Ricky Pearsall: 'I just trust Billy Napier and what he’s doing'

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Billy Napier and the Florida Gators were all holding their breath waiting for Ricky Pearsall to make a decision. Would the Arizona State transfer come back for his final season of eligibility or would he parlay his one season in the SEC into the NFL Draft?

Pearsall waited until 48 hours before the deadline to announce his plans. He chose to come back to school, but what was the driving force behind that?

“I honestly went back and forth with it and I just trust Billy Napier and what he’s doing,” Pearsall told Ben Troupe on the 84 Reasons Podcast. “I think he’s going in the right direction with everything. We have a really good QB room. We have (Graham) Mertz in there and Jack (Miller) was looking good. I’m excited to get to work with those guys. It’s a brotherhood. I’m excited to get back to work with my brothers.”

Getting Pearsall back was a huge win for Napier and the Gators. Pearsall led UF with 33 receptions 661 yards and five touchdowns. All of those numbers are good but won’t win a Biletnikoff Award, which is his ultimate goal.

Florida is losing four starting offensive linemen, its starting quarterback, and a receiver in Justin Shorter. Pearsall had played four years in college already. He just had his best season, statistically, against the best competition in the country. What else did he have left to prove? How else could he improve his draft stock with what the Gators had coming back in 2023? Those were all things that he considered, ultimately he believes in Napier and the program that the head coach is building.

Pearsall will be a featured player for the Gators in 2023. He’s the most proven offensive weapon they have returning and, as he told Ben Troupe on the 84 Reasons podcast, wants to win a Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s best receiver.

Here are the highlights from Pearsall’s interview with Troupe.

On getting the No. 1 jersey

It wasn’t planned. Pearsall committed to Florida and planned on rocking with the No. 5 jersey. That changed when Nay’Quan Wright wanted to switch from his No. 6 back to his high school number 5. Pearsall was actually surprised to be assigned the number, according to him.

“It’s super humbling to even be given the opportunity to wear that number. Just representing all the guys that wore it before me and all the greats that wore it before me. When I found out I was going to wear it, actually I thought I was wearing No. 5, to be honest. That was the number that me and Nape talked about,” Pearsall told Troupe.

“One day, I think it was after OTAs. I was talking to Coach (David) Doeker after practice and we’re just discussing what number I’m going to wear, we were done talking about football stuff. He said, ‘Nape wants you in 1.’ I was like, oh I thought you was five. He said let me give him a call real quick and I ended up just chilling for a bit and my phone rings and it’s Caoch Deck. He’s like, ‘yeah, Coach Nape wants to put you in that 1. Nay’Quan is gonna get that 5.’ That’s when I found out I was going to get in that one, after an OTA. After that moment I just thanked him, thanked Napier because I knew what that number meant and I was just trying to represent what that number meant. It’s a blessing.”  

Learning the rivalries

A kid from Chandler, Arizona doesn’t know about Florida-Florida State. What that means to every single fan of either school. He was a quick study, and he showed out in his first UF-FSU game. Pearsall hauled in five passes for 148 yards and two scores. He was electric in the first half.

“All the guys leading up to the week were telling me what this rivalry meant because you know it was my first year. I just go and trust those boys, go into it like they are. I don’t like them now, that’s what it is.” 

“We brought the fight to them but we didn’t finish in the end. Next year we’ve gotta rebuild and come back at them. On the week schedule, we got them circled.”

76-yard touchdown run vs Eastern Washington

Xzavier Henderson ran a country mile in pre-snap motion in 2022 but didn’t register a single rushing attempt. Pearsall got his first carry against Eastern Washington and made the most of it. He took a carry his first carry of the season 76-yards for a score against Eastern Washington. The play needed blocking, which he got from Jonathan Odom and Richie Leonard. Pearsall did the rest.

“For me, I’m just kind of a give me the ball kind of guy. I feel like coaches want guys like that on their team. When my name got called I gotta execute that opportunity I was given. I actually chew gum in the game. I was relaxed and I had full confidence that it could break at any time,” he said.

“As soon as he tossed me the ball, I really thought it was going to be a touchdown. Before the play even started I really thought touchdown. When I broke to the left side I saw a bunch of green grass. I saw Kingsley running down, Big Rich (Richie Leonard). Know with guys like that in front of me and the o-line that we have, I know it could break at any moment. I just followed those guys and made a play.” 

Watch Pearsall’s Interview