Rick Wells, On His Touchdown, His Long Road and Staying Loyal To the Florida Gators,

Rick Wells (12) runs for a touchdown against FAU. Photo Credit: Chris Spears

Rick Wells is soft spoken, a raspy voice that he keeps registered in a low timbre; a voice that speaks of humility and perhaps even a cautiousness, leery of attention.

It’s recognizant of his raising, molding him to work even when the pay off couldn’t be seen, to stay true even when life lied. If he slipped up, get up. If he messed up, fix it. If he made a commitment, keep it. Now heading into his sixth year in Gainesville, the Jacksonville native is seeing his patience come to fruition.

“I mean everything I’ve been through, transferring never came through my mind,” Wells admitted this week. "The way I grew up, I grew up on loyalty. They’ve been loyal to me so I’m loyal to Gator Nation. So why not stick with them?”

That’s exactly what he’s done the past few years. The sixth year Florida Gators receiver freely admits his path has hit bumps. Some were self inflicted, as a young kid learning how to be on his own for the first time. Others a result of bad timing as the Gators received an influx of transfer receivers. But he waited, he worked and he prepared.

“The journey has been a lot of ups and downs and just seeing so many guys do it the right way, seeing so many guys do it the wrong way. Just picking up on things trying to put it into my life and trying to be the best person I can be. It’s been a long road, but I feel like it’s been a great one. A lot of learned lessons to better myself as a person and a player.”

For the past five years, Wells would follow a pattern. He’d put on an excellent spring practice performance, then taper off in fall camp, leading to others receiving more snaps in the regular season. Instead of becoming bitter, Wells elected to become better, studying those that were getting playing time.

“The guys that were ahead of me, they were great guys. They were great football players, I mean, very talented guys. Everybody has to wait their turn. So just being behind those guys, why not learn from them? Learn everything that they’re doing just to put it towards my game.

“Learn from KT [Kadarius Toney], learn from Josh Hammond, one of the smartest guys I ever been around. Just learning, man. And putting things into your life and trying to do things the best way that you can.”

Football is often said to create great athletes, but even more importantly, create great men. When Head Coach Dan Mullen arrived in Gainesville, Wells had been on the team for two years…and not played a single snap. He redshirted his freshman year and spent his sophomore year away from the team, serving a suspension for one of those aforementioned bumps. He paid his due so we won’t continue to rehash a man’s worst moment from which he’s already grown.

Suffice to say, he recalls now a time in which he needed to reshape his mindset. It was something Dan Mullen admits he and Wells had to work on, but it was worth the work.

“Rick just shows, you know, the perseverance,” Mullen bragged on Saturday night, following the Gators 35-14 win over FAU. “I mean he's a guy, he's worked his tail off. You know when I got here, early on I had questions whether he would make it and then I said 'hey, eventually you got to buy into the program.'

“And he bought all into the program, and I saw a change in him, and then all of a sudden he got stuck kind of behind some guys even though he bought in. But it never deterred him, and he just, you know, I mean he kept battling and kept working, kept his head down, kept grinding and now he's reaping the reward of, you know, of all that hard work.”

Adds Wells, “I saw a change that I had to make in myself just to try to get where I want to be, not just with football, but just being who I want to be and the impact that I have on people. I mean, that was the change that I was really looking for. Just the impact that I have on people and the way that they see me was the biggest thing for me.”

While Wells waited for his turn, he also worked to do the best he could off the field as well. He graduated last May, which he calls one of the best feelings he’s ever had.

And when the NCAA offered a sixth year of eligibility in light of athletes losing a normal year in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wells took it for a simple reason; “I would say God is good. It’s better being here than being back home, God is good.”

On Saturday night, in front of a packed Swamp, playing in his last home opener, Rick Wells finally had his moment. After a big first down pickup from Wells helped the Gators move downfield for their first scoring drive of the night, of the second trip to the redzone, Florida was facing a 1st and goal from the 9-yard line.

Quarterback Emory Jones swung a screen to his left, finding Wells. The receiver bounced his way through defenders, then high stepped the last yard into the end zone. It was his first career touchdown.

“Just run. Just run man. Just run. That was the only thing in my head, just run,” laughed Wells.

The play was almost just as special for the quarterback who threw the touchdown.

“Just giving him his first touchdown,” mused Emory Jones, “when I threw it and he scored, he came back and told me ‘Thank you.’ And I said ‘You know I’ve got you.’

“I know what he’s been through in his time here. He’s been through a lot off the field — stuff that not a lot of people know about. I was just excited to give him an opportunity to go score. He’ll definitely be in the rotation a lot. He’s been making plays at practice. He’s ready.”

He’s ready; moreso, he’s been ready. Because there was never a chance he could give up. Rick Wells knew that as long as he could, he’d be here for the Florida Gators.

“My family just preaches loyalty, really. We got a saying in our family, it’s called we all we got. Loyalty over love. So, I mean, that’s what I go by. Loyalty over love.”