Ricky Pearsall becomes the fifth first-round WR coached by Billy Napier

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — On late Thursday night, all was quiet in the Napier household. Then at 11:46 p.m., the news broke and so did the silence.

Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall had his name called at the end of the first round, going 31st overall to the San Francisco 49ers.

As Pearsall took in the moment with family and friends at his draft party in Arizona, UF coach Billy Napier celebrated from afar.

“I’m running around my house,” Napier said, “my wife and kids are asleep and I’m going crazy. I called Ricky and, man, that’s a memory right there.”

Pearsall made many memorable plays at Florida, most notably his one-handed snag against Charlotte that was considered the catch of the year in 2023. He also caught the game-winning touchdown at South Carolina and posted career highs for catches (10) and receiving yards (166) in Columbia.

Pearsall is the 45th UF receiver to get drafted, which ranks third in the NCAA and leads the SEC, and the eighth Florida WR to be a first-round pick.

Pearsall also became the fifth receiver coached by Napier to go in the first round and the ninth receiver overall that played for him and got drafted.

Napier also coached first-round picks N’Keal Harry at Arizona State, Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley at Alabama and DeAndre Hopkins at Clemson.

“One of my favorite players of all time and I think the 49ers got it right because this guy is a pro. He’ll be even better at the next level,” Napier said. “He’s got a ton of confidence … and just a really good football mind.

“He’s kind of almost obsessed with the details. Character makeup, dad, mom, great family. Just a blue-collar kid, tough kid that had a plan and really bought into how we work around here the last couple of years.”

Napier recruited Pearsall to Arizona State when he was the offensive coordinator in 2017. After three seasons with the Sun Devils, including a team-high 48 catches for 580 yards and four touchdowns in 2021, Pearsall transferred to Florida and became the school’s top receiver the past two years.

Following 33 receptions for 661 yards and five touchdowns in 2022, he decided to return for his senior season and boosted his draft stock considerably. Pearsall set career highs for catches (65) and receiving yards (965) with four TDs. He also averaged 20.7 yards on three rushing attempts, scoring twice.

Pearsall never missed a game in college, finishing with 159 catches for 2,420 yards and 14 TDs in 55 games (33 starts). He recorded a reception in 40 consecutive games to end his career, the sixth-longest streak in the FBS. His 9.90 RAS score at the NFL Combine ranked 32 out of 3121 WRs from 1987 to 2024.

Pearsall went from three-star recruit to first-round pick.

 “I think Ricky Pearsall is the epitome of what we call ‘Journey.’ I think he’s done a phenomenal job from Day 1 of really buying into improvement,” Napier said. “He’s been a relentless worker. Really set the pace around here for two years in terms of work ethic, self-discipline, attention to detail, great teammate, incredible energy every day. Just a fun guy to coach.

“Ricky made a decision to come back after having middle-round grades and set out on a mission last January and it paid off. … Hard work pays off. I think it’s a great lesson for anybody out there. This guy has made himself into an elite player and I’m hopeful that young people are watching, and I’m hopeful that our entire team was watching because it couldn’t have happened to a better guy.”  

In addition to the aforementioned receivers coached by Napier, he recruited three future first-round picks in Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III and Clemson’s Sammy Watkins. Napier also coached Alabama receivers Gehrig Dieter (Kansas City) and Cam Sims (Washington), both of whom were NFL free agent signees.

WR draftees coached by Billy Napier