Florida receivers everywhere

The Daily Football Fix knows it only has a short time to go until we get to the first game week of the season for the Florida Gators. Today, let's talk about the wide receivers. 

Obviously, Florida fans received some good news after most of them went to bed Thursday night because Penn State transfer Justin Shorter posted that he had been granted his waiver and will be able to play this fall.

This is the world we live in today where some chose to opt put of the season and others are nervously waiting for the chance to play.

But that's for another day.

Today, we will discuss the potential Florida has to be as good at the wide receiver position as it was a year ago. 

And that is just what it is — potential.

Adding Shorter to the mix gives Florida another option, but to think the Gators are automatically going to be as good at the position as they were a year ago is an insult to the four seniors who have departed and on NFL rosters. 

Van Jefferson, Freddie Swain, Tyrie Cleveland and Josh Hammond combined for 139 catches, 16 for touchdowns in 2019. It's not like they came out of nowhere, catching 95 passes the year before.

The current crop of receivers has two players who combined for 54 catches last season — Trevon Grimes and Jacob Copeland. Kadarius Toney only had 10 catches because of injuries, but had 25 the season before.

Again, you can make an argument that there is enough veteran experience to go with the players who are stepping into new roles. And assistant coach Billy Gonzales is still here and head coach Dan Mullen is still calling plays and Kyle Trask appears to be a better version of himself.

So the potential, as we said, is there for Florida to not miss a beat. It's up to these receivers — some who have played a little, some who have played a lot, some who haven't played college football — to embrace their opportunities in this strange new world.