Florida Gators in the NFL: Pearsall's Debut Nothing Short of Miraculous

Plus, Dante Fowler's Pick-Six and Van Jefferson's Son Steals the Show

I’m not sure we realize just how incredible Ricky Pearsall’s NFL debut was on Sunday. Just 50 days ago, he took a gunshot to the chest. Less than two months later, he was one of Brock Purdy’s primary receivers as the 49ers tried to avenge their Super Bowl loss against the Chiefs. Simply remarkable. 

After catching three passes on five targets in his first game, Pearsall spoke with the media about his journey back. He admitted that he wasn’t sure if he was going to live initially after the shooting. After the doctors and nurses assured him he’d be ok, his next question was if he would play football. Again, the medical professionals calmed his concerns. Pearsall then credited his teammates and his family with keeping him up and helping him get back on the field so soon.

A few weeks ago, Pearsall’s rookie season was in jeopardy. Now with the injury to teammate Brandon Aiyuk, Pearsall is likely stepping into a huge role on a team with championship aspirations. His teammates believe in him.

BEST PLAYER OF WEEK 5

Dante Fowler’s ninth professional season is shaping up to his best ever. It was punctuated this past Sunday with what was probably his best game since high school. Sure, Fowler had some monster games in Gainesville. He has a couple of three-sack games in the NFL and he has scored two touchdowns on fumble returns. 

But this past Sunday, Fowler had a sack, two tackles, and grabbed his first career interception. 

How ‘bout that hurdle?!? How many players turn their first INT into a pick-six? And how many players have had a sack and a pick-six in the same game? Those can’t be long lists. After the game, Fowler was giddy. 

Fowler is on pace for his first double-digit sack season since 2019 despite playing less than 50% of the defensive snaps most weeks. It’s obvious Fowler thrives in Dan Quinn’s system, and conversely, Quinn loves having Fowler rushing the passer.

BEST PLAY OF WEEK 5

Fowler’s pick-six has gotten enough love. For this week’s top play, instead let’s look to the youth. Van Jefferson’s son went viral with his excitement - and questioning - about his Dad’s touchdown grab.

Touchdowns are always great. But Van has 11 regular season scores and one postseason grab, and most of them were more impressive than this pretty easy quick out.

But six year-old Vanchi likely doesn’t remember the last score back in 2022 so no wonder Dad’s TD was such a big deal to him!

NEWS AND NOTES 

Stone Forsythe was inactive last week with a hand injury and then was placed on injured reserve this week. He’ll miss a minimum of four games, although it seems unlikely the Seahawks will be in a hurry to activate the right tackle who leads the league in pressures allowed.

C.J. Henderson was signed to the Steelers’ 53-man roster this week. A few teams were interested in adding Henderson off Pittsburgh’s practice squad, so the Steelers made the decision to add the former first-round pick to the active roster. He’s expected to make his season debut Monday night.

Two weeks ago, Trey Dean signed with the Browns’ practice squad. He spent most of last season on the Jets and Chiefs’ practice squads and has yet to play in an NFL regular season game.

TOP 10 WEEK 7 PERFORMANCES

1 - Dante Fowler, Jr., OLB, WAS

Week 7: 1 INT, 67 return yards, TD, 1 sack, 2 tackle, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 PD, 20 snaps (47%)

2 - Kyle Pitts. TE, ATL
Week 7: 7 rec (9 targets), 65 yards, 55 snaps (75%) 

3 - Jonathan Greenard, EDGE, MIN

Week 7: 1 sack, 4 tackles, 1 FF, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 47 snaps (82%)

4 - Ventrell Miller, LB, JAX

Week 7: 10 tackles, 35 snaps (58%), 4 ST snaps (18%)

5 - Alex Anzalone, LB, DET

Week 7: 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 60 snaps (100%)

6 - Van Jefferson, WR, PIT

Week 7: 2 rec (3 targets), 15 yards, TD, 42 snaps (62%)

