Florida Football: Former Gator Ricky Pearsall wows at the NFL Combine

On March 2, the NFL Combine was well underway, and it was the night of the quarterbacks and receivers. After a standout season, Ricky Pearsall was invited to the NFL Combine to shine, and he certainly did that Saturday night. In addition to an outstanding display at the Senior Bowl, Pearsall continued his offseason domination. This time, it was his athleticism being off the charts. His RAS (Raw Athletic Score) put the former Gator in the top 100 receivers of nearly 3,100 receivers with full measurements since 1987.

Ricky Pearsall is not only productive, he is an athletic force

Ricky Pearsall started the night out with his measurements and testing involving his movements. Pearsall measured in at 6-foot-1, 189 pounds. Considering he was listed as the same height and only one pound heavier on the official 2023 Florida roster, this was no surprise. Pearsall declined to participate in the bench press, but was active for the rest of the drills.

He started things off with a 10-foot-9 broad jump, which is good enough for the 89^th percentile, per Trevor Sikkema on X. All percentile measurements will come from Sikkema’s tweet. Pearsall really turned heads with his astounding 42-inch vertical. That ranks in the 97^th percentile. This was on full display in a few of Pearsall’s highlight reel catches this year, but that high of a vertical was certainly shocking to the scouts. His short shuttle time of 4.05 ranked him in the 89^th percentile as well, along with a 3-Cone time of 6.64 seconds ranking in the 93^rd percentile.

These all left one last event before the on-field drills: the 40-yd dash. Arguably the biggest draw to the fans, Pearsall participated in group eight, which was the second set of receivers. While Xavier Worthy stole the show with his record-breaking 4.21 second 40, Pearsall also impressed. The Gator timed in at a 4.41 second 40-yd dash. Pearsall’s time is just shy of that of former Gator great Percy Harvin (4.39), who rank that time in the 2009 Combine. The 4.41 by Pearsall was actually his lowest athleticism score, slotting in at the 82^nd percentile.

Kent Lee Platte, the designing force behind the RAS system, went to number crunching on Pearsall compared to all other receivers. For those confused about the RAS, it takes into account a player’s physical numbers, regardless of on-field production during their time in college. Pearsall’s RAS was good enough for him to rank with a RAS of 9.78, with “elite” rankings in his explosion and agility. That RAS was the 70^th-best score of 3,090 receivers to have the measurables to qualify for this scoring system. Safe to say, that is pretty good.

Ricky Pearsall is a WR prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.78 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 70 out of 3090 WR from 1987 to 2024.

Splits projectedhttps://t.co/wx75bRlzRq pic.twitter.com/AIE0FmEwwO

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 3, 2024

This all comes before you mention Pearsall’s senior season. Ricky Pearsall was the shining star for the Florida Gators. He had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and six total touchdowns. The receiver is, in fact, that guy.

What does this mean for Ricky Pearsall’s draft stock?

It is very easy to assume this can only help Ricky Pearsall’s draft stock. Pearsall had already put on a show in the Senior Bowl, with it being mentioned on air that the receiver had already leaked into the top 50 for some analysts’ projections. Pearsall put up over 1,500 yards in his two seasons at Florida, in addition to his 580-yard sophomore season as a Sun Devil. He has been highly productive, and his athleticism and steady hands make it easy to make the argument that he can start to flirt with the first round.

He already was entering into the top five for receivers in this class before this week, and this astounding performance might see a team fall in love with the receiver. That said, I do not see Pearsall being painted with the same brush as another former Florida player who was an NFL Draft event darling, Kadarius Toney. That said, Toney is a reigning Super Bowl Champ, although his involvement was not much. I think Pearsall will produce in a major way at the next level.

It is already known that Pearsall had an official meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles, and it is believed the home-state (for Pearsall, from Chandler, AZ) Cardinals have some interest in him. Regardless of where Pearsall lands, I know that the former Gator will amaze at the next level come September. April’s NFL Draft cannot come soon enough.