Walk-On Emphasis Providing Gators WR Kahleil Jackson Scholarship Opportunity

Billy Napier expressed intent to make the walk-on roster an integral part of his program since his arrival. Kahleil Jackson is looking to reap the benefits.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Wide receiver Kahleil Jackson is in position to reap the benefits of Florida’s army of walk-on athletes for the 2023 season. 

When head coach Billy Napier assumed the reins of the Florida Gators program last offseason, he shared the desire to equip the unit with an influx of high-level walk-on talent, extending several preferred walk-on offers to Florida-area prospects in his first two years on the trail. 

The idea arose as a method to strengthen the team's second, third and fourth-string units as it lacked the manpower to scrimmage in a way that mimicked game reps, according to Napier.

“Relative to the number of student-athletes that we have, the goal is to have a 50-man walk-on roster,” Napier said on Jan. 14, 2022. “That ratio there, when you really think about the coach-to-player ratio, if you look at other sports, I think that ratio is much smaller.”

Thus far, the effort has been relatively successful, earning several pledges from skilled pieces with scholarship offers from low Power 5 schools in the process.

Edge rusher Bryce Capers (Jacksonville, Fla.), wide receiver Brian Green Jr. (Orange Park, Fla.), edge rusher Layne Stafford (Ponte Vedra, Fla.), quarterback Parker Leise (Omaha, Neb.; IMG Academy) and others stand out as notable talents to accept the invitation to join the team without a scholarship in the past two recruiting classes.

However, the approach spans beyond the mere accumulation of bodies to present scouting looks for scholarship athletes. It’s built on the desire for some of those PWOs to potentially emerge as legitimate contributing factors on game days.

Napier learned that approach from Alabama’s Nick Saban. 

“A wise coach once told me that the bottom half of your roster has a significant contribution to whether your team can improve throughout the season," Napier said.

That formula, perfected by the legend in Tuscaloosa, Ala. and passed on to multiple coaches who have operated under his tutelage, has proved advantageous for several of the country’s top programs. Georgia is the most recent example of a beneficiary as quarterback Stetson Bennett climbed the ranks from walk-on to the leader of back-to-back national championship squads.

Florida’s trying to replicate it, and doing so results in Jackson’s “opportunity” to elevate his status to scholarship ranking full-time in the upcoming year.

"I think we gave scholarships to Adam Mihalek, Kahleil Jackson, Scott Isacks and [defensive lineman Keenan Landry]. Those were spring and summer but Jackson, in particular, has an opportunity to earn a scholarship full time,” said Napier told reporters before his spring speaking event in Sarasota, Fla. on Wednesday evening.

The teased move comes at an opportune time for UF after losing multi-year wideout starter Xzavier Henderson to the transfer portal post-spring, making an already limited depth chart at the spot even more so with his departure.

Jackson, a third-generation Gator and the grandson of Willie Jackson Sr., the first African American scholarship player in UF history, has impressed as a practice player during his time in Gainesville. He’s earned praise as a crafty route runner with the ability to create separation at the top of routes with ease at 6-foot-3, 216 pounds.

Those abilities at his stature present a justification for the promotion.

Several teammates, current and former, offered support for Napier’s decision — although the scholarship offer isn’t yet official — including Princely Umanmielen.

https://t.co/cxRDDj26eG pic.twitter.com/CyaYSNGlaE

— Princely Umanmielen (@d1princely) May 3, 2023

In the current regime’s inaugural season, walk-on kicker Adam Mihalek controlled a prominent role as the team’s starting placekicker for the season’s entirety. Despite his struggles, connecting on just 66.7% of his field goals, Mihalek’s presence in the kicking game patched a glaring hole in the special teams unit in 2022.

Florida hopes Jackson — and others, like Capers, given his position room’s current makeup following the loss of Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr. — can be of similar usefulness in a 2023 season where finding heightened success will be an all-hands-on-deck affair. 

Stay tuned to All Gators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @AllGatorsOnFN on Twitter and All Gators on FanNation-Sports Illustrated on Facebook. 

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