Florida quarterback Kyle Trask will be without his top four targets in the Cotton Bowl against No. 6 Oklahoma on Wednesday.
Last week, Gators tight end Kyle Pitts announced that he will enter the NFL draft and wouldn’t be playing in the team’s bowl game. On Monday, receivers Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes followed suit, saying they will begin preparing for the 2021 draft.
The three combined for 151 catches, 2,343 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2020 for the seventh-ranked Gators.
While Pitts, who finished 10th in Heisman Trophy voting, put up 43 catches for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns in just eight games, Toney actually led UF in receiving. Toney totaled 70 receptions for 984 yards and 10 touchdowns over the course of 11 games. He also was a threat in the rushing game, putting up 161 yards and a score on 19 carries.
For his college career, Toney registered 120 catches for 1,590 yards and 12 touchdowns to go with 580 rushing yards on 66 carries.
Grimes, who started his career at Ohio State, was the No. 3 option for the Gators this season. He put up 38 receptions for 589 yards and nine scores, including a 50-yard touchdown catch in the SEC title game against Alabama. Over three seasons at UF, Grimes put up 97 catches for 1,444 yards and 14 TDs.
Another WR out due to COVID-19
The news with Florida’s receiving corps didn’t end there. Jacob Copeland, the team’s fourth-leading receiver, announced that he tested positive for COVID-19 and will be unable to play. Copeland, a sophomore, has 23 catches for 435 yards and three touchdowns this season.
Due to testing Covid-19 positive multiple times I will not be playing in New Year’s 6 bowl game. 🙏🏽
— Jacob Copeland (@JCope1era) December 28, 2020
With those four out, Penn State transfer Justin Shorter could be the team’s top receiver against the Sooners. Shorter has 23 catches for 246 yards and three scores this year. No other receiver on the team’s roster has more than eight receptions in 2020, though running backs Malik Davis and Nay’Quan Wright have 29 and 17, respectively.
Florida is looking to win its third straight New Year’s Six bowl game under Dan Mullen. The Gators beat Virginia in last year’s Orange Bowl and knocked off Michigan in the Peach Bowl to cap off the 2018 season.
Florida (8-3) enters bowl play having lost its last two games to LSU and then Alabama in the SEC title game.
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