Ricky Pearsall missed Saturday practice due to illness, Devin Moore out with upper body injury

Florida was down a couple players during practice on Saturday. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and cornerback Devin Moore both sat out, UF announced.

Pearsall was dealing with an illness while Moore had an undisclosed upper body injury. The Orlando Sentinel’s Edgar Thompson noted Moore is coming off shoulder surgery.

Pearsall was Florida’s leading receiver last year, totaling 661 yards to go with five touchdowns. He’s sure to be a key part of the offense once again this year even though the Gators are in the midst of a quarterback competition.

Moore played in five games as a freshman in 2022 and was ruled out for the season after he aggravated the shoulder injury and underwent surgery. He had six total tackles in that time. He arrived on campus last year as a four-star recruit and the No. 194 overall prospect from the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Florida also saw tight end Keon Zipperer watch Saturday’s practice while on crutches. According to Mark Wheeler of Inside The Gators, Zipperer posted on Instagram from a hospital room recently. He was not mentioned in head coach Billy Napier’s injury report earlier this week but has been a major contributor for the team in the past.

Zipperer is entering his fifth season at Florida, having logged 38 career catches for 486 yards and four touchdowns. In the 2022 campaign, he tallied 13 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown.

Ricky Pearsall on Florida’s wide receivers: ‘I think we have a really dangerous group’

Pearsall was part of the Gators’ group that went to Nashville for SEC Media Days and spoke highly of the wide receiver room. Florida lost Justin Shorter to the NFL last year’s receptions leader, Xzavier Henderson, entered the transfer portal. But UF’s returning group — which includes five of the Gators’ top eight receivers — paired with their young incoming talent has Pearsall optimistic about the unit.

“Yeah, I mean, I think we have a really dangerous group,” Pearsall said. “All these young guys that came in, they’re extremely talented. We already had a talented room even without them. Now it just adds onto our talent and makes us even more stronger in there. I think all the young guys are going to come in and make impacts going on to this season.”

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this report.