Eugene Wilson earns Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Watch List Honor
Florida wide receiver Eugene Wilson III was named to the sixth annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Watch List, as announced by the Maxwell Football Club Wednesday.
Wilson III is the first Gator in program history to be tabbed to a Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Watch List.
Wilson III was rated as the No. 32 player and a top-five receiver in the 2023 class by On3. The five-star recruit from Tampa, Fla. was invited to the 2023 Under Armour All-American Game and caught 40 receptions for 764 yards with 11 touchdown his senior season at Gaither High School. Additionally, he started both ways his junior year with 925 yards and seven scores receiving along with 23 total tackles, five pass break ups and four interceptions on defense.
The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award has been presented to the College Freshman Player of the Year since 2018 and is named in honor of Shaun Alexander, a former standout at the University of Alabama and with the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. Past winners include; Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) – 2018, Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis)-2019 and Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) – 2020, Brock Bowers (Georgia) – 2021 and Drake Maye (North Carolina) 2022.
Wilson named an On3 Sports Freshman All-American
Wilson was named to the On3 Sports Freshman All-American team. The Tampa native will play receiver for the Gators but will also make his presence felt on special teams. Wilson was listed on the Florida Gators first depth chart as a kick and punt returner.
On3 Director of Scouting Charles Power had this to say of Wilson.
“Eugene Wilson was a five-star outlier for On3. We ranked him much higher than any other media outlet, and I think based on the early returns since he’s arrived in Florida, I think he has a chance to live up to his five-star billing. He’s been a silky smooth, extremely coordinator, fluid receiver, who just has a lot of play-making ability.
“I think when you’re looking at the receiver position, we highly-value coordination, movement-skills, and Eugene Wilson has all of that in spades. … Just a phenomenal overall athlete. … Getting really strong reviews early on in his time at Florida. … They’re going to need some play-makers, obviously they’re losing Anthony Richardson. … So Eugene Wilson, he’s one that we’ve been high on for a long time, and I think he could be set to surprise some folks this year in Gainesville,” Power stated.
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