Gators' Tank Hawkins Making Immediate Impact in Injury-Riddled Receiver Room

A trio of injuries thrust Florida Gators true freshman receiver Tank Hawkins onto the field against UCF, and he took advantage of his opportunity.

Oct 5, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators wide receiver Tank Hawkins (10) stiff arms UCF Knights defensive back Mac McWilliams (20) during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Every player has that specific game or moment that lets everyone know they are here to stay and that they belong. For Florida Gators wide receiver Tank Hawkins, his game came against UCF. 

“I think he showed he belongs, so he stepped up in a major way,” said Gators head coach Billy Napier of Hawkins’ performance in their 24-13 win over the Knights. 

It wasn’t the most clear path to getting to this breakout performance though. It took Eugene “Tre” Wilson III and Aidan Mizell, both of whom did not dress out, and Marcus Burke, who Napier said suffered a pregame injury, to be missing-in-action against the Knights for Hawkins to see an increased workload in Week 6. 

However, once he was given the opportunity to impress, he didn’t look back. 

On the first drive alone for the Gators, Hawkins received the most looks.  He was targeted three times and caught two of them for 11 yards. Furthermore, his best catch of the night came near the end of the first half. On 2nd and 10, quarterback Graham Mertz hit him over the middle and he bursted upfield for a 31-yard gain. 

By the end of the contest, Hawkins hauled in a team-high seven catches for 60 yards. He also had one rush for four yards. And while many on the outside may have been surprised by the true freshman’s output on Saturday, his quarterback actually predicted him providing for the Orange & Blue. 

“I was in the hotel with DJ (Lagway) and we woke up this morning and I was like I just feel like Tank's going to make some plays today,” Mertz said after the game. “He had a great week of prep and I think that's one thing you see translate to the game, especially in our offense.”

Whatever he did in prep leading up to this game, he needs to keep doing it because it led to his best game of his career. Now, it is not like he came out of nowhere. Hawkins has shown up in spurts when called upon. He’s just never been given the number of snaps like he received against the Knights. 

However, if the Gators are going to constantly be down a man or two in this department, he has put the film in front of Napier to show he can be a consistent, reliable replacement in their absence. He'll have another opportunity to prove it with a road matchup on Saturday against No. 8 Tennessee, which kicks off at 7 p.m.