Florida Football Breaks Records At Orange & Blue Game

Records were broken in Florida football’s 2025 Orange and Blue game Saturday afternoon to cap off spring camp in front of the biggest spring game crowd since 2009.

Team Blue took down Orange 38-32 off of Ja’Kobi Jackson’s agility and speed. His 198 yards broke the record for rushing yards in a spring game for the Gators. He had three touchdowns on the ground to go along with it.

Freshman receiver Dallas Wilson kept it close. Wilson broke the record for receptions in a Florida spring game with 10 and tied the yards record with 195. He also added two touchdowns. It was clear Wilson had an SEC-ready body with his 6-foot-3, 209-pound frame, but his skills tell the same story. He used his body well to draw in sideline catches throughout the game.

give 'em 6 (again)

Blue 38 | Orange 32 pic.twitter.com/0Ex9KVIjuD

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) April 12, 2025

Backup Quarterback Battle

DJ Lagway started the game for Blue, handing the ball off on the opening play before being replaced by Aidan Warner immediately after. He’s still nursing his shoulder injury so only played a handful of snaps in the game.

The rest of the game turned to Warner and transfer Harrison Bailey. The two have been taking first team reps in Lagway’s stead and are competing for the backup quarterback position.

The verdict?

It will probably be a week-to-week decision on who to start between the two if Lagway were to miss a game with an injury.

Both had solid performances in the spring game, but nothing that jumped off the page. If you were to strictly compare stat lines, Bailey’s 363 yards and three touchdowns looks better than Warner’s 157 yards and two touchdowns, but there were other factors at play. Bailey had Wilson to throw to, who was an absolute beast and could not be stopped. On the other hand, Warner didn’t have much to do with Jackson and Jadan Baugh doing their job on the ground.

Overall, both look like capable backups in a scrimmage setting, but neither one stood out over the other. Maybe one can separate himself in the Fall when they get real game-speed action on the field.

Standouts

A lot of the young guys showed out on Saturday.

Freshman linebacker Ty Jackson led the game in tackles with 11, including a sack and tackle for loss. The Gators are losing Shemar James to the NFL draft this year, so they are looking for someone to step up at linebacker. Jackson could be an early breakout candidate if he can continue his success.

Freshman defensive back Drake Stubbs was everywhere for the blue team on defense. He finished the day with eight tackles, a hit on the quarterback and an interception on the team’s first defensive possession of the game. He was playing with the second team on defense, makes sense with his freshman standing, but could be a guy to turn to if the secondary has injury problems like they did last year.

not today ☝️ pic.twitter.com/lL28r9sNMF

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) April 12, 2025

Freshman receiver Vernell Brown III also impressed for Blue. He had four catches on five targets for 34 yards and was Aidan Warner’s favorite target on screen passes and short balls around the line of scrimmage. It’s important to note Eugene Wilson III was inactive in the game, so Brown III’s role may have been inflated, but his burst and ability to make a man miss after the catch will definitely be an asset. He also was the primary kick returner for Blue, so it’s possible he could be taking a lot of those reps in the Fall.

“This is by far the deepest receiver group we’ve had since we’ve been here,” Napier said.

Improvements

The one thing Napier mentioned as something to clean up was the defense.

The tackling was a problem, especially for Orange, the first team defense. That was one of the main issues for the defense at the start of 2024, when they struggled to stop the run. It yielded a similar result against a record-breaking Jackson on Saturday.

HAVE A DAY KOBI 🤯

Blue 35 | Orange 17 pic.twitter.com/raElxzT4Xy

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) April 12, 2025

If the Gators are going to improve on their eight-win season, they’ll need the defense to be clicking from the jump. Napier mentioned there are a lot of injuries, but it isn’t an excuse.

“Got to start a little faster,” he said.

Up Next

The Gators’ spring camp is over and they will take a break before OTAs in the summer. They will then prepare for their season opener against Long Island University at home on August 30.