Ad Disclosure
They’re the two-time defending SEC East champions. They come from a school that was the first to routinely fill the SEC’s skies with flying pigskins and scoreboards that moved so quickly that they could have been on the fritz. But the Florida offense isn’t exactly wowing people in the mid to late 2010s. This isn’t your dad’s Florida Gators. In fact, they tend to move the ball more like your great-grandpa’s Florida Gators. Florida’s defense has carried the weight for those two division titles. In 2015 and 2016, these defensive units were filled with NFL Draft picks. But this spring, there were plenty of new faces in Gainesville on D. In the past, Florida has just plugged another five-star prospect into the line-up and watched many of them play their way to the NFL. Will that continue in 2017, or does the Gator D take a step back? How confident are we in any of the units on either side of the ball? Let’s break it down.
QB
Malik Zaire or Feleipe Franks or Luke Del Rio
Confidence meter: Low to middle
Why: For a team that used to make its bread and butter with the passing game, the Gators have some questions under center. Will Grier looked promising in early 2015, but was suspended for the remainder of the season, giving way to Treon Harris (50.9 percent completions, 9 touchdowns, 6 interceptions). Last season, time was split between transfer Luke Del Rio (56.7 completion percentage, 8 TDs, 8 INTs) and transfer Austin Appleby (60.8, 10, 7). Neither was especially good, and only the former returns in 2017.
This year, the expectation was that redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks would take the job. He’s athletic and has much more raw talent than Del Rio, but is inexperienced. Then add Notre Dame grad transfer Malik Zaire into the mix; he is more athletic than Del Rio and more experienced than Franks. Or is he less athletic than Franks and less experienced at Florida than Del Rio? Head coach Jim McElwain can’t or won’t differentiate who will start. The odds are the production will be better, simply because it can’t get much worse. But the team that has three QBs might have zero, so that tempers expectations significantly.
RB
Jordan Scarlett (backups Lamical Perine, Mark Thompson)
Confidence meter: Fairly high
Why: In McElwain’s first two seasons, the run game has been fairly anemic. The Gators averaged 3.5 yards per carry in 2015 and 3.7 in 2016. But there is reason for optimism in this group, as the top three players from 2016 all return, and stand to improve from the year of experience.
The Gators ranked last in the SEC in rushing last year at 128.2 yards a game.
Jordan Scarlett rushed for 889 yards and six touchdowns in 2016, posting a solid 5.0 yards per carry. He will be the feature back; this is the first time in many moons that the Gators have returned a starring runner. In a league with Derrius Guice and Nick Chubb among many others, Scarlett won’t grab headlines, but he’ll probably rush for 1,000 yards if he stays healthy. Bullish senior Thompson (299 yards, 2 TDs) and speedy sophomore outside runner Perine (421 yards, 1 TD) add quality depth, and either could step up if Scarlett were unavailable. There is anxiety over the Gator offense, but not the running backs.
WR
Antonio Callaway (?), Brandon Powell, Tyrie Cleveland (DeAndre Goolsby at TE)
Confidence meter: Medium
Why: In typical Florida fashion, the Gators have a roster’s worth of speedy sprinters who can make big plays on deep balls or take dump-off passes to the house. The problem? Callaway, by far the most experienced, can’t stay out of trouble. Much of the rest of the group is more respected for potential than for production.
Callaway has led the team in receiving yards the past two seasons (54 catches, 721 yards, 3 TDs in 2016), but again has at least one foot in McElwain’s doghouse. If he’s good to play, he’s an All-SEC talent. Pint-sized Powell is also fairly experienced (45 catches, 387 yards, 2 TDs) and Cleveland is a 6-foot-2 home run threat (14 catches, 298 yards, 2 TDs including a 98-yarder at LSU). Goolsby is one of the best tight ends in the East, and provides another pass catching threat (38 catches, 342 yards, 3 TDs). But there’s a fair chance this group will have to mesh with a new quarterback (or two), Callaway is an endless headache, and much of the depth is inexperienced. On a good day, this could be a team strength. On a bad one, it could be a weakness.
