Florida’s injury-hit receiver room could open the door a little wider for Justin Williams, and Jon Sumrall sounds ready to keep handing the true freshman chances.
Williams, a local product from Buchholz High in Gainesville, has been one of the few first-year players to carve out any real role for Florida during the 2026 season. In the Gators’ 27-8 loss to Georgia in Atlanta, he caught two passes for nine yards, and another longer grab came off the board because of a holding penalty.
At 5-foot-11 and 199 pounds, Williams may be in line for more work as Florida tries to piece together its offense. Sophomore Vernell Brown III is still week-to-week with a knee injury, while Bailey Stockton and Eric Singleton Jr. are both playing through injuries and not at full strength.
“You're going to see more on offense and more on special teams,” Sumrall said of Williams. “He looks like he's got some juice.
We got him the ball on the perimeter. He practiced today, looked really good.”
Through eight games, Williams has four catches for 30 yards. He also had a rough moment earlier in the year when he muffed a punt against Campbell in Week 2, but he could still be part of the punt return mix if Brown and Stockton remain sidelined.
Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner also pointed to Williams’ progress.
“Justin showed some flashes that were really excited about his future,” Faulkner said. “He’s got to continue to get better every day. And I think he is he’s earned the right to play a little bit.”
Sumrall said Williams isn’t the only young player pushing his way toward the varsity group. He also mentioned receiver Marquez Daniel, defensive back Dylan Purter, JUCO transfer defensive back Elijah Owens and offensive lineman Desmond Green as players moving up from the scout team and starting to make themselves noticed in practice.
“I don't know how much they're going to change our ‘26 team, but there's some guys that I see their trajectory for how they're going to help us in the future,” Sumrall said. “You can tell they've been really hard at work in the weight room, on scout team, and we're finding them some reps with the varsity bunch in practice because they're showing signs of life.”
Florida is 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the SEC and returns home to face Oklahoma on Saturday, November 7 at The Swamp. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. on SEC Network.
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