Gators still looking for WR to become their playmaker

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - David Pollack, a highly decorated defender in his day at Georgia, knows a playmaking wide receiver when he sees one.

Pollack certainly faced his share when he lined up against the Florida Gators.

These days, though, he cannot find a proven gamebreaker on his former rival’s roster. It’s a shocking development for Pollack, who arrived in Athens in 2001 when Florida was a wide receiver factory.

“Where’s the talent? Where’s the offensive talent?” Pollack, now an ESPN college football analyst, pondered at last month’s SEC media days. “I can name three receivers from Alabama and three receivers from Georgia off the top of my head that would be the No. 1 guy for Florida.”

The last time Florida had a 1,000-yard wide receiver (Taylor Jacobs, 2002) Pollack was a sophomore defensive end in his first of three All-American seasons. A season earlier, the Gators had two 1,000-yard pass catchers in Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell.

In the coming years, several Gators would approach 1,000 yards, including Percy Harvin, who had 858 receiving yards in 2007. (Harvin also rushed for 764 yards that year, proving to be one of the most-dynamic players to ever touch a football at Florida.)

Since then, the Gators have searched in vain for a star pass catcher.

“Since Percy, with all due respect to David Nelson and other guys, they haven’t had one of those guys where you look over there and worry,” CBS college football analyst Gary Danielson said. “They haven’t had that electric, must-stop receiver.”

The Gators enter 2013 without a proven go-to guy, much less a game changer.

Of Florida’s returning wide receivers, redshirt junior Quinton Dunbar was the most reliable last season, and he managed just 383 yards on 36 catches (10.6 yard average). Gators’ wide receivers rarely challenged defenses downfield, finishing 2012 with nine receptions of 20 yards or longer in 13 games.

Dunbar vows this season will be different.

“Everybody’s got a chip on their shoulder,” he said. “We know what we can do. We don’t feed into what people have to say.”

Familiarity with quarterback Jeff Driskel and second-year offensive coordinator Brent Pease should help.

With Driskel in his first season as a starter, he and Florida’s wide receivers rarely looked on the same page running a new scheme. Senior Trey Burton recalled many times when two receivers ended up in the same spot, rather than creating the proper spacing to get open.

“Knowing what to do, where to go is definitely going to help,” said Burton, a former quarterback who will line up at slot receiver this season. “If you have one guy running to one spot and someone running to the spot he is supposed to go, it’s going to be better for Jeff to read it.”

Some of Florida’s problems in the passing game clearly fell on Driskel, too. At times the former Hagerty High standout held onto the ball too long, suffered too many sacks and took off running before plays developed.

Coaches and teammates see a different Driskel these days.

“He understands the offense totally,” Dunbar said. “He got a lot better.”

But at some point, talent at wide receiver has to take over. Receivers must win one-on-one matchups, get open and make tough catches.

Florida has gone a long stretch without finding someone who fits the profile.

The Gators signed 14 wide receivers from 2008 to 2012. Five have transferred, while Dunbar, a three-star recruit out of Miami, is the only one with more than 30 catches or 350 receiving yards in a season.

Doubts about Florida’s wide receiving talent reached the point where coaches experimented in the spring with cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy, who has 4.3-second speed in the 40 and a knack for big plays.

Questions at wide receiver once were inconceivable in Gainesville. Florida had at least one receiver make the Associated Press or coaches’ All-SEC first or second team in all but one season (2003) in 1990-2009.

Yet, some reason for optimism exists on the horizon.

The 6-foot-2 Dunbar has bulked up to 194 pounds and is having a strong camp. Five freshmen wide receivers also have made a strong impression.

The headliner of the 2013 class is Demarcus Robinson, 6-2, 201-pounds from Georgia. Ahmad Fulwood, 6-5 from Jacksonville, Fla., has impressed teammates with his deceptive speed and smooth route running.

“As far as running and catching and their abilities, they are a very, very talented group,” Pease said.

Sports, Pages 26 on 08/17/2013

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