It's been a tumultuous two-year stretch for Eugene Wilson III.
The Florida redshirt sophomore wide receiver burst onto the scene as a true freshman in 2023, pacing the Gators in receiving touchdowns (6) while racking up 538 yards through the air.
But after suffering a hip injury in 2024, his season was cut short after only playing four games, grabbing 19 catches for 266 yards and a touchdown.
Following a slow start to 2025, Wilson exploded for a season-best performance against the then-No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs. He caught nine passes for 121 yards and a touchdown.
“He's a baller,” sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway said. “I already knew this. So it's always great to get the ball in his hands and let him do his thing. He had a great night. Proud of him.”
Despite the Gators losing 24-20, Wilson more than doubled his season total in yards — he had 118 prior to the game. And he also caught nine or more passes for the first time since he did the same against Georgia two seasons ago.
Florida reloaded its wide receiver room, adding dynamic freshmen Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson, as well as transfer J. Michael Sturdivant. With plenty of mouths to feed, Eugene was lost in the shuffle for the first seven games of the season, grabbing only 18 passes.
However, the Gators’ wide receiver room has been diminished by injuries over the recent weeks. Both Brown and sophomore wide receiver Aidan Mizell were sidelined, and Dallas exited the contest midway through the second quarter.
That opened up the doors for Eugene to have his best game of 2025 and one of the best games of his collegiate career. He fell just short of his career high of 141 yards, which came against Samford Sept. 7, 2024.
“With a couple playmakers down, we had Aidan down, VB down and Dallas was down here in the middle of the game,” interim head coach Billy Gonzales said. “He stepped up.”
Gonzales, UF’s former wide receivers coach, praised Eugene during Florida’s Oct. 29 media availability, saying it would be a priority to get the ball into his hands, and he was “going to have a really good game.”
Gonzales also said Eugene had one of his best weeks of practice despite a shake-up with Florida’s coaching staff. Russ Callaway and Ryan O’Hara took over as offensive coordinator and play-caller, respectively, after former head coach Billy Napier’s firing.
“We talked this week over — earlier this week, up in Gainesville, just about the way he worked over the last couple weeks,” Gonzales said. “He's going to be rewarded based on how hard you work.”
It was immediately clear Eugene would be Lagway’s primary target during the game. He was targeted on two of UF’s three passes on its opening drive.
Then, just over halfway into the first quarter, Lagway found a wide-open Eugene deep downfield for a 40-yard touchdown that evened the game at 7-7.
Eugene’s target domination continued throughout the loss. He was the intended receiver on 11 of Lagway’s 24 passing attempts.
Despite his standout performance, the rest of Florida’s pass attack failed to kick into gear. Most notably, Sturdivant was at the center of a controversial incomplete pass late in the fourth quarter, which was followed up by a failed fourth down conversion that effectively sealed the Bulldogs’ victory.
“We got to continue to work and get better,” Lagway said. “It's us against the world. It's all about us. We got to keep the team together.”
Wilson will look to continue his momentum as Florida (3-5, 2-3 SEC) faces Kentucky (3-5, 1-5 SEC) at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X @maxbernstein23.
Max is in his sixth semester at The Alligator and now serves as The Alligator's Football Reporter and is a junior sports journalism student. He previously served as The Alligator's Sports Editor, and served as reporter for women's tennis, volleyball and lacrosse. He also has made multiple appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. He wants to shoutout his cats, Scooter and Zoe, and also loves niche professional athletes (shoutout Tomas Fleischmann).
