The Florida Gators are looking to address their youth and inexperience at wide receiver through the transfer portal. Colorado State’s Justus Ross-Simmons is one player that Florida is keeping tabs on.
Since entering the portal on April 16th, the 6’3, 205-pound receiver has heard from at least 42 schools including Florida, Florida State, Miami, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Texas A&M.
Ross-Simmons is currently one of the top available receivers in the portal having recorded 71 receptions for 1,148 years and six touchdowns in two seasons for the Rams. After a promising freshman campaign with 424 yards and three touchdowns, the Rochester, New York native broke out for 724 yards on 45 receptions in 2023.
While not overly explosive or athletic, Ross-Simmons understands the technique and fundamentals of route running which allows him to create plenty of space along with elite balance and body control.
Ross-Simmons is averaging 16.2 yards per catch through two seasons, leading the Rams in that category in back-to-back seasons. His yards after catch numbers are impressive for a bigger receiver, totaling 438 YAC a season ago with an average of 9.7 yards after the catch, the most on Colorado State. While playing in the Moutain West certainly plays a factor here, his average of 9.7 yards after the catch would have led the Gators in 2023.
His impressive YAC numbers indicate his ability to create space between the numbers, where Ross-Simmons recorded 30 of his 45 catches in 2023.
Ross-Simmons does have the ability to take the top of the defense, logging five receptions of 20 or more air yards a season ago, resulting in a route running grade of 94.1 on 13 targets, according to Pro Football Focus. His average depth of target on those passes was 32.2 yards.
Run blocking is a must for Gators’ WR coach Billy Gonzales. In two seasons at CSU, Ross-Simmons graded out above a 71.0 in run blocking, which ranked 1st in 2022 and 2nd in 2023 among WR’s on the Rams.
Ross-Simmons plays almost exclusively out wide, which is a position of need for the Gators as they feel very comfortable with the slot given their personnel.
INSIDER TAKE:
Ross-Simmons is coming off a visit to Syracuse this past weekend in his home state. Look for Florida to try and get him on campus for an OV, possibly as early as this weekend.