Florida football: Kadarius Toney defends players opting out of Cotton Bowl

Florida Gators wide receiver Kadarius Toney takes to Twitter to defend himself and his teammates for opting out of the Cotton Bowl

In anticipation of the 2021 NFL Draft set to take place in April, senior wide receiver Kadarius Toney was one of the numerous Florida football players to opt-out of the Gators’ appearance in Wednesday’s Cotton Bowl.

That decision irritated a lot of Florida football fans across the nation as they witnessed the Gators get wallopped by the Oklahoma Sooners on Dec. 30, 55-20.

Toney defended himself and his teammates’ decision to sit out the game via Twitter.

https://twitter.com/0fficialC2N/status/1344476501912158209

Quarterback Kyle Trask clearly missed his top-three passing targets – Toney, Kyle Pitts, Trevon Grimes – on Wednesday, throwing three interceptions without firing a touchdown pass.

The trio of Toney, Pitts, and Grimes had combined for 151 receptions, 31 touchdowns and 2,343 receiving yards in 2020.

On top of not having his top-three targets, Florida head football coach Dan Mullen was also without wide receiver Jacob Copeland after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.

Mullen made headlines after Wednesday’s loss to Oklahoma, stating that his team could have skipped the game due to the number of players available to play.

Toney’s illustrious four-year career with the Gators came to an end this week after recording 70 catches, 10 touchdown receptions, and 984 receiving yards.

The Eight Mile, Ala. native finished his collegiate career with 120 catches, 1590 receiving yards, and 12 touchdown receptions.

The wideout has earned a handful of accolades for his highly successful senior season, including an Associated Press second-Team All-American and Associated Press All-SEC First-Team All-American selections.

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