OL
Martez Ivey, Tyler Jordan, TJ McCoy, Fred Johnson, Jawaan Taylor
Confidence meter: Medium
Why: It has been a rough couple of years for the Gator offensive line. After allowing just 17 sacks in 2014, Florida lost four linemen to the NFL Draft. In 2015, they gave up 46 sacks, and watched the team scoring total drop by a touchdown a game. They did improve last season, cutting the sack total to 28 allowed and grinding out a few more yards and points.
There is plenty of talent here. Ivey was an all-SEC guard who has moved to tackle, and is probably the best of this group. Taylor was a positive surprise as a freshman, and Jordan has two years of experience and is very versatile. Ivey and Taylor were full-time starters last year, and the other three guys all saw some time starting. It’s not the most experienced line in the league, but there is reason to think this group will continue to improve in 2017.
DL
Jabari Zuniga, Khairi Clark, Taven Bryan, Cece Jefferson
Confidence meter: Medium to fairly high.
Why: Florida got hit with some losses up front. Talented tackle Caleb Brantley, who was a second team all-SEC guy, moved on as did solid starter Joey Ivie and contributing end Bryan Cox. The good news is that all is definitely not lost.
Zuniga is a pass-rushing terror. He had five sacks and 11 hurries in 2016, and could easily crack double-figure sack totals this season. Jefferson is big enough to play inside at tackle, but athletic enough to endanger QBs from the end position. Much like Zuniga, modest 2016 totals (1.5 sacks, 5 hurries) could easily be eclipsed this season. Clark and Bryan are both juniors, and will present enough beef in the middle to scare many SEC offensive lines. Jordan Sherit is another significant name from the end position, as the senior could be an impact player off the bench and off the edge. The line isn’t as experienced or imposing as it was entering 2016, but the production will likely remain high.
LB
Kylan Johnson, David Reese, Jeremiah Moon
Confidence meter: Medium
Why: NFL draft picks Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone are no longer Gators, but Florida returns a talented — if not terribly experienced — group. All three combine for 10 career starts. Reese will be the team’s top returning tackler (after the injury to Marcell Harris), and having him in the middle will be a good starting place.
Johnson impressed last season, but Moon barely saw the field before injuries ended his season. There are issues with depth, as two talented freshmen are among the group of Gators who have had some off-season trouble that will keep them off the field at the start of 2017. This group could be as good as Florida’s last few linebacker units. But it’s hard to say because there are few results to go by.
DB
Duke Dawson, Marco Wilson, Nick Washington, Chauncey Gardner
Confidence meter: Fairly high to high
Why: The confidence meter would have been high, but tough senior safety Marcell Harris went down with a season-ending injury. With Washington and Gardner, Florida has a pair of tough, talented safeties and one of the best tandems in the SEC. Cornerback Dawson broke up seven passes last season, and if not for Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson, he would have been a star in his own right. Wilson is kind of a wild card, as the lone guy without experience, but the coaches love him and between him and junior college transfer Joseph Putu, a senior, somebody will step up.
If only Florida had managed to keep Harris healthy, this would have been the best unit on the team. As it is, it’s still a talented and experienced group, but UF is one more injury away from answering some tough questions. If Florida’s health and luck hold up, this secondary might have a second straight season of holding opposing passers to under 50 percent completions (45.1 last year).
Special teams
Eddy Pineiro, Johnny Townsend, Antonio Callaway (?), Dre Massey
Confidence meter: High
Johnny Townsend led the nation in punting last season with a 47.9-yard average.
Why: Florida has experienced its fair share of kicking woes in recent years, but you wouldn’t know it from this group. Kicker Pineiro and punter Townsend are both all-SEC level kickers who have skills and experience. The return game has been a bit down, but if Callaway is healthy and out of the doghouse, he’s a home run threat on any play. If he isn’t, Massey is a talented young guy who could well step up.
Piniero was 21 for 25 on field goals in 2016, and hit a 54 yarder. It wouldn’t be surprising if he hit a 60-yarder this year — he has that much leg strength. Townsend’s booming kicks help set up the already lethal Florida defense. Given the abundance of talented receivers and DBs on the roster, Florida is almost certain to find one or two who can catch a kick or punt. It’s not unreasonable to expect Florida to have the best special teams play in the SEC in 2017.
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
