Elijhah Badger making progress — and plays — in Florida fall camp

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators have a new addition in their receiver room in Elijhah Badger . He’s one of five top-100 transfers in UF’s 2024 class, according to the On3 Industry rankings.

Badger was a late arrival this summer from Arizona State, and Florida coach Billy Napier said at SEC Media Days that he was still learning the system and “getting adjusted to expectations and culture.”

However, Badger is starting to settle in after a few practices in training camp.

“I do think that Badger has made progress and it showed up I think (Friday) is where I was like, ‘OK, I can kind of see … he is explosive, he is athletic, he can run after the catch.’ He has a vertical threat to his game.

“And he’s got play strength and he’s got length; he’s a 6-1 guy but he’s got great, great length. So yeah, I like the look in his eyes. He’s not scared to work,” Napier said. “He’s got a smile on his face.”

Badger was very productive with the Sun Devils the past two seasons, making 135 catches for 1,579 yards and 10 touchdowns. He hauled in 65 passes for 713 yards and three touchdowns last year after 70 receptions for 866 yards and 7 TDs in 2022.

Badger was ranked the No. 82 overall transfer and No. 13 receiver in the 2024 class. In addition to learning to UF’s culture and offensive system, it’s also been an adjustment for Badger going from the Arizona heat to the Florida humidity in practice.

“He told me — I could tell he was getting comfortable, you know, made a few plays — and he said, ‘Man, the humidity is different.’ He said, ‘I’m used to that sun, but I’m not used to that humidity,'” said Napier, who was the OC at ASU in 2017. “So, he said, ‘Look, this practice is a lot more intense and a lot faster maybe than the ones I’ve been a part of in the past.'”

The Gators’ competition at receiver is also more intense than what Badger faced at Arizona State. While he is expected to contend for and eventually earn a starting job, Napier revealed that Badger is currently battling for playing time behind Eugene Wilson III , Chimere Dike and Kahleil Jackson .

“He’s a part of a receiver group that is extremely competitive,” Napier said. “After some of those guys that have played a lot of football – Tre, Chim, Kahleil – then you kind of get into the next tier of player and all those guys are doing great. And that’s one of the positions on our team where some of the roles are to be determined.”

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