The mornings began with Florida football junior wide receiver Micah Mays Jr. and his father alone on a 100-yard football field.
Mays Jr. would then broad jump the length of the field, two-to-three yards at a time, a drill designed to improve his burst off the line of scrimmage.
With gym space limited during the height of the COVID pandemic, Mays Jr. bolstered his strength with calisthenics and by pushing blocking sleds.
“He kind of instilled this will into me during that time, like, no one else is working, this is your time to really step up and show everyone what you’re made of,” Mays said.
The workouts during the pandemic helped shape Mays into an FBS receiver, first at Wake Forest and now with the Florida Gators, where he made his mark in a competitive wide receiver room last spring. The 6-foot-1, 195-puound Mays, a West Palm Beach native and former Benjamin School standout, led all UF wide receivers with 4 catches for 122 yards and 2 TDs in UF’s spring game last April.
Mays says he’s worked hard over the summer to build off his spring success to compete for playing time this fall.
“Definitely try to attack every day that same,” Mays Jr. said. “A big part of what I do is stay in my routine, waking up early, make sure I’m getting my mind right for the day, and then just really having high energy.”
How a cartoon fueled Florida football WR Micah Mays Jr’s workouts
Micah Mays Sr., a former standout quarterback at Palm Beach Lakes High School, began his college career as a quarterback at Morehouse College under Super Bowl winning quarterback Doug Williams before moving on with Williams to Grambling State. Todd Bowles, who would go on to coach in the NFL with the New York Jets and currently the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, also was on Williams’ staff. In three seasons at Grambling State, Mays Sr. led the Tigers to three straight SWAC titles and three black college national titles as its starting QB.
Mays Sr. imparted what he learned from both Williams and Bowles to his son, who took to football instantly in youth leagues in West Palm Beach.
“He was the one who made the decision he was going to go for football,” Mays Sr. said. “Even in little league it gave me a lot of joy just watching him out there running around playing ball.”
After coaching for two seasons at Lake Worth High School, Mays Sr. returned his alma mater, Palm Beach Lakes, to take a job as an assistant principal. During the pandemic in 2020, with schools closed and Mays Jr. between his freshman and sophomore year in high school, the father-son workouts intensified with the broad jumps up and down the 100-yard field.
“It wasn’t just one time,” Mays Sr. said. “It was multiple. We would train and do different things. We would utilize the weight stands, we would do circuits, we would do some high intensity training but we would mix it up.”
Mays Sr. said father-and-son were inspired by the famous line in the comedy cartoon sitcom “Pinky and The Brain” which they watched together during the pandemic.
“It was a serious time for us and it was like ‘Hey what are we doing today, try to take over the world’,” Mays Sr. said. “That was our mindset.”
Why Florida football WR Micah Mays Jr. returned to his home state
Mays Jr. went on to star at the Benjamin School in West Palm Beach, where he learned the importance of film study under his coach, former UF quarterback Eric Kresser.
“Coach Kresser really spent a lot of time in the film room and just doing a lot of extra throwing on Saturdays and Sundays, to get that timing down with the quarterback,” Mays Jr. said.
Mays Jr. was recruited by a number of in-state schools out of high school but chose to stay loyal to Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson, who extended him his first Power 4 offer. After redshirting in 2023, Mays Jr. recorded 34 catches for 520 yards and 4 TDs in two seasons with the Demon Deacons.
Despite a coaching transition from Clawson to Jake Dickert, Mays Jr. stayed one more year at Wake Forest in 2025 before opting to transfer. Mays Jr. said the opportunity to play under Georgia Tech turned Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner attracted him to UF. He witnessed Faulkner’s offense firsthand when Wake Forest faced Georgia Tech last season, a game the Yellow Jackets won 30-29.
“A lot of shifts, different motions, and just seeing how they can really line up all over the place, how they generate explosives and how they give their playmakers the ball,” Mays Jr. “I just really fell in love with that.”
Mays Jr. is keeping up his routine of catching 150 balls per day on the Jugs machine, at different speeds and different angles. With Florida redshirt freshman receiver Dallas Wilson now heathy, Florida enters fall camp stacked at the wide receiver position with returning All-SEC freshman Vernell Brown III, Wilson, Auburn transfer Eric Singleton Jr. and Georgia Tech transfer Bailey Stockton. Mays Jr. understands he needs to continue to work hard to compete for targets.
Mays Sr. has no doubts his son will rise to the challenge.
“Micah in my mind he’s the ultimate professional,” Mays Sr. said. “He takes care of his body. He takes his training seriously, But that’s been instilled in him from weight room, to meals to pre practice to staying late and making sure he’s getting that work in.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Exclusive | How father-son bond shaped Florida football WR Micah Mays Jr.
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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By Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
