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Florida Gators miss ESPN analyst's top 5 SEC receivers units

On3 imageby: Keith Niebuhr06/06/25On3Keith
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]
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]

ESPN college football analyst Cole Cubelic had a difficult time putting together his list of the top five receiver groups in the SEC. That’s because the league has so much talent and depth at this spot. The Florida Gators did not make Cubelic’s cut but they came close. And he seems high on UF.

“I do think this is a talented group, has a chance to be a really good group,” Cubelic said on his Cube Show podcast. “Lost a little prowess from a season ago — I’m not going to have Florida in my top five. I think (quarterback DJ) Lagway elevates the guys that he has around him and has a chance to do that again this year. I think the run game will be the emphasis with an offensive line we like. Obviously, you saw that episode. A running back group we like, you saw that episode. And this group might not be as needed as some of the others we’re going to discuss. I just don’t think they’re going to be as deep as some of the groups were going to discuss, either.”

Florida lost 2024 standouts Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike to the NFL. However, the Gators return speedster Eugene Wilson, picked up talented transfer J.Michael Sturdivant from UCLA, return other quality players and added an elite group in the 2025 recruiting class, including Dallas Wilson, Vernell Brown III and Naeshaun Montgomery.

Cole Cubelic‘s top 5 receiver groups in the SEC

1. Auburn
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. LSU
5. Texas

    What got the Tigers to No. 1? “The main reason is depth. And the main reason is variety,” Cubelic said. “They have every kind of wide receiver that you could want.”

    Here is what Zach Abolverdi recent wrote about the Florida receivers:

    No position generated more buzz this spring than Florida’s WR room, which added impact transfer J.Michael Sturdivant — who was No. 111 nationally in the On3 Industry rankings — and a trio of early enrollees, including top-50 overall recruits Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson. All four stood out in the Orange & Blue. The Gators have to replace leading receivers Elijhah Badger (77.2) and Chimere Dike (72.0), both of whom ranked among their top 10 offensive players, but they bring back Eugene Wilson III, a 2023 Freshman All-American who returns from season-ending hip surgery. In the four games Wilson did play in, he earned Florida’s seventh-highest PFF grade on offense (71.9) with 19 catches for 266 yards and an 85-yard TD. PFF ranked him among the nation’s top 10 returning receivers in 2025.

    PositionTotalSeniorsJuniorsSophomoresFreshmen
    Wide receiver10J.Michael Sturdivant*
    Kahleil Jackson*    		Eugene Wilson III*
    Aidan Mizell*
    Tank Hawkins    		TJ Abrams*
    Dallas Wilson
    Vernell Brown III
    Naeshaun Montgomery
    Muizz Tounkara

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