Mystery surrounds both Florida Football and UCF on who will actually play on Saturday
![Florida Gators wide receiver Eugene Wilson III (3) runs for a touchdown as he looks back to Samford Bulldogs cornerback Kamron Smith (16) during the second half to make it 38-7 after the extra point at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 7, 2024 against the Samford Bulldogs. The Florida Gators won 45-7 over the Bulldogs. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3884,h_2184,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2F213%2F01j9969r2adpgfxvhfsj.jpg "Florida Gators wide receiver Eugene Wilson III (3) runs for a touchdown as he looks back to Samford Bulldogs cornerback Kamron Smith (16) during the second half to make it 38-7 after the extra point at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 7, 2024 against the Samford Bulldogs. The Florida Gators won 45-7 over the Bulldogs. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]")
Given that Florida Football's matchup this week against UCF isn't an SEC matchup, the Gators are not required to release an official injury report as they did for Texas A&M and Mississippi State. And unlike in the past, Billy Napier has opted to stop putting out depth charts on Wednesday for the public the disect.
The end result is not only a mystery of who will officially suit up for Florida this Saturday, but UCF has a key question mark of their own heading into the game.
Florida Football: Mystery Theather
Prior to the Texas A&M game, Eugene Wilson was considered a game-time decision before opting to sit the game out. It caught people by surprise when he was immediately deemed out for the Mississippi State game, though it was revealed he had "minor" knee surgery with a timeline to return after a couple of weeks.
According to Swamp247 and Gators Online, Wilson has been practicing this week, but without a formal injury report, his status for Saturday is still unclear.
Meanwhile, UCF is dealing with some mystery in its wide receiver group. Xavier Townsend had 33 catches last season for 325 yards and has ten catches so far this season, including four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown against Colorado. Townsend also returns punts for UCF and has ten returns this year with an average of 12.1 yards.
In a post first circulated by Elite Empire Athletics but corroborated by Brandon Helwig of UCFSports.Com, a Rivals affiliate, Townsend appears to be indicating on social media that he will be redshirting the remainder of the 2024 season.
As of this writing, no formal announcement has been made regarding whether Townsend is or isn't actually sitting out the rest of the year, but multiple teammates also seemed to indicate on social media that he would be.
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