FILM ROOM: Evaluating Florida Gators WR commit Jerrae Hawkins

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Name: Jerrae Hawkins

Class: 2024

Position: Wide Receiver

Height/Weight: 5-foot-9, 160 pounds

Location/School: Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy

Committed to: Florida Gators

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 233 prospect overall | No. 38 wide receiver | No. 35 prospect in Florida

Scouting Report on Jerrae Hawkins

This is a dynamic player who does a great job of wreaking havoc after the catch.

Once Hawkins tucks away the football, he typically makes several defenders with his stop-and-go style of play. He does a nice job of navigating through clutter and weaves in and out with ease. This is obviously not the biggest wide receiver out there, but Hawkins makes up for it with his open-field ability.

This is also a prospect who can get vertical and take the top off the defense as well; in fact; a number of his touchdowns are off seam routes. Hawkins reaches top speed in a hurry and blazes past the secondary more often than not. His acceleration is quite impressive, as his quarterback from last season could pretty much throw the ball as far as he can and let Hawkins run underneath it.

With Hawkins heading to the SEC, he will definitely need to strengthen up his frame. Adding mass will be a priority as well, but he is who he is. Too much mass could take away from his explosive style of play, but with UF’s resources, it will not take long for Hawkins to add quality strength. That will come with time.

All in all, this is a slippery playmaker who is a headache to contain. He boasts a skill set that is a headache for defensive coordinators to game plan around.

If I am a quarterback and Hawkins is in one-on-one coverage with no safety over the top, I’m changing his route at the line and throwing the ball out there. Once the West Virginia native gains a step on the defender and turns on the jets, that is typically all she wrote.

The Gators are in need of explosive players in the slot and getting exactly that in Hawkins.

Stay tuned to Gators Online.

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