Florida to be without key offensive player for Week 4 at Mississippi State
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Florida will not have a key offensive contributor for its first SEC road trip of the season.
Sophomore standout Eugene “Tre” Wilson III has already been ruled out for Saturday’s contest at Mississippi State. Wilson is one of 10 Gators listed as “Out” on Wednesday’s official availability report. Three wide receivers are officially out, with freshman Tank Hawkins, potentially in line to receive some of Wilson’s touches, also on the report as “Questionable.”
Wilson missed Florida’s Week 3 loss to Texas A&M. With 13 catches for 191 yards in 2 contests, Wilson is Florida’s leader in catches, receptions per game (6.5) and receiving yards per game (95.5). Senior transfer Elijhah Badger is Florida’s leader in receiving yards on the season, with 11 catches for 260 yards through 3 games.
Whether DJ Lagway or Graham Mertz is in the game, expect UF’s quarterback to look to Badger, Chimere Dike and Arlis Boardingham.
Dike, who played with Mertz at Wisconsin, has 8 catches on the season for 146 yards and 1 touchdown. Boardingham also has 8 receptions. The sophomore tight end has 62 receiving yards so far. All other Florida pass-catchers have 3 receptions or fewer.
The UF offense will be looking for a strong start on Saturday. The Gators trailed Miami 24-10 at the half of their Week 1 loss. Texas A&M led 20-0 at the half this past Saturday in The Swamp.
Florida is a 6-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook. ESPN’s FPI gives UF a 52.9% chance to leave Starkville with the victory.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
