Bailey Stockton didn’t need long to show Florida why he could matter in this offense.
In his Gators debut, the transfer receiver flashed the same things he’d been showing all offseason: speed, toughness and the ability to find space. He finished with three catches for 20 yards and a touchdown against the Owls, hauling in a 12-yard score from quarterback Aaron Philo, his former Georgia Tech and Prince Avenue Christian School teammate.
“I lined up in the wing," Stockton said. "I saw man-to-man coverage and I was like I might have a shot here. Aaron kinda hesitated a little bit and then gave it to me, but it was a good feeling to get into the end zone.”
Now the 5-foot-10, 183-pound receiver could be in line for a bigger workload when Florida (1-0) hosts Campbell at The Swamp on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on SEC Network+. With Eric Singleton Jr. highly questionable because of an ankle injury, Stockton and the rest of Florida’s receivers may need to absorb more of the passing game.
What stands out about Stockton isn’t just the connection with Philo, though that matters. The two have been around each other for years, first at Georgia Tech and then at Prince Avenue Christian School in Bogart, Georgia, where Jon Richt coached them. Richt, the son of former Georgia Tech and Miami coach Mark Richt, said both players benefited from being in a pass-heavy system.
“They understand spatial awareness - and that's where he's really good,” Faulkner said. “He's faster than you think he is, but he's not the fastest.
He's quick. He's in-and-out of breaks, but he sees the field with great vision.
He knows when to spin it tight, when to go over the top. He changes speeds really good.
That's what makes him a really, really good receiver.”
Richt also described Stockton as one of the smoothest athletes he coached in high school, someone who could consistently create plays at receiver.
“At receiver, he's always been able to make plays,” Richt said. “Go up, get the ball in the air, outrun people, make people miss, sure-handed.”
The tougher part of Stockton’s profile showed up too. Richt said he played his final high school game with a broken collarbone, after surgery two weeks earlier, and still scored two touchdowns.
“He's hardnosed, he wants to win, he's the ultimate competitor and he's one of those guys that again, just loves football, loves to compete.”
Stockton said he takes real pride in the part of the game that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet: blocking on the perimeter.
“That comes back to (inside receivers) coach (Trent) McKnight always preaches to chase the ball always and always finish blocks,” Stockton said. “You don’t want your guy to ever make the play ever. You can create explosive plays as well by not having the ball in your hands.”
He can do damage with the ball, too. The chemistry with Philo started years ago, back when the two played travel baseball together in middle school, and their bond only grew from there.
“We always went fishing and golfing and things like that," Stockton said. "When we started playing football together, I started playing receiver, it really started to get going after that.”
After their first touchdown together in a Florida uniform, the moment hit both of them.
"Coming off the field he was like we have come a long way from Bogart, and I was like yeah," Stockton said. "On the field, when he said it just hit home.”
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In Lagways place, junior Nate Bennett is set to make his first career start, giving Baylor a different look while the staff manages the injury cautiously. The early indication is that Lagways absence should not linger too long, but until he is back on the field, every update on his recovery will draw attention from Gators fans who have an eye on what comes next for the quarterback. [Read more 🡒]
Former Florida Coach Sees Something Gators Fans Will Love In This Staff
After Floridas season-opening win over FAU, Geoff Collins came away impressed with the way Jon Sumrall and Buster Faulkner have put this staff together. The former Gators coach has seen enough of the operation, from practice habits to game-day execution, to believe Florida fans have reason to like what theyre watching early in the year.
Collins singled out Faulkner for an offense that looked effective and hard to pin down, while also crediting Sumrall for the way he runs a disciplined practice and communicates plainly with his players. It is the kind of outside validation that matters early, especially when a new staff is trying to establish both identity and trust at the same time. [Read more 🡒]