Florida Football: 5 bold predictions for the 2017 season

2. Florida doesn’t have a thousand-yard rusher for the second year in a row

It’s been awhile since Florida has had a truly transcendent star running back prospect, and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. Currently slated to start for the team is junior running back Jordan Scarlett.

Scarlett, a 5-foot-10 back from Fort Lauderdale rushed for 889 yards as the star of the Gator’s committee of running backs during his sophomore season. While conventional wisdom would suggest that Scarlett could be in for a bump in production as he enters his all-important junior season, that simply may not be the case.

The Gators do have an incredibly veteran offensive line, and are starting a rookie quarterback. Those are two factors that typically signal a commitment to running the ball, but with Scarlett’s impending game one suspension, things become much less clear.

There are currently four running backs behind Scarlett on Florida’s depth chart. Players like redshirt senior Mark Thompson and true sophomore Lamical Perine are eagerly waiting in the wings for their chance to take over the starting job.

In reality, while Scarlett may not lose his job as the team’s lead back because of his absence in week one, he is without a doubt giving his competition a chance to get more in-game reps, and potentially improve upon their stock, and eventual pitch count once Scarlett return.

Having a lead back who can take over games and break the century mark is something all team hope to recruit, but it looks like in 2017 the Gators will again find themselves relying on a running back by committee.