The list of players who were supposed to be the Gators’ next great receiver is long and disappointing.
The newest in line as potential weapons in the passing game are true freshmen Demarcus Robinson and Ahmad Fulwood, and they have a chance to end No. 12 Florida’s drought at the position. Both excelled in their first training camp and expect to see their roles increase beginning with Saturday’s game against Miami at Sun Life Stadium (noon, ESPN).
“You’re kind of learning what they’re going to give you, but they did a good job,” offensive coordinator Brent Pease said of their debut against Toledo. “Are there things they’ve got to improve on? Yeah. But they are going to be guys that are high-production guys in this offense.”
It is difficult to forecast what impact they will have this season, though it certainly looks like they will get an opportunity. Florida doesn’t allow Fulwood and Robinson to speak to the media, but their teammates and coaches have been talking them up. They emerged last month from a group of five receiver signees as the two most ready to contribute.
Robinson is a 6-foot-2, 201-pound target out of Fort Valley, Ga., and is the nephew of longtime NFL receiver Marcus Robinson. He topped 1,000 yards as a senior at Peach County High School and was rated the No. 5 receiver in the nation by Rivals.com.
He was the only new receiver to enroll in January and go through spring practices. Gators coach Will Muschamp wondered whether he could be factor right away and after watching him in the spring said, “No question.”
He looked even better when UF opened training camp last month after spending the summer immersed in the playbook and working with quarterback Jeff Driskel.
“He’s a guy we’ll have to rely on this year,” Driskel said. “I was with him a lot, staying around him and trying to teach him the offense as much as I can — not just run the route how it’s drawn up in the playbook, but run it based on the coverage. He knows he doesn’t know it all yet, so any way he can get better, he’s going to.”
Fulwood came to the Gators from Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville after catching 32 touchdown passes his final two years and turning down an offer from Alabama. At 6-5, 196 pounds, he is the tallest receiver on UF’s roster. Rivals and Scout rated him among the top 16 prospects at his position.
Neither of them was spectacular in the Gators’ 24-6 win over Toledo, but both showed a strong grasp of the offense and made significant plays.
Robinson executed a critical block for slot receiver Trey Burton on a 14-yard screen pass in the second quarter. As much as Pease loved the block, he was equally pleased with Robinson’s attitude. He was worried Robinson would be upset about not having any catches and told him, “Just be patient. I’m going to do a better job of getting some things designed.” Robinson replied: “Coach, I had fun and we won.”
Fulwood had just one catch, but it was the type of gritty play Pease has been wanting to see. On third-and-five, Driskel rolled out and hit him short of the first-down line, and Fulwood immediately turned upfield to pick up the first down before getting smashed.
“When we threw that same pass last year, whoever caught it was trying to run more laterally,” Pease said. “This kid comes in here and stuck his foot in the ground and got a first down.
“A lot of freshman try and maneuver and go back 2 or 3 yards to get around the last defender. It’s great awareness by him, and you don’t see that a lot of times.”
Pease said he can’t imagine any receiver in his offense challenging Chad Jackson’s school record of 88 catches set in 2005, but he would like to see someone get 50. That would be progress for UF, which hasn’t had a wide receiver top 38 receptions or 570 yards since ’09.
Of the nine receivers the Gators signed from 2009 through ’12, four transferred. Their best find was Quinton Dunbar, now a redshirt junior. He had 383 yards and four TDs on 36 catches last year. None of the remaining players have caught more than 16 passes in a season.
UF is desperate to break out of that slump and see a star step forward. Fulwood and Robinson might be the answers.
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