5 critical questions the Gators answered this spring and 3 that remain

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Almost every spring since Tim Tebow left town, the biggest questions surrounding Florida have involved the offense, particularly the quarterback position. That young tradition carried into this year, but there were also quite a few questions on defense, as the Gators must replace eight starters.

With the spring session over, here are five questions that were answered, and three that remain.

What we found out

1. Which QB has the lead in the competition for the starting job?

A lot has happened since April 2016. This time last year, Kyle Trask looked better after the spring game. Trask was praised for his mechanics, pretty throws and poise in the pocket. Feleipe Franks, meanwhile, had the deer-in-the-highlights look, throwing three picks on his first four passes.

This spring, however, Franks demonstrated why he had jumped Trask on the depth chart last fall and why he’s likely to be the Gators’ starting quarterback this year. In practice, and in Friday night’s spring game, Franks is comfortable making quick decisions. He has a strong arm, and it gives him noticeable confidence. While it wasn’t always on display often against the second-team defense, but in drills, Franks has shown he can put the ball in the spots where only his receiver can make the play in tight coverage.

Franks can improve on his accuracy (8-of-14 on Friday with multiple high misses), but he answered the question of which quarterback is ahead in the race.

2. How does Kadarius Toney fit into the offense?

When it was revealed that Toney, a 3-star athlete, would work with the quarterbacks, there was reason to wonder how a dual-threat quarterback would fit playing in a system designed with pocket-passers in mind. The fact that Luke Del Rio was out with shoulder surgery could lead one to wonder if Toney was simply going to be an emergency third-stringer.

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As it turns out, Gators fans can expect to see a lot of Toney this fall as the Wildcat quarterback. The naturally athletic playmaker can do things with the ball in his hands – whether it’s a designed run or scramble – that Franks, Trask and Del Rio cannot. Packages with Toney at quarterback could especially boost Florida’s ground game and red zone offense, two areas in desperate need of improvement.

3. Who will take over inside on the defensive line?

DT Caleb Brantley and NT Joey Ivie were among the eight departing defensive starters from last year’s squad. That left a big question mark at the inside defensive line positions. The good news is that it looks like DT Taven Bryan and NT Khairi Clark have stepped up to fill those spots.

Bryan, known as “The Wyoming Wildman,” was singled out by McElwain as one of the spring’s top most improved players.

“Up front, Taven Bryan, he has been our most consistent player, day-to-day in all drills, which is something he kind of lacked was consistency a little bit,” McElwain said. “He has probably taken as big of steps of anybody on the team as far as consistency and performance. It doesn’t matter the drill.”

After Friday’s spring game, Trask remarked Clark was frequently finding his way into the backfield.

“He was in my face just about every play; that’s what it felt like,” Trask said.

4. Will the Gators be able to replace Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson?

It’s no small task trying to replace two of the SEC’s top cornerbacks. As suspected, Duke Dawson and Chauncey Gardner have stepped into these outside coverage roles. Dawson has multiple years of playing nickelback, so he’s familiar with covering pass-catchers one-on-one. Gardner was a 4-star cornerback coming out of high school, but he impressed the most as a safety during his freshman season. His hard-hitting tendencies and ability to track the ball in the air indicated he had a high ceiling at the position.

Gardner has struggled some with covering Antonio Callaway and Tyrie Cleveland in practice, but many starting SEC corners have (and will). The fact that the Gators have a pair of experienced safeties (Marcell Harris, Nick Washington), but need help at cornerback pretty much forces the staff into playing Gardner as a cover corner on the outside. He has the talent and experience to get by at the position, but it’s hard not to think he’ll eventually move back to safety when the 2017 signees start to develop.

5. How will the defense be different under Randy Shannon?

The most noticeable difference between Shannon and his predecessor, Geoff Collins, is when it comes to blitzing. Collins liked nickel coverage, and believed in his defensive backs. The defensive linemen knew that as long as they got a good push, there was a good chance that linebackers Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone were going to come flying into the backfield.

Shannon and defensive line coach Chris Rumph, promoted this spring to co-coordinator, want to see the linemen do the heavy lifting on the pass rush. Bryan and Clark, mentioned above, will certainly play a part in this, but this is more of a challenge to the defensive ends.

