TJ Abrams knows the easy part is saying he wants a bigger role. The harder part is earning one in a Florida receiver room packed with options, and doing it while putting a few painful moments behind him.
For Abrams, the issue has been drops - the kind that can linger when they show up at the wrong time. He had one in Florida’s Orange and Blue game in 2025, though it didn’t affect the Gators’ record. The bigger ones came in real games, including a drop against Georgia that he believes could have swung momentum, and another against Miami when he couldn’t get to the sticks on a fourth-down play that might have extended Florida’s chances against the eventual runner-up.
“I'd say the Georgia game, I had a drop that - any drop during the game can change the tide,” Abrams said. “Miami, too. Not getting that first down while we had a lot of momentum.”
Abrams isn’t treating those plays like ancient history. He’s using them as fuel, and he says the offseason was spent tightening up the part of his game that needed the most work. The 6-foot-2 receiver pointed to his hands - large, by his own admission - and said the fix was less about talent than concentration.
“That was something I had to tackle a lot during the offseason,” the 6-foot-2 Abrams said of his previous drops. “Some coaches be like - because I have huge hands - it's not really a skill, it's more of a focus, so I just made sure I got that in check.”
That work has followed him everywhere. Abrams said he keeps a jugs machine at home and uses it daily, making sure the reps don’t stop when he leaves the facility.
“I got one in my house,” Abrams said. “That's an everyday thing.”
Florida’s depth chart at receiver leaves little room for passengers, and Abrams understands that his path to snaps depends on trust. He’s trying to become the kind of target quarterbacks can lean on, while also proving he can hold his own in a group that includes proven and emerging playmakers.
He’s already spent time learning behind J. Michael Sturdivant, Eugene “Tre” Wilson III, and freshmen Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson last season. Abrams said that experience mattered, especially once injuries gave him more real-game reps.
“I mean, it was a lot to learn from playing behind some guys like J.Michael, Tre - those were some great guys to play behind,” Abrams said. “I actually got to play a little bit more through the injuries, so just seeing how the actual game works instead of just watching from the sideline taught me a lot (last season).”
That learning curve helped shape his decision to stay at Florida instead of entering the NCAA transfer portal. A move closer to home mattered for the Fort Myers native, but so did the bigger picture, including the chance to leave with a degree from the University of Florida.
“Just being in Florida, I just want to stay in Florida. I'm from Florida.
I'm from here,” Abrams said. “The Gator name brings more than NIL can bring at the end of the day. ...
A degree from Florida goes a long way to my family, so it kind of helped the decision.”
Still, staying put doesn’t mean the situation is simple. Abrams knows the room is crowded, and he doesn’t pretend to know exactly how the targets will be spread around. His focus is on controlling what he can, which means stacking good days and continuing to sharpen his hands.
“I don't know,” Abrams, asked how the targets will be distributed, said. “We've got a lot of people.
Coach Buster (Faulkner) is very good at putting people in different positions. We've got a lot of playmakers that can come in and do different stuff.”
As fall camp moves toward its midpoint, Abrams is also working against Florida’s secondary, and he had plenty of praise for second-year cornerback Ben Hanks III. In Abrams’ view, Hanks has taken a noticeable step.
“Yeah, Hanks' good. Ben, you can tell this year it's more personal than ever.
He's just been paying attention to his craft a lot more. Just attacking it like a pro,” Abrams said.
“Every time you see Ben, he's always doing extra stuff after workouts, by himself or with a group of DBs,”
He’s also building chemistry with multiple quarterbacks, especially Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. Abrams said that process matters if he’s going to become a trusted option in the offense.
“It's one of the best QB battles that I've been part of,” Abrams said. “When I was in high school, I had a QB battle, so I've seen a lot. But this right here is the best QB battle ever.”
The challenge in front of him is obvious. The receiver room is deep, the competition is real, and Abrams has work to do.
But he’s not dwelling on what could have been. He’s still at Florida, still chasing a role, and still trying to show the drops don’t define him.
“I mean, it's a game I've been playing since I was 5, so every time I step onto the field it's just a blessing,” Abrams said. “I don't really too much, you know what I'm saying, I just go out there and ball. That's just how I'm raised, how I go out there and do it.”
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