Published August 27, 2012 - 2:17pm
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For many people the college football season started in early August when fall practice began, for others the season doesn’t kickoff until, well, kickoff.
But for myself, I feel the real starting point of the season is the day when the official depth charts are released.
Today was that day.
Never take these week one depth charts too seriously though. For the most part these are issued because fans and the media clamor to see the starting lineups. Both offensive coordinator Brent Pease and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn use a wide variety of player rotations, so I would expect many players to see snaps this Saturday.
But until then, this will give us our best indication of what to expect on game day, and who to dream about making big plays.
Don’t laugh; you know you’ll be dreaming about the Gators each night this week.
Here is your official depth chart for Saturday’s game against Bowling Green:
Offense
QB: Jeff Driskel OR Jacoby Brissett
RB: Mike Gillislee, Mack Brown
FB: Hunter Joyer, Trey Burton
WR (X): Frankie Hammond, Jr., Latroy Pittman OR Andre Debose
WR (Z): Quinton Dunbar, Solomon Patton
F: Trey Burton, Omarius Hines
TE: Jordan Reed, Clay Burton
LT: Xavier Nixon, Kyle Koehne
LG: James Wilson, Ian Silberman
C: Jonotthan Harrison, Sam Robey
RG: Jon Halapio, Jessamen Dunker
RT: Chaz Green, Trip Thurman
Defense
DE: Dominique Easley, Earl Okine
DT: Sharrif Floyd, Damien Jacobs
NT: Omar Hunter, Leon Orr
Buck DE: Lerentee McCray, Dante Fowler
Sam LB: Darrin Kitchens, Neiron Ball
Mike LB: Jon Bostic, Michael Taylor
Will LB: Jelani Jenkins, Antonio Morrison
CB: Jaylen Watkins OR Loucheiz Purifoy
CB: Marcus Roberson OR Cody Riggs
S: Matt Elam, Valdez Showers
S: Josh Evans, Jabari Gorman
Nickel CB: Matt Elam, Jaylen Watkins
Dime CB: Matt Elam, Brian Poole
Special Teams
K: Caleb Sturgis, Brad Phillips
P: Kyle Christy, Todd Fennell
H: John Crofoot, Tyler Murphy
LS: Drew Ferris, Kyle Crofoot
KR: Andre Debose, Solomon Patton
PR: Marcus Roberson, Andre Debose
Players of note:
Andre Debose, WR: Seeing Andre Debose buried so deep is a bit of a shock. Mind you, this depth chart may mean nothing and he may see as many snaps as the other receivers, but it is always a bit of a letdown when you see arguably your most talented junior receiver lined up behind an incoming freshman. Hopefully this motivates him to step it up.
Latroy Pittman, WR: Seeing his name on the depth chart wasn’t a huge surprise, ever since this kid stepped on campus we have only heard glowing reports about his effort on the practice field. I’m just not sure most of us expected to see him listed among the top four receivers this early in his career. Is this a sign of a star in the making or just a player filling a spot at a weak position?
Dante Fowler, Jr., Buck LB: When Ronald Powell went down in the spring game it was already assumed that Lerentee McCray was going to fill in at the Buck spot, but depth at this position was a major concern for head coach Will Muschamp. Fowler has proven this fall that he is more than capable of providing that depth, at times even practicing with the first team. This will be among the bigger freshman debuts that we have seen in the Swamp in recent years. How big does Fowler’s flip from FSU seem now?
The entire defensive backfield: How lucky is defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson? There are 123 other defensive back coaches who would give their left arms for a pool of players this deep. The only thing that seems to be set in stone is that Matt Elam will pretty much be on the field at all times. The challenge here, if you can even call it a challenge, will be getting the other eight players enough meaningful reps on Saturday, especially with two SEC road games against high-flying offenses on the horizon.
Freshman listed (in alphabetical order):
LS Kyle Crofoot (RS)
RG Jessamen Dunker
P Todd Fennell (RS)
Buck LB Dante Fowler, Jr.
Will LB Antonio Morrison
WR Latroy Pittman
Dime CB Brian Poole
SS Valdez Showers (RS)
RT Trip Thurman (RS)
Quick Thoughts:
- A starter has yet to be named, but Muschamp has said that one quarterback will play the first quarter, the other will play the second quarter and then both will be evaluated at halftime.
- Expect to see Trey Burton and Omarius Hines line up at almost every offensive skill position; Burton may even get some snaps as a Wildcat QB.
- Players not listed who should see snaps: DL Jonathan Bullard, RB Matt Jones, WR Raphael Andrades, OL D.J. Humphries, and TE Kent Taylor.