Jabari Zuniga led the Gators with 5 sacks a year ago, and the coaches are expecting to see him take the next step this season. Former 5-star prospects Cece Jefferson (247Sports Composite) and Antonneous Clayton (Rivals) have focused on finding the right playing weight to maximize their potential as edge rushers.

Another change under Shannon is the addition of a hybrid nickel/linebacker. This spring, the coaches favored using a third linebacker over a fifth defensive back. Linebackers Jeremiah Moon and Kylan Johnson, a former safety converted to linebacker by Shannon, have lined up at the position.

What we don’t know

1. Can the team continue to lean on the defense?

The past two seasons, the defense deserved the bulk of the credit for getting the Gators to Atlanta. With eight starters gone, most people expect a drop in 2017.

Players on both sides of the ball remain confident in the defense. In spring, though, everybody’s confident. Until we see the new-look defense in action against a first-team offense, the strength of the unit remains unknown.

It’s not easy to replace more than two thirds of the starting defense, but Florida has decent experience in its front seven. The injury bug was particularly rough last season, and multiple freshmen were asked to step up. Depth in the secondary is an issue, and there’s no getting around it.

If any of the starters in the secondary (Dawson, Gardner, Harris, Washington) get hurt or suspended, things get dicey. There’s a talented group of defensive backs arriving in the summer, but not every true freshmen is ready for SEC action.

2. Could another quarterback win the job?

One of the more intriguing stories of Florida’s offseason is the mutual interest between UF and former Notre Dame QB Malik Zaire. The Fighting Irish signal-caller has waited to pick his new team, indicating he might be watching to see if the Gators are able to accept a grad transfer.

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Currently, an SEC rule prevents the Gators from taking another grad transfer due to academic issues with two in the 2015 season. The rule, however, could get changed at the spring meetings (Florida is not the only school in this position). If the three-year rule changes, Zaire may be on his way to Gainesville.

The mutual interest was there as recently as late March. However, that was before McElwain said that Franks is ahead of Trask. If there’s a spot for Zaire, and he still wants to come, McElwain faces a dilemma.

While there will be five other scholarship quarterbacks on roster (Franks, Jake Allen, Luke Del Rio, Toney, Trask), Zaire would be the most experienced quarterback, having played in 17 games (58-of-98 passing, 816 yards, 6 TD; 72 carries, 324 yards, 2 TD) and arguably the most talented. It could be a tough call for McElwain to bring in a third graduate transfer quarterback (Austin Appleby, Del Rio) or develop Franks and let him go through redshirt freshman growing pains.

3. Will the offense finally get better?

The $64,000 question in Gator Nation. In December 2014, Jeremy Foley cited McElwain’s offensive background as one of the reason he got the job. The past two years, however, the offense hasn’t looked much better than it did during the Will Muschamp years.

Things looked to be moving in the right direction during Will Grier’s brief time as the starter, but the 22 games since then have been a different story. Treon Harris wasn’t fit for the system. Luke Del Rio suffered multiple injuries. Austin Appleby was inconsistent.

On paper, this should be the year that things get better. McElwain has two pocket-passers (Franks, Trask) he recruited out of high school (three if you count his pursuit of Del Rio at Colorado State) as well as a dual-threat quarterback (Toney). All but one starter from the offensive line returns, along with a deep receiving corps and three veteran running backs.

In the spring game, however, it didn’t look like a different offense. Franks had some impressive throws, such as his 46-yard pass to Josh Hammond and a touchdown strike to Antonio Callaway, but in his two quarters of action he was only 8-of-14 despite the favorable matchup against the second-team defense. In the same setup a year ago, Del Rio was 11-of-12 with his only incompletion a throwaway on a busted protection. McElwain went as far as to call the throwaway Del Rio’s best play of the night.

Franks might not be as comfortable yet in the offense as Del Rio, a journeyman from the class of 2013, but he clearly has the stronger arm. He will also have a deeper, more experienced supporting cast than his predecessors.

It should be the year the offense turns the corner, but that answer won’t come until fall.