When things looked bleak for Florida, sophomore wide receiver Andre Debose did what he does best.
UF was trailing Furman 22-14 with just under six minutes to play in the first half when he took off on a fly route down the left sideline.
After senior quarterback John Brantley aired it out for him, he undercut his defender, secured the catch at the Furman 40-yard line and then angled towards the right corner of the end zone, jogging in with his left arm outstretched in celebration of UF’s deficit being cut to two.
“That was a huge play,” coach Will Muschamp said. “A huge momentum swing in the game. I don’t think there’s any question about that.”
Despite being fifth on the team with 15 catches, Debose leads the Gators with 423 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns.
His 28.2 yards per catch average would rank second nationally if he met the minimum number of grabs necessary to qualify, which ESPN lists at 1.875 per game.
Only Georgia Tech’s Stephen Hill, who averages 30.7 yards per catch on his 23 receptions, has a better mark.
Debose also hauled in a 64-yard touchdown late in the third quarter that extended UF’s lead to 12.
Brantley used play action to stall the defense and then lobbed it deep left to Debose, who leapt to bring in the catch over the outstretched arms of Furman safety Derrick Murray.
“The DB was a little bit too close and I took full advantage of it and beat him with speed,” Debose said. “I was very surprised the way they played me the second time, usually teams put a safety on top to try to prevent the deep ball from us and they really didn’t.”
The flashes of brilliance are not surprising from Debose, who came to UF with a five-star rating, according to Rivals.com.
To this point in his career, consistency is what has held Debose back. He’s finished without a catch in three games this season, and in two others he had just one reception for 14 yards.
“The thing I always challenge him on and always talk to him about is mental intensity,” Muschamp said. “It’s not just a one-day thing, do it today and then not. That’s where Andre’s biggest challenge is right now. It’s an everyday thing to go out, and play hard, and concentrate and focus on being a really good player. Because he’s extremely talented, but if you don’t bring the other part, it doesn’t always happen for you.”
Debose has a long way to go to live up to his billing, as he entered the collegiate ranks expected to fill the shoes of Percy Harvin.
As a freshman he showed glimpses of the agility and breakaway speed that made him such a highly touted recruit, returning a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns and averaging 28 yards per return.
But his role on offense was limited, as he made just 10 catches for 96 yards.
This season Debose has become a bigger part of UF’s attack, starting two of the last three games and earning a total of 23 targets on the year.
“There’s still things I have to work on, but my consistency is getting better,” Debose said.
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org
