the season starts continues to be a mystery.
Florida Football: Need For Speed
We have pointed out Hawkins's speed several times here at Hail Florida Hail. As a junior in high school, Hawkins ran 10.37 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Had he chosen to focus on track, Hawkins could have been recruited to be on Florida's track team rather than its football team.
At last Saturday's scrimmage, Hawkins unleashed his speed for two touchdowns, including a long bomb from DJ Lagway into the arms of Hawkins.
Billy Napier indicated at his press conference on Monday that the main trio of starting receivers seems to be set in stone, but Hawkins is pushing to be a primary piece of the second unit.
"Tank Hawkins had two touchdowns, one was in the red zone and another was a vertical play. He is continuing to improve.
- Billy Napier
He's had a great offseason. He's definitely playing faster. His skill level's 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. But that was a great concept. He was down the middle versus Cover 2. I was standing right behind it and DJ threaded the needle there and it ended up being an explosive."
With Tre Wilson, Chimere Dike, Elijhah Badger, and Kahleil Jackson appearing to make up the primary wide receiver group, Hawkins still has to get ahead of Andy Jean, Aidan Mizell, and Marcus Burke in order to get secondary snaps in 2024.
But with a unique skill set and a fall camp that is continuing to turn heads, it feels like a missed opportunity if Napier and crew aren't conjuring up a handful of package plays to get Hawkins on the field this season.
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