A look at McElwain’s offense: Which UF players stand to benefit?
By Drew Laing
Published:
Jim McElwain was hired as head coach of the Florida Gators for one, simple reason — offense.
The Gators haven’t been a threat on offense since the days of Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer and McElwain’s background and success on offense as both a coordinator at Alabama and as head coach at Colorado State made him an attractive hire for athletic director Jeremy Foley.
During his 27-year career as a collegiate coach, McElwain’s style of offense has changed numerous times.
“I’m the dog they dropped of down at the Humane Society. He has a little bit of about every breed in him,” McElwain said regarding his offensive philosophy.”
So it appears McElwain won’t define himself by one specific offensive strategy and rather he’ll mold the offense around the players on his roster, which is good news for Florida players as it sounds like he wants to play to their strengths.
So which players should benefit the most under McElwain’s guiding?
RB Kelvin Taylor
Why: If there’s been one position that’s consistently performed well under McElwain, it’s been running back. While at Alabama, Mark Ingram won a Heisman Trophy and Trent Richardson was a finalist. At Colorado State, Kapri Bibbs ran for 1,741 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2013.
With Matt Jones declaring for the NFL Draft, that opens the door up for Kelvin Taylor. The son of Gator great Fred Taylor has split carries during his first two years, but has shown flashes of greatness at times this season. McElwain loves to utilize his running backs and Taylor’s the main option in the backfield for 2015. It would be surprising to see Taylor reach at least 175 carries next year.
WR Demarcus Robinson
Why: Similar to Kelvin Taylor, Demarcus Robinson is the only real receiving threat for the Gators heading into 2015. And despite a lackluster offense in 2014, he still put up solid numbers — 47 receptions, 774 yards and seven touchdowns.
The obvious comparison and hope for Florida fans is that Robinson becomes McElwain’s next Rashard Higgins. Higgins, a wide receiver at CSU, exploded this season under McElwain. In addition to racking up 89 receptions, 1,640 yards and 17 touchdowns, Higgins was named to multiple All-America teams and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award.
As a freshman, Higgins posted similar stats to that of Robinson in his sophomore season — 68 receptions, 837 yards and six touchdowns. He practically doubled his numbers as a sophomore. While Robinson will be in his first year under McElwain’s system, there’s no reason to believe that Robinson couldn’t significantly improve his numbers, especially with the athletic talent he possesses.
Starting QB
Why: We don’t know who will be the starting quarterback next season for the Gators. Jeff Driskel could opt to return and be in the mix for the job. Treon Harris was capable as a starter, but was hardly a polished passer and Will Grier seems like the more prototypical drop back passer, but with a redshirt there is still no idea how good he actually is.
We’ve seen how good Garrett Grayson has been under McElwain at Colorado State (he was named MWC Offensive Player of the Year). It wouldn’t surprise me to see McElwain lean more toward a traditional drop back passer like Grier next season, but because of his varying offensive philosophies, it’s tough to pinpoint.
However, with the consistent production McElwain gets out of his quarterbacks seemingly every year, whoever does start for the Gators should be put in a terrific position to put up good numbers.
Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.