7 - Ricky Pearsall, WR, SF

Week 7: 3 rec (5 targets), 21 yards, 48 snaps (76%)

8 - Jonathan Bullard, DL, MIN

Week 7: 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PD, 46 snaps (81%)

9 - Marcus Maye, S, MIA

Week 7: 5 tackles, 62 snaps (100%)

10 - Taven Bryan, DT, IND

Week 7: 3 tackles, 1 FR, 34 snaps (49%), 7 ST snaps (26%)

THE REST OF THE FORMER GATORS

Jawaan Taylor, RT, KC

Week 7: 70 snaps (100%)

Taylor was penalty-free against a tough 49ers defense. When his name isn’t said on the broadcast, he has done his job.

Fred Johnson, OT, PHI

Week 7: 66 snaps (100%)

Johnson started at left tackle for the first time since 2020 in the Eagles easy win over the Giants on Sunday. He had started at right tackle earlier this season. In both starts, Johnson has struggled at times but ultimately been fine for Philadelphia. He’ll likely start again this week. 

Tommy Townsend, P, HOU

Week 7: 6 punts, 51.2 avg, 45.7 net

Townsend had his best game of the season. 

Dameon Pierce, RB, HOU

Week 7: 2 rush, 2 yards, 1 KR, 42 yards, 7 snaps (11%), 4 ST snaps (14%)

Pierce had an excellent kickoff return that led to a Texans field goal.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson, DB, PHI

Week 7: 1 tackle, 49 snaps (84%)

Anthony Richardson, QB, IND

Week 7: 10/24, 129 pass yards, 14 rush, 56 yards, 1 fumble

Richardson returned after missing two weeks and showed a lot of rust. He was erratic passing the ball, but his legs helped carry the Colts to some critical points and a close win over Miami.

O’Cyrus Torrence, G, BUF

Week 7: 55 snaps (100%)

What an aberration week one was. Torrence was flagged for three penalties in the opener but hasn’t been flagged since.

Demarcus Robinson, WR, LAR

Week 7: 1 rec (3 targets), 9 yards, 50 snaps (91%)

Brandon Powell, WR/PR, MIN

Week 7: 2 punt returns, 7.5 avg, 2 snaps (3%), 8 ST snaps (26%)

T.J. Slaton, NT, GB

Week 7: 1 tackle, 30 snaps (47%), 9 ST snaps (31%)

Jeremiah Moon, OLB, PIT

Week 7: 1 tackle, 14 snaps (25%), 15 ST snaps (52%)

Evan McPherson, K, CIN

Week 7: 0/1 FG, Miss 50, 3/3 XP

Marco Wilson, CB, NE

Week 7: 1 tackle, 21 snaps (34%), 2 ST snaps (9%)

Eddy Piñeiro, K, CAR

Week 7: 1/1 XP

Amari Burney, LB, LV

Week 7: 23 ST snaps (82%)

Justin Shorter, TE, LV

Week 7: 3 snaps (4%), 12 ST snaps (43%)

Congrats to Shorter for making his NFL regular season debut. He was called up from the Raiders practice squad for week seven but did not record a stat in limited snaps. 

Kaiir Elam, CB, BUF

Week 7: 3 snaps (4%), 5 ST snaps (18%)

Kyle Trask, QB, TB

Week 5: Did Not Play

BYE WEEK

Gervon Dexter, Sr., DT, CHI

INACTIVE

Stone Forsythe, OT, SEA

Brenton Cox, Jr., OLB, GB

Zach Carter, DT, LV

PRACTICE SQUAD

La’Mical Perine, RB, PIT

C.J. Henderson, CB, PIT

Malik Davis, RB, DAL

Justin Shorter, TE, LV

Kingsley Eguakun, C, DET

Richard Gouraige, OT, BUF

David Sharpe, OT, HOU

Kadarius Toney, WR, CLE

Trey Dean III, S, CLE

INJURED RESERVE

Trent Brown, RT, CIN

Stone Forsythe, OT, SEA