Florida Gators Football: What We Know
October 6, 2012; Gainesville FL, USA; Florida Gators defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy (15) gets pumped up during the second quarter against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Over the next few weeks, we will start taking a look at the SEC teams and discuss the apparent strengths and weaknesses of them as the 2013 season nears.
The idea is to identify what we “know” – as much as we can “know” anything about a season that has yet to start. We will also examine what we think we know, what we don’t know and when we might have answers to the biggest questions.
Florida Gators
What We Know
Graduating a number of starters does not mean the Gators are devoid of talent on defense – Florida lost eight starters from a defense that helped the team overachieve a year ago. Returning CB Loucheiz Purifoy and DT Dominique Easley helps quite a bit. Purifoy, potentially a two-way star, is hands-down one of the top defensive backs in the conference, as coaches indicated by voting him to the first-team all-SEC squad earlier this month. Easley joined Purifoy in receiving that distinction, so coaches certainly have a lot of respect for what the Gators do have back. The youngsters start off with DEs Dante Fowler and Ronald Powell. They provide plenty of reason for optimism. Powell, a huge prospect coming out of high school, has been somewhat sidetracked so far. He could be in for a breakthrough season. League coaches agreed, voting him third-team all-conference. Other players with breakout potential include LB Antonio Morrison, who must serve a suspension before getting into the lineup. Morrison will man the middle of the Florida defense. He has all the talent to be a difference-maker – as he proved against Florida State – but lacks the every-down experience. Don’t overlook CB Marcus Roberson, either. He wasn’t necessarily a “starter” last year, but he has plenty of experience and will help the Gators plug a significant hole in the secondary. Replacing players like DT Sharrif Floyd, LB Jon Bostic and S Matt Elam is never easy. Florida has the talent to do so, though. Some media experts think the Gators could end up having one of the top defenses in the entire nation.
What We Think We Know
Despite losing two starters, the offensive line might be better in 2013 – Transfers G Max Garcia and T Tyler Moore have a chance to make a unit that was very physical in 2012 even more well-rounded. The question is will the line have the same tough, nasty streak it had a year ago. The 2013 version of a line has enough talent that starting T Chaz Green didn’t even win a starting spot with Moore and T D.J. Humphries vying for the bookend spots. C Jonothan Harrison provides a steadying presence in the middle of the line. G Jon Halapio has been ruled out for the season opener, but he started last year and is expected to be a big contributor again. The biggest room for improvement comes in the pass blocking game. The unit struggled last year, surrendering far too many sacks for a ground-and-pound mentality offense that could ill afford them.
No matter who’s getting the ball, Florida will be successful in the run game – The Gators will be able to run the ball this season because – barring significant improvement in the passing game – they will have to. RB Mike Gillislee proved to be among the most valuable offensive players in the SEC last season because of his ability to be a workhorse and help Florida wind clock. Gillislee is gone to the NFL now, meaning Florida needs to find its next workhorse. Projected starting RB Matt Jones has missed most of August camp with a viral infection. Coach Will Muschamp announced this week that Jones would miss the season opener against Toledo on Saturday. Backup Mack Brown seems to be in line to receive the bulk of the workload in his absence. Muschamp has toyed with the thought of redshirting true freshman RB Kelvin Taylor, son of former NFL and Gators star Fred Taylor. If Jones misses any prolonged period of time it might force Muschamp’s hand. Taylor enrolled early so he could go through spring practice. Another freshman RB, Adam Lane, could also get a look if injuries continue to mount.
Special teams will play a huge role in Florida’s success – Remember, the Gators beat Louisiana-Lafayette on the final play of the game when they returned a blocked punt for a touchdown. With the type of game Muschamp’s team plays – ground-and-pound with hard-nosed, physical defense – Florida needs to be sound on special teams. Mistakes on that side of the ball can easily equal losses. P Kyle Christy is among the best in the nation. Kicker is a different story. The team graduated Caleb Sturgis, leaving a battle between Austin Hardin and Brad Phillips. Hardin, a freshman, officially won the job Monday. The return game took a huge hit when KR Andre Debose suffered a season-ending knee injury in August, but there are plenty of athletic, speedy options from which to choose for Muschamp. Purifoy and Roberson could be two of the top candidates. The named special teams contributors aren’t the only ones who need to be solid. The Gators must be sound in winning hidden yardage – kick returns, punt returns, etc. Doing so will keep a lot of pressure off a young defense and a passing game that has yet to prove it’s above volatility.
What We Don’t Know
Can QB Jeff Driskel take the next step as a passer? – Driskel’s rushing stats from last season were deceiving. On paper he ran for just 408 yards, but as Edgar Thompson of The Orlando Sentinel pointed out, he actually rushed for 716 yards on 82 attempts. Sacks negated 308 yards. Part of the blame there falls on an offensive line that surrendered 36 sacks, but Driskel has to shoulder some of it as well. The role OC Brent Pease asked Driskel to play last year was that of a game manager. He attempted 25 passes or more just three times – and only once in a win. Driskel threw for at least 200 yards just twice – in consecutive September wins over Tennessee and Kentucky. When called upon to lead a comeback for the Gators, Driskel went 15 for 27 for 191 yards and 2 TDs against Georgia – though he also threw what could have been a potential game-tying TD to TE Jordan Reed before Jarvis Jones punched the ball out from behind. In the Sugar Bowl loss to Louisville, Driskel completed 16 of 29 passes for 175 yards with a TD and 2 INTs. In fairness, he also threw for 4 TDs (albeit on 92 yards) in a blowout win over South Carolina. For Driskel to be taken seriously as a passer, he must be able to extend the field. That he completed 64 percent of his passes came as part of the “game-manager” package, posting just 6.7 yards per attempt. To put that into perspective, Georgia QB Aaron Murray averaged 10.1 yards per attempt last year and Alabama QB AJ McCarron averaged 9.3 yards per attempt. Florida proved it can win – though with minimal margin of error – with Driskel playing the game manager. With so much change, though, he might be called upon to do more. When Will We Know? As early as Week 2, when Florida plays at Miami. The Hurricanes are getting some attention as a sleeper in the ACC. If the Gators survive that threat, they get three seemingly easy SEC contests before playing at LSU. We will definitely know after that game.
Will the Gators avoid regression despite losing starters all over the field on both sides of the ball? – Replacing eight defensive starters and numerous additional key players on offense is never easy for any team. Add to that the questions surrounding the passing game and, as mentioned earlier, there isn’t a lot of room for error. Florida played dangerously close to the edge last year. The Gators allowed Bowling Green to stay in the game into the fourth quarter. They also found themselves in near-overtime situations against both Missouri and Louisiana-Lafayette. The Louisiana-Lafayette game was particularly troublesome considering it took a blocked punt returned for a touchdown for the Gators to avoid overtime. What’s confusing is that Florida played very well in wins over South Carolina, Florida State and LSU. It also beat Texas A&M in Johnny Manziel’s collegiate debut. With several games that could have gone either way and expected improvement from the bottom half of the division, Florida is getting plenty of attention as a team facing potential regression. When Will We Know? The Miami game will be an early indicator, but we will really start finding out what the Gators are made of in mid-October when they start a stretch of four of five games away from The Swamp. That stretch includes battles with LSU, Georgia and South Carolina.