Aidan Mizell is finally showing the burst Florida fans kept waiting to see, only now it’s happening in UCLA blue.
The former Gators receiver has caught fire since transferring in the offseason, and the last two games have looked like the version of him that always seemed just out of reach in Gainesville. Against Illinois last night, Mizell went off for six catches, 176 yards and a touchdown as UCLA stayed unbeaten with a 22-14 win. That followed a two-catch, 150-yard outing against Minnesota, pushing his season total to 501 yards.
That’s a long way from his Florida production, where he finished with 404 receiving yards across three years.
Mizell’s arrival at Florida came with plenty of buzz. On signing day, he held live Gators.
But after a quiet freshman season in 2023, his flashes never quite turned into a steady role. He opened 2024 with a touchdown catch against Samford and later had what would have been another impressive score against Mississippi State, only for it to be erased by a penalty.
Even as the season wore on and opportunities opened up for wideouts, Florida kept leaning elsewhere. Marcus Burke got the nod instead, and Burke later transferred to UCF after the season. Mizell made his own feelings clear before the 2025 season, saying, "If you're still sleeping on me, that's on y'all."
The problem, as the source of the frustration made clear, wasn’t the fan base. It was the usage.
Mizell played 18 snaps against USF and then only 14 against LSU, though he did catch his lone touchdown of 2025 in that game. After that, the pattern held until Florida’s coaching staff changed.
Once The Man in the Black Polo was fired, Mizell saw 51 snaps against Ole Miss and 50 against FSU.
Injuries slowed him at the start of 2026, but now that he’s healthy and earning trust at UCLA, Mizell is delivering the kind of breakout Florida supporters had been picturing for years.
In Other News...
Floridas Kentucky Outlook Just Shifted With Two Big Defensive Changes
Floridas Week 11 prep for Kentucky got a little clearer, and a little thinner, on the defensive side of the ball. The Gators updated their injury report with cornerback Dijon Johnson downgraded to out, while defensive lineman DK Kalu moved up to probable, a small but important shift as the team tries to sort out its depth before another SEC test.
The list of unavailable players still leaves Florida with some holes to fill, with Vernell Brown III, Bryce Thornton, Jaden Robinson and Evan Chieca all confirmed out. Even with Kalu trending in the right direction, the Gators will need to piece together their rotation carefully against a Kentucky team that tends to make every missing body matter. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas 2027 Class Is Starting To Answer A Big Roster Question
Floridas 2027 recruiting class took a meaningful step forward with the addition of two four-star forwards, Kamsi Awaka of Blair Academy and Ian Condon of Sidwell Friends. Awaka arrives as a consensus top-50 national prospect, while Condon comes in as the top recruit in Washington, D.C., giving Todd Golden a pair of frontcourt pieces with the kind of size and upside that tend to matter in the SEC.
For Florida, the timing is notable because Awaka is widely viewed as a player who can help answer a looming roster need after Rueben Chinyelus departure. Golden praised both signees for their skills and work ethic, and the early return on this class is already showing up in the rankings, where Florida sits 21st nationally and sixth in the SEC according to Rivals. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Barely Avoided A Travel Scare Before Kentucky Trip
Floridas trip to Kentucky came with a little more drama than the Gators probably wanted, even before kickoff. The team landed in Lexington shortly before a nationwide FAA ground stop tied to an air traffic control communications outage, a timing break that allowed the game to stay on schedule while other college football matchups around the country had to be pushed back.
The outage created a messy travel picture for programs trying to get where they needed to be, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later confirmed the timing of the disruption. His advice to teams was straightforward: coordinate flight schedules with the FAA, a reminder that in college football, logistics can become part of the story just as quickly as the football itself. [Read more 🡒]