Gators officially add Ricky Pearsall to football roster
Ricky Pearsall had already made the announcement and arrived on campus but the Florida Gators made it official on Thursday. Billy Napier and the Gators announced the addition of the Arizona State transfer receiver.
Pearsall led the Sun Devils in catches, receiving yards, touchdown catches, and receiving yards per game en route to playing every game for the third straight season. During the 2021 season, Pearsall hauled in 48 receptions for 580 yards and four touchdowns. He led the Pac-12 program in all three categories. His best outing came against No. 20 UCLA, as he registered four catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-23 victory.
“We talked about this a lot,” Napier said Thursday prior to his speech in Gainesville. “We’re in an era here where we can add players to the team at certain times of the year, right? December signing day, the winter portal, February signing day, and certainly the spring portal. And each individual situation’s case by case, right?
“We felt like Ricky’s skill set fit our team, fit our offense. We had some familiarity,” Napier said of the addition. “There was some relationships there because the year in Arizona State some of our staff members, some of the common relationships. So, I think Ricky’s a good person.”
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Ricky Pearsall joins five other transfers
Pearsall joins transfers Montrell Johnson, Jalen Kimber, Jack Miller III, O’Cyrus Torrence, and Kamryn Waites. In a transition year, the transfer portal has made it easier for coaches to turn over their rosters. Pearsall will have a chance to start. As will Kimber, and Torrence should be written in ink as a starter on the offensive line.
It’s easy to say that Napier and his staff crushed the transfer portal in their first year.
“We have been pretty aggressive. We added six players in the winter. I think we added two O-linemen, a quarterback, a running back, and a corner, all of which I think were really good decisions relative to what we’ve observed for four months. The spring portal period’s been a little different,” Napier said before a speaking event in Fort Lauderdale. “Less players available and then each situation is a little bit different. We have added, I don’t know that I could comment on the player that we’ve added until he gets here, but I think we’ve made some really good decisions so far. These are all individual scenarios. I think the winter period was good to us.”
