{"id":227644,"date":"2026-04-11T14:43:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T14:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/227644\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T14:43:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T14:43:12","slug":"bold-predictions-for-the-florida-gators-spring-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/227644\/","title":{"rendered":"Bold Predictions for the Florida Gators’ Spring Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Florida Gators<\/a>‘ annual Orange and Blue game kicks off at noon Saturday, with an entirely rebuilt Gators program taking the field in front of a home crowd for the first time in 2026.<\/p>\n

After going inside the Florida facility for over a month to experience the first spring camp under head coach Jon Sumrall, here are a few bold predictions from Florida Gators on SI<\/a> for the Gators versus Gators matchup.<\/p>\n

Transfers Micah Mays Jr. and Evan Pryor Score Touchdowns<\/p>\n

The Gators made plenty of new additions in the transfer portal this offseason, with explosive offensive playmakers Micah Mays Jr. and Evan Pryor as two who are expected to play big roles for the team in 2026.<\/p>\n

A former Wake Forest wide receiver, Mays Jr. has been one of the biggest surprise standouts so far in camp, while he should be one of the more exciting performers in his debut in the swamp as he looks to continue to make a case for playing time in the Gators’ offense.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s flashed. He’s really flashed\u2026 He’s made some down the field catches that have been really impressive. He’s tracked the ball well, I think he has a skill set to have a really legitimate role within what we’re doing on offense,” Sumrall said on Mays. \u201c… I’m really excited about what I think he could add to this football team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida Gators running back Evan Pyror. | Kyle Lander \/ Florida Gators on SI<\/p>\n

For Pryor, the Cincinnati transfer has been one of the best big-play threats in the entire country the past two seasons and has had a knack for finding the end zone this spring. After a touchdown in the Gators most recent scrimmage, expect to see the speedy runner back in the paint in front of the Gators faithful for the first time.<\/p>\n

Redshirt Freshman Ben Hanks III Records an Interception<\/p>\n

Another standout performer for the Gators this spring, second-year cornerback Ben Hanks III has reportedly forced multiple turnovers in Florida scrimmages<\/a> so far, which has made it seem like a breakout camp for the former elite recruit. The ballhawk intercepted 13 passes as a senior in high school, the Miami-Dade County single-season record, while also recording a pick in his only career start in Florida\u2019s 2025 season finale against Florida State.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he’s elevated right now and playing, I think, the best in the corner room with the most consistency in the pass game,\u201d Sumrall said on Hanks III earlier this spring.<\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/p>\n

Ben Hanks III had an interception in Florida’s first scrimmage. | Kyle Lander \/ Florida Gators on SI<\/p>\n

Look out for the ascending corner to make another play on Saturday as he looks to establish himself amongst a talented positional unit.<\/p>\n

Transfer Wide Receiver Eric Singleton Wins Game MVP<\/p>\n

Auburn transfer Eric Singleton was the Gators’ highest-rated portal addition this offseason and has looked the part so far this spring<\/a>. Amongst a really talented group of wideouts, the noise around the former Georgia Tech star is that he has led the way and consistently made plays, with the speedster receiver looking primed for another strong season under offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner as he looks to boost his NFL draft stock in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I have a lot more to prove,\u201d Singleton said about coming back for a final season. \u201cI think this year is going to be a very exciting year for me. For me personally, I just want to win. I want to be a part of a winning team, winning program and I want to leave a legacy for the program in the future.”<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

Eric Singleton Jr. transferred to Florida after stints at Georgia Tech and Auburn. | Kyle Lander \/ Florida Gators on SI<\/p>\n

The playmaker will be a key to Florida\u2019s attack in the new year and should make plenty of plays in his first action in the Orange and Blue, hence the prediction to be the most valuable player on the field.<\/p>\n

KJ Ford is True Freshman of the Day<\/p>\n

Former highly-coveted Texas four-star KJ Ford came to Gainesville as arguably the most college-ready prospect in Florida\u2019s class, with the first-year looking the part so far through his first spring camp with the program.<\/p>\n

Amongst a talented group of newcomers, the 6-foot-4, 250 pound pass-rusher seems in position to earn one of the biggest roles in year one.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s coming along really well, he\u2019s eager to learn, he has a really good attitude, he\u2019s coachable, and so really impressed with how he\u2019s coming along so far,” unit coach Bam Hardman said on Ford. \u201cI think he can have a role\u2026 He still has some room to grow, don\u2019t get me wrong, but we\u2019re trying to put him in position to where he can have a role and he\u2019s approaching it the right way from a standpoint of his work ethic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida Gators outside linebacker KJ Ford. | Kyle Lander \/ Florida Gators on SI<\/p>\n

Watch for Ford to make a splash in his first real action in the Swamp before heading into the summer.<\/p>\n

Offense Wins<\/p>\n

Despite the Gators defense arguably having the better spring so far, Florida\u2019s offense has all the firepower to win the day Saturday as the two sides of the ball go head-to-head.<\/p>\n

Faulkner\u2019s scheme has been the talk of camp, while the offensive unit\u2019s superior depth could be the biggest factor in a matchup that is expected to see most of the roster get snaps.<\/p>\n

\"Buster<\/p>\n

Buster Faulkner is Florida’s new offensive coordinator. | Kyle Lander \/ Florida Gators on SI<\/p>\n

Either way, the Gators will leave the Swamp victorious, yet expect the matchup to be a good one with the offense looking to show off the plethora of talent across every unit and the defense looking to continue to build momentum heading into the summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Florida Gators‘ annual Orange and Blue game kicks off at noon Saturday, with an entirely rebuilt Gators…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-227644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}