Carter's Corner: How Receiver Ricky Pearsall Fits In

Pearsall, Ricky (Arizona State 2021 season)

New Gators receiver Ricky Pearsall adds a veteran to Florida's roster in head coach Billy Napier's first season. (Photo: Courtesy of Arizona State athletics)

Carter's Corner: How Receiver Ricky Pearsall Fits In

Friday, June 3, 2022 | Football, Scott Carter

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The long-distance relationship that evolved over the past month and a half was officially consummated Thursday when the Gators announced they had signed transfer receiver Ricky Pearsall from Arizona State.

Pearsall was already in town and waiting for the bookkeepers to finalize the transition, making the Gators a better team in head coach Billy Napier's first season. Napier identified the UF receiving corps as a position of need shortly after taking over the program six months ago.

With Jacob Copeland off to Maryland, tight end Kemore Gamble to UCF, and the departure of sixth-year senior Rick Wells, the receiver meetings had some empty chairs.

"We're adding a player that has had a ton of production in the past, and we feel like the player can help our team," Napier said.

Florida's top returning wideout is Justin Shorter, who caught 41 passes for 550 yards and three touchdowns last season. Pearsall arrives from Arizona State with similar numbers from a year ago: 48 catches, 580 yards and four touchdowns.

The difference is that the 6-foot-1 Pearsall is a slot receiver known for his ability to pick up yards after the catch. He displayed his shiftiness in perhaps the best game of his career in Arizona State's 42-23 win over UCLA last season. Pearsall totaled 132 receiving yards and caught a pair of touchdowns, including a screen pass he took 65 yards.

Pearsall, technically Ricky Pearsall Jr., had a teacher close to home. His father, Ricky Pearsall Sr., played receiver at Northern Arizona in the mid-1990s and was the leading punt returner in the country in 1996 in Division II.

Pearsall put his name in the transfer portal on April 21 after Sun Devils quarterback Jayden Daniels, a close friend, transferred to LSU. In a sign of the times, former Gators quarterback Emory Jones, who started 12 games last season, transferred to Arizona State.

"Scared Money Don't Make Money"
⁦@GatorsFB⁩ pic.twitter.com/6kQ9w6SOxg
— RP (@pearsallricky1) May 21, 2022

Pearsall's arrival provides the Gators and young quarterback Anthony Richardson a veteran receiver underneath to help out when the pressure gets tight. Pearsall chose the Gators over Oregon. Depending on how Napier uses Trent Whittemore, who played slot during spring camp but can also line up on the outside, Pearsall figures to get most of his reps inside.

Shorter, Whittemore, Xzavier Henderson and Ja'Quavion Fraziars project as the primary wideouts. The Gators have an inexperienced group down the depth chart that includes Ja'Markis Weston, Daejon Reynolds, Jordan Pouncey, Marcus Burke, former walk-on Kahleil Jackson and converted safety Fenley Graham Jr.

With so little experience and depth, Pearsall was a prime target for the Gators in the hotly contested transfer portal.

Pearsall grew up in Arizona and was a three-star in 2019. During Pearsall's junior year of high school in 2017, Napier was the offensive coordinator at Arizona State. Pearsall played in 30 games for Arizona State, making 61 catches for 794 yards and five touchdowns.

"We felt like Ricky's skill-set fit our team, fit our offense," Napier said. "We had some familiarity. There were some relationships there because the year in Arizona State some of our staff members [spent there]. I think Ricky's a good person. I think he's competitive. I think that he's proved himself.

"He's been a very productive player, and I think he can get open. I think he can catch the ball. He's proved to be a run-after-catch player. I think he's got some toughness to his game. He can play on special teams."

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