Florida heads into Saturday’s SEC opener at Auburn with one of its top receiving weapons still up in the air. Eric Singleton is questionable as he works through an ankle injury, and the Gators don’t sound ready to count on him just yet.
According to Justin Hokanson of On3, Singleton was limited in practice on Monday. Hokanson relayed that "Florida coach Jon Sumrall says WR Eric Singleton is out of his boot but remains questionable for Saturday's game at Auburn," and added that "Sumrall said Singleton was "very limited" in practice Monday morning and said there is a chance he plays, but he's not ready to guarantee it."
Singleton, who transferred from Auburn, has not recorded a reception for Florida since going down with the ankle injury against FAU. He also sat out Florida’s 52-3 win over Campbell in Week 2.
Even without him, Florida’s passing game had plenty of production against the Fighting Camels. The Gators’ quarterbacks combined for 300 passing yards, and Aaron Philo threw two touchdown passes in the win. Dallas Wilson led the receiving corps with 104 yards and a touchdown on five catches.
Through two games, Vernell Brown II has been Florida’s most productive receiver by volume, putting up 160 yards and two scores on nine receptions.
Still, the Gators would clearly benefit from having Singleton available. His presence would give Florida another dangerous option to pair with an already strong ground game. Jadan Baugh has been the centerpiece there, piling up 296 yards and five touchdowns on 28 carries over Florida’s first two contests.
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner has been waiting to get Singleton into the mix. Faulkner coached him at Georgia Tech before Singleton transferred to Auburn, and he made it clear how highly he views the wideout.
"I tell him all the time, he's one of the smarter players that I've ever gotten the opportunity to coach," Faulkner said, via the Gators.
"Super intelligent, he knows the game. And so, at this point, I'm just challenging him to bring somebody with him. You know, bring one of those younger guys with him."
For now, Florida is still waiting on a final answer. If Singleton can’t go against Auburn, a possible return could come when the Gators host No.
8 Ole Miss on Sept. 26.
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Floridas 52-3 win over Campbell gave the Gators plenty of breathing room, but the Pro Football Focus review afterward did a nice job of showing where the performance really stood out. The grades offered a quick snapshot of who carried the day on offense and defense, along with how the team stacked up nationally through two weeks, which is the kind of context that can be useful early in the season when the sample size is still small.
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For a program trying to build consistency under a new head coach, the bigger challenge is keeping that edge when the games start to look comfortable. Sumrall has stressed the need for the Gators to hold themselves to a high standard and stay locked in mentally, and the next stretch will show whether that message sticks once Florida is asked to carry the same focus into a tougher test. [Read more 🡒]