Speed Kills: Florida freshmen WRs Andy Jean, Aidan Mizell earning rave reviews

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — On National Signing Day in February, Gators Online asked Florida coach Billy Napier about the early returns on his 17 mid-year enrollees in the Class of 2023. Napier said the group had some impressive metrics, and he singled out one player in particular: UF true freshman receiver Andy Jean.

“Andy ran 22.5 miles per hour, and I don’t even think he was running as fast as he could,” Napier said.

How fast is 22.5 MPH? That’s the same speed reached by Buffalo Bills running back Latavius Murray when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds ahead of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Jean is one of two scholarship players on Florida’s roster from Miami. The other, starting cornerback Jason Marshall Jr., played against him in high school.

“His routes, his catching, everything is clean. He’s big, physical, and he’s fast,” Marshall said of Jean. “He’ll be a real good addition to the offense.”

Speed is one of Jean’s strengths, but he’s not the fastest player on the team. That distinction belongs to fellow freshman receiver Aidan Mizell.

When the players ran 40-yard dashes in February during offseason workouts, Mizell had the fastest time according to WR Caleb Douglas.

“Aidan is fastest on the team,” Douglas said. “The month of Identity (phase), we’re out there running our 40s and, like, Aidan’s just [claps] right by. Everybody’s like, ‘Oooh! Aidan’s running, Aidan’s running.’”

Marshall can confirm.

“Workouts, he’s real fast. Real fast. Blazing speed,” Marshall said of Mizell. “Both of them coming in, their routes are clean, they’re both fast.”

Douglas has also been impressed with what he’s seen from Jean.

“Explosive. He’s extremely explosive,” he said of Jean. “Like, he’s very fast, quick twitch, getting his breaks well. He’s great.”

Mark Hocke, Florida’s associate head coach and director of football strength and conditioning, discussed the team’s mid-year enrollees on the first day of spring camp. When he got to the offense, the first players he mentioned were Jean and Mizell.

“And then offensively, we’ve got some rockets, Aidan Mizell and Andy Jean,” Hocke said.

Jean and Mizell played the X and Z receiver spots in the spring, and both will be threats to the take the top off defenses with their speed on the outside.

Gators safety Miguel Mitchell revealed Jean has also been lining up in the slot.

“Andy Jean looks really good in one on ones. I go against him a lot because he comes in that slot a little bit, but he’s been looking good,” Mitchell said. “Aidan Mizell has been looking really good, too.”

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Andy Jean, Aidan Mizell making plays

Mizell’s nickname is “Early” and that’s when he’ll be playing at UF. He got behind the defense in the first scrimmage of camp and caught a long touchdown pass. 

The Gators also took a deep shot to Mizell on the Blue’s first play in the spring game. The ball was underthrown, but he adjusted to it and drew a pass interference call.

“The young buck Aidan Mizell, I mean, he’s just a burner,” Florida quarterback Graham Mertz said.

In the team’s second scrimmage, Napier said Andy Jean “flashed a little bit” and as was starting to look more comfortable as he “made a handful of plays.”

A week later in the spring game, Jean caught an 18-yard pass on third-and-13 to give the Blue offense a new set of downs inside the red zone.

“He’s a good ballplayer. Gator fans should be excited about him,” UF receiver Ricky Pearsall said of Jean. “He came in right away and the first thing I noticed is he’s really polished. I can tell he’s been coached by a lot of good coaches, and he’s already so polished at a young age. So, he’s got a big future.” 

Jean and Mizell have also been praised for their work ethic. Florida quarterback Jack Miller III and defensive back Jaydon Hill credited them for putting in extra hours this offseason to get themselves in position to play.

“Andy Jean, the freshman that just came in, he’s the real deal,” Miller said. “He’s a really, really hard worker. If you come in here at 6 o’clock at night after practice, he’s still here catching balls, he’s still working out. And he gets open is the best way I can describe it.”

“I love them boys,” Hill said. “Those boys been working too, Andy and Aidan. One thing I like about them, they work even after the required work gets put in. They’re trying to get it, trying to understand the game and take their game to the next level.”

In addition to their speed, playmaking ability and work ethic, the competitiveness of Jean and Mizell has stood out to Florida wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales.

The key for them, he said, will be trying to learn as fast as they can run.

“Both those guys are great competitors,” Gonzales said of Jean and Mizell. “They do a great job with that. They’re not going to back down from anything. They’re going to compete. They’re lively, they’re energetic. They’re going to run around, and they bring speed to the game. They’re both fast football players, have good hands. So, for them, it’s just about the faster they learned the offense, the faster they’re going to play. But extremely impressed with both of those guys.”