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Trent Whittemore can wear many hats, but has found his fit at wide receiver with the Florida Gators.

He made his first career touchdown catch last Saturday in the Swamp, where he has attended countless UF games throughout his life. First as a fan, then a local recruit.

“Just growing up in Gainesville,” Whittemore said, “that’s something that I envisioned as a kid. So it was a super cool moment.”

During his time at Buchholz High School, just down the road from the University of Florida, Whittemore started on varsity as a freshman and found success on both sides of the ball. He played at safety and cornerback on defense, accumulating 196 tackles (seven for loss), seven interceptions, 28 pass breakups, a forced fumble and recovery, as well as a blocked field goal.

On the offensive side of things, he lined up at quarterback, throwing for 1,026 yards and 12 touchdowns, and wide receiver, racking up 1,374 yards and 17 touchdowns on 93 catches. Whittemore committed to the Gators as an athlete.

During the coaching change from Jim McElwain from Dan Mullen, he wasn’t sure whether his pledge would be honored.

“There's definitely a little bit of time where maybe I was a little uncertain,” Whittemore said. “A lot was changing fast, but I ended up coming around the campus a good amount.

“Being able to watch workouts and practices, establish that relationship with several coaches on the staff. They let it be known that they wanted me to keep my commitment on, and Florida was still where I wanted to be, so it worked out well.”

The new coaches also let it be known they wanted Whittemore on offense. He was going to start out at safety with the previous staff, but signed with Mullen as a wide receiver and joined Billy Gonzales’ position group.

“I just remember after my senior year of high school, them just letting me know that they wanted me to play receiver,” Whittemore said. “That was great with me, I didn’t really have a preference one or the other, just wanted to be told which one I’d be playing.

“I was able to start getting together with Coach Billy G a little bit and just going over some things. And, yeah, I was great with that.”

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Whittemore took a redshirt last season after appearing in two games against UT Martin and Towson. That experience was valuable, but he benefited most from Florida’s four senior receivers showing him the ropes.

“Those guys were amazing last year, sort of a mentorship role,” Whittemore said. “It’s really cool I got to sit behind Van [Jefferson] and Tyree [Cleveland] and take some outside reps last year. And now I’m playing inside, which is what Freddie [Swain] and [Josh] Hammond were playing last year. I really got to learn from all four of those guys, and they gave me a lot of confidence.

“Whether I was playing well or not, they would always tell me to keep my head up, tell me to keep working. Give me things to work on in the offseason, that sort of thing. Obviously, they’re all great guys and terrific players. They’re all in the league, so that’s impressive. And I owe a lot to all four of those guys.”

Playing under those now-NFL rookies helped Whittemore understand the benefit of spreading the wealth in the passing game the way Mullen does. Quarterback Kyle Trask completed passes to 11 different receivers in the season opener, and the constant rotation creates a sense of urgency for the wideouts and keeps any one player from getting burnt out.

“He just drives me to focus,” Whittemore said. “Like Coach Mullen says, it does give us freshness and just the ability to give 100 percent in your reps, as well as have gas in the take to go on punt return or kick return. I think the way that we do it is good and beneficial to all of us.”

Across two games this year, Whittemore has recorded five catches for 56 yards and become a frequent part of Florida’s receiver rotation. Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson has been impressed with the jack of all trades.

“He works, and he has an exceptional radius, great hands, great concentration,” Johnson said of Whittemore. “He can separate and get open. He’s everything you look for in terms of a wide receiver.

“All the confidence in the world in Trent. I was really proud of him to go out there and just play really consistent. He’s very sure-handed and a really good route runner.”