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UPDATE: the news isn’t so bad after all for Ricky Pearsall. As reported by Jacob Rudner, the Florida wide receiver has been “diagnosed with two bone bruises on the metatarsal” and will be “day to day.”
The original story begins below.
According to multiple reports, Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has suffered a foot injury and will be out “indefinitely”. The news was first reported by Jacob Rudner of 247Sports before being confirmed by additional outlets, including On3 and Rivals.
Sources have told me that “there is a legitimate reason to be hopeful” that Ricky Pearsall can be ready to go against Utah, but “we won’t know for sure until after tests come back- that’s the bottom line.” The Orlando Sentinel’s Edgar Thompson reported something that somewhat bolsters that line of thought, tweeting that Pearsall “tweaked his left foot/arch.” Pearsall was in a walking boot as of Tuesday night, per various reports.
All we can do now is wait and see. If the aforementioned hope does not transform into reality, though, and Ricky Pearsall misses some games, it’s a pretty sizeable blow to a less-than-deep wide receiver room.
Pearsall reeled in 48 passes for 580 yards and four touchdowns a season ago for Arizona State. As a result, he was widely considered a huge pickup for Billy Napier and the Gators via the transfer portal this offseason, and was expected to play a large role in the Florida passing attack this season.
If Florida does not have the services of Ricky Pearsall, though, things get a bit murkier. Though the Gators don’t have a ton of proven pieces in that wide receiver room, they do have a few in Trent Whittemore, Justin Shorter, and to a bit lesser of an extent, Xzavier Henderson. Florida also has promising, but raw, youngsters such as Ja’Quavion Fraziars and Marcus Burke waiting in the wings.