Report: Florida WR Xzavier Henderson Entering Transfer Portal

Photo: Xzavier Henderson; Credit: Alex Shepherd

Florida wide receiver Xzavier Henderson intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal, according to Jacob Rudner of 247Sports. 

Henderson, a rising fourth-year junior, had been projected to start at outside receiver for Florida in 2023 after occupying the same role in 2022. 

A consensus four-star recruit in the class of 2020 and product of Miami (Fla.) Columbus, Henderson opted to join his brother, former Gators cornerback C.J. Henderson, at Florida over offers from the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Florida State, Miami, Tennessee and Ole Miss, among others. 

Henderson appeared in 35 games for the Gators, making 14 starts and compiling 73 receptions for 835 yards and five touchdowns over three seasons. He led Florida with 38 receptions to conclude the 2022 campaign, seemingly his final season in orange and blue. 

Henderson expressed excitement after Florida hired Billy Gonzales as the program's wide receivers coach, reuniting the pass-catcher with the assistant who originally recruited him to UF and developed his game over the 2020-21 seasons. 

"When [head] coach [Billy Napier] came and told me, I was pretty excited not going to lie," Henderson told reporters on April 8. "That’s the coach who recruited me. He was here when I first got here and he’s been the coach that taught me the most I know about playing receiver.”

The reunion was shortlived, however, and Henderson's departure will force lesser-experienced receivers into significant roles within Florida's offense. 

UF returns one starting receiver from a season ago, fifth-year senior Ricky Pearsall. Fellow 2022 starter Justin Shorter exhausted his collegiate eligibility and is a prospect for the 2023 NFL Draft. Depth receivers Trent Whittemore and Daejon Reynolds also transferred elsewhere between Dec. 2022 and Jan. 2023. 

Rising sophomore Caleb Douglas figured to step into a prominent role before Henderson's decision to transfer and the theory can only be supported by the move. Douglas hauled in 10 receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman. 

Junior Ja'Quavion Fraziars, redshirt sophomore Marcus Burke, sophomore Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman and true freshmen Andy Jean and Aidan Mizell make up the remainder of Florida's current group of scholarship wide receivers. Class of 2023 prospect Eugene Wilson III is expected to enroll at UF and join the unit this summer.