Florida Football – 2013 Spring Update

Spring Summary

Head coach Will Muschamp views the spring both as a time for the coaches to explore options and the players to prove that they deserve to be called upon throughout the season. To those ends, the two major developments this spring both occurred on the offensive side of the ball.

The Gators found two more playmakers at the wide receiver position – freshman Demarcus Robinson and junior defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy – and reestablished an offensive line that lost its entire left side to graduation.

While the offensive line was seen as a strength throughout the spring, Florida spent most practices working with a depleted unit. There were only four fully healthy scholarship lineman but six were able to rotate in and out throughout practice. Nevertheless, the Gators are both excited and pleased with the development of the unit heading into the summer.

Name a few unknown players who could become stars this season 

Though offensive linemen are not flashy, three new names will become quite familiar to fans this season – sophomore left tackle D.J. Humphries, redshirt junior transfer left guard Max Garcia and redshirt sophomore right tackle Tyler Moore. The first two will likely start at their respective positions while Moore will battle redshirt junior Chaz Green for playing time.

More exciting potential standouts include sophomores Mike linebacker Antonio Morrison, Buck LB Dante Fowler, Jr. and defensive end Jonathan Bullard, each of whom should make a major impact on the defensive side of the ball from playmaking and pass rush perspectives. Robinson, Purifoy and sophomore running back Matt Jones will all be players to watch on offense.

Grade each position group & special teams 

Quarterbacks (B-) – Junior Jeff Driskel will have every opportunity to have a standout season, but neither of his backups has any playing experience on the college level and both looked shaky at best during the spring.

Running backs (B+) – None of the rushers on Florida’s roster are proven playmakers but Jones, redshirt junior Mack Brown and freshman Kelvin Taylor all have explosive characteristics. Jones looked like the special player at the end of 2012 and the position’s depth gives the Gators plenty of reasons to be hopeful.

Fullbacks (A-) – Junior Hunter Joyer is one of the best players at his position in the nation and the additions of redshirt junior Gideon Ajagbe (former linebacker) and redshirt freshman Rhaheim Ledbetter (former defensive back) give UF some fallback options.

Offensive line (B) – A pair of redshirt seniors – center Jonotthan Harrison and right guard Jon Halapio – will anchor a unit that is also receiving an influx of major talent. The offensive line has a ways to go to improve from 2012 but has the opportunity to become an “A” unit this season.

Tight ends (D) – With Jordan Reed, Florida’s leading receiver in 2012, out the door, there is not a tight end remaining on the Gators roster that has done anything of note on the field. Sophomore Kent Taylor may develop into a reliable pass catcher but needs to improve his blocking. There are too many question marks to provide this unit with a passing grade at this point in time.

Wide receivers (C+) –Redshirt junior Quinton Dunbar will have every opportunity to be the team’s top pass catcher. Robinson and Purifoy remain unknown quantities and the rest of the unit failed to produce much at all for Florida in 2012.  The existence of those two players alone allows the Gators to start out at slightly above average at the position.

Defensive linemen (B-) – Florida lost a top-five pick and a fifth-year senior at defensive tackle. Though the Gators have somewhat talented replacements in the fold, there is still a major drop-off at that position. Where the defensive line should be improved from a year ago is at defensive end with Bullard leading the charge as a pass rusher.

Linebackers (B) – The talent is there for Florida to boast a strong linebacking corps but almost every player at the position is young and/or inexperienced. Fowler will team with Bullard to handle most of the pass rushing duties; both will be joined by redshirt junior BUCK Ronald Powell, who is returning from an ACL injury.

Cornerbacks (A) – Arguably the deepest position on the Gators’ roster. Muschamp has at least five players he would feel comfortable with starting and has so much talent on the outside of the defense that some are being moved around in order to get as many on the field as possible.

Safeties (C) – Florida lost both of its starting safeties – including a potential first-round pick and possible second-day pick – and will be filling in the blanks with the likes of junior Jabari Gorman (who has always played safety) and senior Jaylen Watkins (a starting cornerback moving to the position). There is too much yet to be determined to give the unit a better-than-average grade, but it certainly could develop nicely during the season.

Kickers (D) – Like tight end, none of the kickers on the roster have done anything of note yet. Senior Brad Phillips is competing with redshirt freshman Austin Hardin but both are struggling with their consistency. Neither won the job in the spring, which is incredibly concerning heading into the fall.

Punters (A) – The Gators are returning one of the top punters in the country, junior and Ray Guy Award finalist Kyle Christy.

Are there any “surprises” we can expect from this team?

Florida does have its fair share of talent returning, but the Gators will also be replacing 13 starters from a year ago. After finishing the 2012 season at a remarkable 11-2, many may be expecting things to turn out even better for UF in 2013.

Unfortunately, being forced to play a ton of young players while going through the grind of the SEC schedule can take a major toll on a team. Expecting the same (or a better) result from a year ago may be asking too much for this team. If Driskel goes down, Florida’s offense would be in major trouble.

Check out our Florida 2013 spring preview here.

---

Adam Silverstein, the editor of Only Gators Get Out Alive provided the information for our Florida football spring update.  For more Florida football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Adam on Twitter @onlygators.

---