New to GatorsTerritory.com? Get 50% off your first year as an annual subscriber! Promo Code: 50UFSave

Two of Kadarius Toney’s first two seasons at Florida were shortened by injuries, missing a total of six games in 2019 and three as a freshman.

He returned for his senior year to improve his draft stock as a wide receiver. According to UF coach Dan Mullen, Toney has made significant strides at the position in fall training camp.

“What I’ve seen from him is just a real development as a wide receiver,” Mullen said. “He’s a guy who was a high school quarterback, started to learn the position. Everybody knows he’s a playmaker with the ball in his hands.

“He’s taken such a huge step forward in becoming a wide receiver now. Not just kind of a get-it-to guy, which he’ll still continue to be a get-it-to guy for us, but every down being a wide receiver.”

Toney took on the Percy Harvin role during his first year in Mullen’s offense, catching 25 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown from the slot and carrying the ball 21 times for 240 yards. He had a 66-yard TD in last season’s opener against Miami, but suffered a shoulder injury in Week 2 and didn’t become involved again until the Vanderbilt game.

In the final matchups of the regular season, Toney caught six passes for 123 yards along with six carries for 55 yards. He finished with just 10 receptions in 2019, but averaged 19.4 yards per catch. His offensive involvement and production should increase this fall.

“He’s taken some huge steps forward. I’m really excited about that. That’s what you want,” Mullen said. “It’s one thing to be this utility athlete, get-it-go guy. But when you can become disciplined and a great technician at your position, that takes you to a whole other level.”

Another receiver who’s been working in the slot is Jordan Pouncey.

Mullen revealed Tuesday that he has been sidelined some during camp, but said the Texas transfer could still contribute if he’s available to play.

“He’s missed a little bit with some injuries and is probably a little bit behind that way,” Mullen said. “We’ll see. I don’t know who’s eligible. So if he is eligible, possibly. If not, I would highly doubt it.”

Mullen was asked why the NCAA hasn’t ruled on waivers for Pouncey and Penn State transfer Justin Shorter in the same timely fashion as other players.

“Call the NCAA. Great question for them,” Mullen said. “They don’t consult me on such things. They have their deal. I’m talking about our team right now. I love it. I think it’s a great question. I think you should call. I encourage you to call up there and see what they say.”

Mullen didn’t name any standout performers from the scrimmage when asked about it Tuesday, but did go out of his way to praise the play of Tre’Vez Johnson.

The freshman defensive back is repping at the STAR position and impressed Monday night.

“I’m really excited,” Mullen said of Johnson. “I’ll tell you what, watching the scrimmage last night, he plays hard. He's still learning what to do, still learning the techniques and the defense as a whole.

“But he really showed out to me in his effort, strain and physicality, how he tries to get to the ball running to the football, which is what I want to see as a coach. The rest of it we're going to teach and he's going to learn as he continues, but he has great athleticism and gave great effort and I thought played really hard in the scrimmage.”

Johnson is capable of playing multiple positions in Florida’s secondary, but has settled in at STAR so he can learn that spot in case his number is called this season. Mullen said Johnson’s skill set makes him a perfect fit for the nickel.

“I think one of the things that makes him unique is that he has great physicality and he plays a very physical game, but he has corner cover skills. That’s the thing that makes (STAR) different,” Mullen said. “You’ve got to be able to tackle and be physical as a safety, and then you’ve got to have the cover skills of a corner.

“So you combine that. I guess that’s why we call it the STAR position. I think he’s a guy that when you watched him in high school, all the different physical traits he has, he kind of fits that mold with a really physical guy that has the athleticism to be a corner.”

* Mullen on the team’s readiness for Week 1: “I think our guys have taken care of their business, they’ve tried to put themselves in a good position to be successful. I think for the most part, we’ve worked hard. I think probably some guys probably are ahead of others. I'm not gonna say if nothing happened we wouldn't be further along. We would be, that’s gonna be quite obvious, but we've also only gone against each other. So, we'll see when we go line it up against somebody else, how it looks and what we do.”

* Mullen on the weirdest part about this offseason: “Not working. You know what I mean? Being told to stay home and not go to work. That’s probably the first time since I was 15 years old, maybe younger than that. Stay at home and figure out how to work from home and now you’re not going to work in the morning, staying in your home office. Homeschooling. That was a little different for me. That was really weird. Lack of this whole deal, a lack of personal interaction between human beings. That’s weird. It’s like a sci-fi movie.”

* Mullen on when UF will release the media guide: “I didn’t even think we did media guides. I thought they eliminated them in the budget a couple of years ago. … No, we’ll get everything game week for you. We’ll have the depth chart and roster and all that stuff on game week.”