Florida Football: 5 things to watch during 2019 spring game

4. Offensive line depth

One of the catalysts that fueled Florida’s offensive improvement in 2018 was the solid play of the offensive line. But after losing four starters from last year’s line, questions abound as to who will step up into the empty roles.

Spring practices have made painfully clear that this year’s batch of offensive linemen need to make some serious strides if the Gators’ offense plans to do the same. The first-team had an up and down spring – growth seems to be taking the “two steps forward one step back” approach. Progress is progress, though, and slow, continual improvement is at least a positive sign.

The second-unit, however, presents a different situation. The reserves have consistently been beat by the defensive line this spring and improvement has been marginal. This is especially concerning since depth is sorely lacking. With several of Florida’s projected starters being injury prone, this could spell bad news for the offensive unless a few backups improve before the opener against Miami.

Of course, no one expects the offensive line to be a finished product at the spring game, but it would be encouraging to see the line open holes in the run game and give the quarterbacks time to make proper reads.

Expect to see the coaching staff experiment with different lineups to find the best combination and to give the younger players some much-needed in-game experience.