Florida rebuilt its wide receiver room with eight new faces, including five transfers and three high school players. Although the Gators haven’t hit the field for spring practice yet, one newcomer is already turning heads during winter workouts.
Enter Bailey Stockton, a 5’11, 185-pound transfer from Georgia Tech.
“Bailey Stockton is an extreme competitor,” head coach Jon Sumrall said. “They’ve all flashed in certain ways. But Bailey Stockton, man, he’s a complete competitor. In our morning workouts right now, he does not want to lose. He likes competing.
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With three years of college experience under his belt, Stockton arrived on campus as one of the veterans in Florida’s wide receiver room. After redshirting in 2023, he totaled 38 receptions for 439 yards and a touchdown over the past two seasons. In 2025, he set career highs with 21 catches and 233 receiving yards.
While the raw numbers may not stand out, Stockton competed for targets in a talented receiver room featuring Eric Singleton Jr., Eric Rivers, Malik Rutherford, and Isiah Canion, all within a run-heavy Georgia Tech offense.
Nobody knows Stockton better than Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who called plays for the Yellow Jackets over the past three seasons.
“Toughness. If you’re going to win then you better be tough. That’s one thing that kid’s got. He’s got a big heart,” Faulkner said on what Stockton brings. “I think if you start asking the players around here, they’ll be able to tell you about him. He’s extremely tough.”
“He’s extremely smart and highly competitive, and you win with guys like that,” Faulkner added. “His production was good for us at the last place. He was also backing up the second leading receiver in Georgia Tech history. We’re excited that he’s here. Like I said, you ask the guys in that locker room, and they’ll be able to tell you about Bailey.”
Florida passing game coordinator and inside receivers coach Trent McKnight has a longstanding relationship with Stockton, recruiting him at Georgia State before coaching him at Georgia Tech.
McKnight recognized Stockton’s toughness back in high school.
“I go back to just when I was at Georgia State as the offense coordinator, he had just broke his collarbone, and he was getting ready for the state championship game with Philo, and came back a lot quicker than most people would,” McKnight said on Stockton.
“So with Bailey, phenomenal person, but he’s tough, he’s competitive. He’s what you want to have in the locker room,” McKnight added. “I think he’ll benefit, obviously, he’s a downfield receiver and kind of with what the offense will look like here, I think he’s really going to benefit. Really good feel for zone coverage, really good at scramble drills. So I think he’ll really benefit from what we do here.”
It’s anyone’s guess what the wide receiver rotation will look like entering the fall of 2026, but Stockton’s competitiveness, toughness, and familiarity with the system could give him an edge among the eight newcomers.