GAINESVILLE – Harrison Bailey saw five weeks ago what Florida football fans in the Swamp witnessed Saturday:
That Dallas Wilson is the real deal.
The new Gators freshman wide receiver put on a masterful display in his first game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Tampa native caught 10 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s Orange and Blue spring game.
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“I told him as soon as they put it up on the screen that he was going to have 10-plus catches, 200-plus,” Bailey said. “I was going to find a way to get him the ball. I was stoked to have him on the team.”
‘Looks like a 5-star’
Wilson was Florida’s biggest flip in the Class of 2025. He initially committed to Oregon, but he changed his mind and decided to stay in-state on December 22, shortly after the Gators Gasparilla Bowl victory over Tulane in his home city of Tampa.
Coach Billy Napier said Wilson looked like the 5-star prospect that 247 Sports rated him, adding that he took advantage of matchups due to his big, physical nature.
Florida Gators defensive back Ben Hanks III (12) wraps up Florida Gators wide receiver Dallas Wilson (6) during the second half of the Orange and Blue spring football game at Ben Hill Griffen Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, April 12, 2025. [Chris Watkins/Gainesville Sun]
“I’ve been impressed with his football intelligence, how he’s been able to retain information. You don’t produce like that today unless you’ve been working hard, so he’s had a good offseason and when given opportunities today, I thought he took full advantage of it,” Napier said.
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Wilson started slow, as did the entire orange team. They were spotted a 3-0 lead due to a team competition won in Thursday’s practice, but blue began with 28 unanswered points and eventually led 35-17. Wilson, though, helped lead orange back with touchdown catches of 20 and 19 yards from Bailey.
Bailey knows a thing or two about veterans. The fifth year is one himself. He said Wilson looks like a veteran in terms of route running.
Running back Ja’Kobi Jackson had himself a breakout spring game with 198 yards on the ground. Yet, he stood impressed by Wilson, calling him explosive and praising his intelligence.
“He’s learned the system. He’s still explosive and very athletic I would say,” Jackson said. “He’s a great ballplayer. Excited to play this year with him.”
Billy Napier’s deepest receiving core
Wilson is one of four new top receivers to join the squad and each made a statement of their own. UCLA transfer J. Micheal Sturdivant caught a nice 29 yard pass from Aidan Warner. Freshman Vernell Brown was blue’s leading receiver with four catches for 34 yards, and Naeshaun Montgomery had three catches for 70 yards.
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Napier called Florida’s receiving core the deepest since he arrived in 2022.
“There’s a bunch of speed out there, so that’s got a chance to be a strength for us,” Napier said. “If we can put together some balance there and distribute the ball and get good quarterback play, we got a chance to make more explosives in the future.”
Warner said the young receivers are “different.”
“These young guys, sky’s the limit for their potential,” Warner said.
Jackson said he values how each receiver is different. Montgomery and Brown are more effective for their speed, while Sturdivant and Wilson hold more power in their physicality.
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“It makes the receiver room more versatile, I would say, just because having young guys who can come in there and take the top off, or they can block for the wide receivers and the running backs, or they can run routes,” Jackson said.
UF’s 2025 season begins at home on Saturday, August 30 vs. Long Island University.
Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at [email protected] and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Dallas Wilson, Florida football’s new receivers excel in Orange and Blue game
