Florida football held the first of its 15 spring practices on Thursday at the Sanders Practice Fields.
The Florida Gators will work out for five of the next six weeks, taking spring break off, before the Orange and Blue game on April 12 at 1 p.m. at The Swamp.
“Spring practice presents an opportunity to really teach, not only conceptually what we do ― offense, defense and special teams ― but also, I think, fundamentally, a chance to start from scratch,” Florida football coach Billy Napier said. “And then I think it creates opportunity to develop leaders, new roles on the team.”
There’s optimism as Florida finished the 2024 season with four straight wins to post an 8-5 record, its first winning season since 2020.
“We certainly have high expectations,” Napier said. “In no way are we satisfied where we’re at. We’ve got a ton of potential, this group has been impressive to me so far, so we’re excited to work with them.”
Here are three takeaways from the 15-minute open portion of UF’s first spring practice.
Florida football QB DJ Lagway participates, doesn’t throw
Florida football sophomore starting quarterback DJ Lagway did some handoffs, simulated throws and drop backs but didn’t throw the football during the open period. Napier said before the start of practice that Lagway is dealing with shoulder and lower body issues.
UF’s remaining quarterbacks threw to receivers, with Louisville transfer Harrison Bailey showing off the strongest arm. True freshman quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. also made some solid throws downfield.
Florida football WRs Eugene Wilson III, J. Michael Sturdivant, Dallas Wilson stand out
Wide receiver Eugene Wilson III, coming off hip surgery, wore a black jersey but ran routes and caught passes during drills. Wilson made a nice, reaching grab over the middle on a pass from Aidan Warner.
UCLA transfer J. Michael Sturdivant and true freshman wide receiver Dallas Wilson both made nice catches on deep balls, though Sturdivant had a drop in a red zone drills. Sturdivant (6-foot-3, 216 pounds) and Wilson (6-3, 209) are both bigger targets who appear to have the strength to handle opposing SEC defensive backs.
Wide receiver Kahleil Jackson, coming off a torn ACL last September, took part in agility drills in a black non-contact jersey but didn’t do live passing drills.
Bryce Lovett works with Florida football offensive line at RT
Bryce Lovett worked alongside starting right guard Dameion George Jr. and center Jake Slaughter in offensive line drills at right tackle. Lovett, a redshirt sophomore, appears to be the leading candidate to replace the departed Brendan Crenshaw-Dickson at right tackle.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Takeaways from first Florida football spring practice
