Sophomore WR Caleb Douglas plans to enter the transfer portal following his 2nd season in Gainesville, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3. Douglas will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Douglas hinted that a decision was looming by posting “Decisions…Decisions…Decisions” on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The 6-3, 200-pound receiver appeared in eight straight games with two starts during his freshman campaign, recording 10 catches for 175 yards with two touchdowns. Douglas became the first true freshmen receiver to start a contest since Kadarius Toney did it in 2017.
“I feel like my freshman year was a great experience because I played on the back end of the season,” Douglas said on his freshmen season. “I feel like those were big competition games. I feel like it really prepared me knowing, next year when you’re in these same shoes how are you going to respond and react and show that you’re better than last year.”
In 2023, Douglas earned himself a starting spot-on Florida’s offense after a strong spring and fall camp. The Texas native recorded 11 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown in five games before suffering a season ending injury.
“Really I feel like I just got more confident,” Douglas said after his impressive spring camp. “The game has slowed down. Things have gotten simple. Everything was going so fast. (Now) I know what I’m looking for. I know how I’m going to run this route pre-snap. Everything like that.”
With Douglas planning on leaving the program, the Gators may need to dip into the transfer portal for help at wide receiver. Two of Florida’s original starters at WR in 2023 in Ricky Pearsall and Caleb Douglas will not be with the Gators next season.
WHAT YOU ARE GETTING IN DOUGLAS
Whoever lands Douglas will be getting a high energy player with a good motor. Douglas needed to improve on his hands after his freshmen season, and he did. Douglas has a natural ability to high point and track the ball in traffic. Douglas’ route running and burst off the line of scrimmage noticeably improved from year one to year two but are still areas he could clean up. Douglas was a standout player for the Gators last spring.