Florida Invites All-American Sprinter to 2023 Pro Day

Gators track and field star Dedrick Vanover will participate in Florida's 2023 football pro day.

Photo: Dedrick Vanover; Credit: University of Florida athletic association - Isabella Marley 

Florida has invited Gators' 2022 All-SEC sprinter Dedrick Vanover to participate in its 2023 football pro day on March 30, the university announced. 

Vanover will join eleven members of UF's 2022 football roster inside the Condron Family Indoor Practice Facility next Thursday for weigh-ins and workouts such as the bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 40-yard dash, 60-yard shuttle and position drills.

A Gainesville native who attended Fort White (Fla.) High, Vanover originally signed to play football for Florida Atlantic under then-new head coach Lane Kiffin in the class of 2017. He never joined the Owls, however, instead enrolling as a two-sport athlete at Morehouse College, a Division II program in Atlanta, Ga. 

Listed as a 5-foot-10, 170-pound defensive back on the Maroon Tigers' 2019 roster, Vanover emerged as a ball-hawking playmaker in Morehouse's secondary between the 2018-19 seasons. He produced seven interceptions and 21 defended passes in a 20-game stretch, to pair with 53 tackles, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

Vanover transferred to Florida to continue his sprinting career and retook the track for the 2021 season, setting his personal record of 20.43 seconds in the outdoor 200-meter dash at the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. 

It was in 2022, though, when Vanover's collegiate track career began to take off. He clocked career bests in the indoor 60-meter (6.60 seconds, tied for sixth-fastest in UF history), 200-meter (21.10) and the outdoor 100-meter (10.10, ninth-fastest in UF history), elite marks in each category. 

Vanover also ran the leadoff leg for Florida's first-place 4x100m relay team at the Texas Relays in March 2022, which produced the fourth-fastest result in program history at 38.47 seconds.  

For his efforts as a senior, Vanover was awarded two first-team (outdoor, 100m and 4x100m relay) and one second-team (indoor, 60m) USTFCCCA All-America honors. He was also named to both All-SEC first teams, outdoor and indoor, for his gold medal triumphs. 

Vanover is the son of former Florida State, NFL and CFL wide receiver Tamarick Vanover. He is currently the only non-football player on Florida's pro day roster, a list otherwise comprised solely of members of UF's 2022 team.

He'll be joined on the field by former Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson, wide receivers Justin Shorter and Jordan Pouncey, offensive linemen Richard Gouraige and O'Cyrus Torrence, edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr., defensive lineman Gervon Dexter, linebackers Ventrell Miller and Amari Burney, and safeties Trey Dean III and Rashad Torrence II.

SEC Network will begin to air coverage of Florida's pro day at 10 a.m. ET on March 30.

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.

Get your Gators football, basketball and other sporting events tickets from SI Tickets here.