GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators went into fall camp without many questions, but that didn’t limit the amount of headlines coming out of Gainesville in August.

Leading returning wide receiver Antonio Callaway was controversially cleared of misconduct in a Title IX investigation regarding allegations of sexual assault. Starting cornerback Teez Tabor gave division rival Tennessee plenty of bulletin board material when he appeared on “The Paul Finebaum Show.” Not long after that, Tabor and TE C’yontai Lewis got into a fight during practice that resulted in both being suspended from the team for a week of practice and unavailable for Saturday’s opening game against UMass. The feud carried over onto Twitter during the suspension.

While most teams would be overwhelmed by so many distractions, coach Jim McElwain said he thinks his team will ultimately benefit from what he calls “the chaos.”

“You guys have kind of heard me talk about things in the past and one of the things I enjoy is the chaos,” McElwain said. “You can’t simulate the chaos that goes on in a game. And yet you can use distractions, uncertainty and use that to help hopefully strengthen you in those times when you’re in those games.

“Our guys have handled that I think very well. It’s amazing. What you hope to see happen is you don’t miss a beat. You go forward and you keep working on what you’ve got to do to get better. If yesterday is any proof, I think that’s a good thing.”

Aside from the chaos, the biggest story of camp came when McElwain pulled the trigger on naming Luke Del Rio the starting quarterback. The fourth-year journeyman quarterback won the job over graduate transfer Austin Appleby by displaying the stronger command of the offense in camp.

Up front, it’s set that Del Rio will be protected by LT David Sharpe, LG Martez Ivey, C Cam Dillard, RG Tyler Jordan and RT Fred Johnson. The unit struggled mightily last year, allowing the most sacks of any SEC team (45), but there’s a lot to be gained from a year of working out and practicing.

On offense, running backs and receivers are two positions with uncertain depth charts. Throughout camp, we’ve seen Mark Thompson, Jordan Cronkrite and Jordan Scarlett all take carries with the first-team offense. There’s been talk all offseason of using the three in a committee approach, but McElwain has stated he has five running backs who will get carries this fall.

At wide receiver, the Gators no longer look as deep as they once did. While the roster shows 11 scholarship wideouts, roughly seven can be expected to contribute in the opener right now.

C.J. Worton was in line for a starting spot, but he’s currently sidelined with a high-ankle sprain. Redshirt freshman Kalif Jackson is still rehabbing from a foot injury. True freshmen Tyrie Cleveland and Rick Wells, who were arrested in July for firing BB guns into a campus residence, have been notably absent from recent practices.

Callaway is a presumed Week 1 starter (unless suspended) and one other wideout that can be penciled in with the first-team is Dre Massey, a junior college transfer who has been repeatedly praised since arriving on campus in January.

On defense, there weren’t any real changes on the depth chart since spring practice. The defensive line will be anchored by DE Bryan Cox Jr., DT Caleb Bryan and DL Cece Jefferson, with DT Joey Ivie and DE Jordan Sherit seeing action depending on where Jefferson lines up.

A finally healthy Alex Anzalone will play alongside returning starter Jarrad Davis at linebacker. Since Florida often uses nickel coverage, Anzalone and Davis will get the vast majority of the snaps. A very thin position got even thinner, however, when Matt Rolin left the team. Expect to see a few freshmen play against UMass to get some experience in case anyone goes down in the later months.

Florida’s secondary will be anchored by Tabor and Quincy Wilson at cornerback along with strong safety Marcus Maye. Duke Dawson is expected to play nickel back primarily this fall but could see some action at cornerback against UMass with Tabor suspended. Veteran free safety Nick Washington appears to have secured a starting spot, though early enrollee Chauncey Gardner has impressed in camp as well.

Again, this depth chart could have been more or less drawn up in April. There haven’t been any real shakeups to note in camp. McElwain has praised the freshmen in multiple position groups, and they could be important this season. Depth, particularly at linebacker and defensive back, is the biggest known issue for the defending SEC East champs.