Florida Football: Top 5 spring 2019 position battles to watch

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 29: Lamical Perine #22 of the Florida Gators is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a third quarter touchdown against the Michigan Wolverines during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

3. Offensive Line

No unit lost more production from last season than the offensive line – four starters from last season are gone and several backups have transferred from the program. John Hevesy has his work cut out for him heading into spring, but there’s little doubt that he’s up to the task after guiding the impressive turn around on the offensive line in 2018.

The reason this battle isn’t over a single position is because every position on the offensive line is up for grabs. Even Nick Buchanan – the only returning starter from 2018 – isn’t a lock to start at center. That doesn’t mean talent isn’t present, just that most of the players have either underachieved, been injured or remain unproven.

Buchanan, Stone Forsythe, Brett Heggie and Noah Banks all boast experience from last season and will be expected to be ready for significant playing time. That five offensive linemen from the 2018 recruiting class are early enrollees also provides some positive news for Florida. Expect to hear the names Kingsley Eguakun and Michael Tarquin as freshmen players who could contribute immediately in 2019.

Overall, though, coaches are starting from scratch this spring and need to see several guys take big steps if they plan on replicating their success from last season.

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