WR Ricky Pearsall, CB Devin Moore out and other takeaways from UF open football practice

Gainesville Sun
Florida football held its fifth practice of fall camp, an open practice on Saturday afternoon before about 1,000 fans at The Swamp.
The Florida Gators will practice 15 times over a three-week period in preparation for their season opener on Aug. 31 at Utah. Florida will look to sweep the two-game series with the Utes after beating Utah 29-26 to open the 2022 season.
Florida coach Billy Napier opened the practice as a thank you to fans for their support throughout the season. After the practice, in a Name, Image and Likeness event presented by Florida Victorious, select fans were able to mingle with players during an autograph session.
"For our fans about a month out from the opener, you know, to get a chance to sit at The Swamp and watch our guys practice, you know, really see what goes into a football practice at this level," Napier said.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday's open practice:
Florida football WR Ricky Pearsall, CB Devin Moore not at practice
Two noticeable absences from practice were Florida senior wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and UF sophomore defensive back Devin Moore. Pearsall sat out due to an undisclosed illness, while Moore was out with an upper body injury.
Pearsall was UF's leading receiver last season with 33 catches for 661 yards and 5 TDs. Moore is expected to compete for the starting cornerback job in camp after sitting out a portion of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
The absence of Pearsall and Moore allowed other receivers and cornerbacks to step up. Freshman receiver Aidan Mizell had a nice, leaping catch along the sideline off a pass from Graham Mertz and sophomore receiver Kahleil Jackson made a similar catch off a pass from Jack Miller. In red zone drills, Florida junior cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. had a nice pass breakup in one-on-one coverage with receiver Caleb Douglas, while freshman cornerback Ja'Keem Jackson came up with a pair of pass breakups.
Also of note injury-wise, Florida linebacker Shemar James was on the sidelines in a black non-contact jersey, wearing a brace on his left knee.
An up and down day for Florida football quarterbacks
It was an up and down day for Florida football quarterbacks, who connected on short and intermediate passes but struggled on deeper routes.
Mertz found receiver Kahleil Jackson for a touchdown in red zone drills, and tight end Arlis Boardingham in the back of the end zone. For the most part, though, the defensive backs got the better of the receivers in the red zone.
A big hit by Florida Gators linebacker Teradja Mitchell
Florida linebacker Teradja Mitchell had the biggest hit of the day, putting a wallop on running back Montrell Johnson Jr. as he tried to score on a screen pass. Mitchell, a transfer from Ohio State, has already taken on a leadership role on defense, according to Florida linebacker Derek Wingo.
"That's the big thing he brings to the team, the linebacker room as a whole," Wingo said. "To bring that leadership role with all of us to be able to kind of compete with each other. I think the linebacker room as a whole has a really, really close bond."