Florida Gators 2022 Enrollee Profile: WR Caleb Douglas

Reviewing the recruitment history and providing a long-term outlook for Florida Gators wide receiver Caleb Douglas.

Caleb Douglas, wide receiver

School: Hightower (Missouri City, Texas)

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 182 pounds 

SI All-American Ranking: N/A

Recruitment History

A February commitment for the Florida Gators within the 2022 recruiting cycle, Douglas was seen as wide receiver coach Keary Colbert's first real snag on the recruiting trail since being hired by head coach Billy Napier on his initial staff at UF.

Douglas first received an offer from Florida on Dec. 6, 2021, and the Gators heavily pursued his services all the way until the end. Prior to that, Douglas hadn't heard much from UF, instead recruited by programs such as USC, Baylor, Cincinnati, Maryland, SMU and Indiana.

The connection to Florida goes a bit deeper, however. Though Douglas had no interaction with Florida's previous staff, he was a bit familiar with Napier and his team of assistants — as mentioned previously, USC was a team heavily involved in Douglas' recruitment.

That's because he was originally committed to the Trojans while Colbert was a member of that staff, in the same position. Douglas would decommit once head coach Clay Helton was fired during the 2021 season, but he had originally committed to USC to play for Colbert on Aug 10, 2021.

The history between Douglas and this year's staff goes even deeper, too, as the lengthy, tall receiver received an offer from Napier's former Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on April 28, 2021. Though nothing would come of that offer, ultimately, Napier had at least an idea of what he could bring to the table.

Prior to committing to Florida, Douglas took an official visit to the university in January of this year, seeing all the program had to offer prior to making the pledge and signing on the dotted line.

He told AllGators at the time that Florida was "at the top" of his list, and never backed off that statement, committing not long after despite a late push from LSU and the Tigers' new staff as well.

Napier spoke about Douglas' recruitment following National Signing Day in February, earlier this year.

“He was in our recruiting footprint at Louisiana,” Napier said when asked about Douglas. “We had evaluated him. [We] had a previous relationship with him and really felt great about the upside.”

Where Douglas Fits

The Gators have been in a tight spot at their receiver position for quite some time. Following the team's explosive 2020 season, the Gators lost their last two premier players at the position in receivers Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes. Toney would be selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.

The previous year, Florida lost four of its high-caliber receivers to the pros — Josh Hammond, Van Jefferson, Tyrie Cleveland and Freddie Swain. All four receivers were major contributors during the early years of the Dan Mullen era. And, frankly, Florida hasn't been able to come close to matching that production since.

Last season, Florida saw its worst production at the receiver position in several years. The team's leading receiver was Jacob Copeland, who has since transferred to Maryland after catching 41 passes for 642 yards and four touchdowns in 2021.

The team's second-leading receiver was Justin Shorter, who is expected to be the team's No. 1 receiver this year. Shorter caught 41 passes for 550 yards and three touchdowns. After that, Florida didn't have a single wideout over 26 receptions.

Douglas is entering a situation that is completely volatile. As of right now, Florida doesn't have very many standout targets for their quarterback, and Douglas, given his size and frame at 6-foot-3, could offer potential as a red-zone threat early on and a downfield threat later in his career.

Below is a snippet of what Napier had to say about Douglas on NSD:

Caleb is a former quarterback who had made the transition to playing receiver as a junior. He was in our footprint, recruiting footprint at Louisiana. We had evaluated him. Had a previous relationship with him. And really felt great about the upside.

You turn the senior tape as you expected a guy who took off and had a great year. I think his best football is ahead of him. He was 6'3", 192 pounds on his official visit. He's really got another gear. Fantastic ball skills and more importantly the guy's really got his act together. Great kid, great student, incredible family.

In high school, Douglas caught 51 passes for 984 yards and five touchdowns during his senior season. He ranks four all-time in school history in receiving yards at 1,221 in just two years as a receiver.

Douglas' credentials are known, and his placement as one of the few pass-catchers in the 2022 recruiting class for Florida leads him likely to make an impact sooner rather than later. 

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