Quarterback | B
Emory Jones has been used sparingly across his three years at Florida. He has been employed at times in primarily rushing situations, and he has taken over late in games that were already decided. But he has never been the guy for the Gators. Now, the only quarterback signee of Dan Mullen’s first class is finally QB1. Stationed behind Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask on the depth chart, Jones has had years to learn Mullen’s system. And he brings something neither quarterback before him did: Jones is an elite runner. The No. 5 dual-threat quarterback in the 2018 class averages 5.6 yards per carry for his career. Florida’s offense will go as Jones does; his rushing ability and rocket arm will dictate the Gators’ success. Behind Jones is redshirt freshman Anthony Richardson, a Gainesville local. He’s also a dual-threat quarterback who saw extremely limited playing time in his freshman season. A four-star recruit, Richardson should see packages drawn up for him much in the way Jones did for years.
Running backs | B+
This is the deepest position on the team. Florida returns its three leading rushers at the position from the 2020 season — Dameon Pierce, Malik Davis and Nayquan Wright — and added former five-star Demarckus Bowman, a Clemson transfer. Running was not the focus or strength of the team a season ago, with Kyle Trask slinging the ball around the field to a crop of talented pass catchers. With Jones at quarterback, Mullen is likely to tip the scale heavily in favor of the run the way he did in 2018 when Franks was behind center. Having several capable running backs helps with that, of course. Florida also has Lorenzo Lingard, another former five-star, on the roster. He transferred from Miami in 2019 and played sparingly a season ago. Mullen said he “wouldn’t be shocked to see us with multiple running-back packages this year, with more than one on the field at a time,” according to Scott Carter of Floridagators.com. With so much talent and depth at the position, it only makes sense to get the most out of the running back room.
Receivers | C
Jacob Copeland could have a Kadarius Toney-esque leap. With what this team lost at receiver, he may need to. Copeland flashed at times in 2020, but he grabbed just 23 passes. Consistency and volume are necessary for Copeland to be the No. 1. Beyond Copeland, UF returns Justin Shorter, Rick Wells, Trent Whittemore, Xzavier Henderson and Jordan Pouncey. Shorter hauled in 25 passes in his first season as a Gator. He’s a former five-star recruit who has yet to truly arrive in two years at Penn State and one at Florida. Wells is a redshirt senior who has been around the program for some time now. In a relatively open receiver room after Copeland, Wells could emerge as an option for Jones. Whittemore is another tall target, but he’s yet to see significant playing time. Henderson impressed as a freshman and should take another step playing out wide. Pouncey transferred from Texas last season and was buried on the depth chart, catching just one pass in five games.
Tight ends | B-
Replacing Kyle Pitts is an impossible task. Luckily, the Gators aren’t trying to do so. They have two capable tight ends in Kemore Gamble and Keon Zipperer. Both options have two years of experience and both proved they could find the end zone in 2020 with Trask slinging the ball. Florida is likely to shift the offense toward a run-heavy approach and the larger Gamble may be used more than Zipperer in that regard. But they could both be employed in two-tight end sets. Regardless, Gamble and Zipperer won’t be asked to do the same things Pitts did in this offense a season ago. Before Pitts burst on the scene in 2019, tight ends were not heavy volume targets for Florida and that should be the case once again this season.
Offensive line | C-
UF lost its starting center and left tackle from an offensive line that was not considered the team’s strongest position group. Stone Forsythe and Brett Heggie are no longer blocking for the Gators and the onus this season will be more on run blocking than pass blocking with the shift in the game plan. Richard Gouriage is moving to left tackle, Forsythe’s old spot, from left guard. He has experience pushing outside at tackle and could be one of the strengths of this line. Ethan White has shown tremendous growth in a short time at Florida, losing substantial weight since arriving on campus. White takes over Gouriage’s former position at left guard with one career start. Kingsley Eguakun played in every game last season as a reserve and is expected to take over for Heggie at center. Stewart Reese is back at right guard and Jean Delance returns at right tackle. If the Gators are to be a successful running team, it starts with these five guys up front.
Defensive line | B
Zachary Carter and Brenton Cox lining up opposite each other at defensive end is an intimidating sight for opposing offenses. Cox was productive in his first season for Florida, getting into the backfield quickly and often. Carter led the Gators in sacks and should do so again this year. The two ends are menaces defensively in their own right, and they get help up front from two transfers at defensive tackle. Daquan Newkirk arrives from Auburn with a lot of experience (30 games) as does Antonio Valentino from Penn State (40 games). The defensive line wasn’t solely responsible for the putrid defense in 2020, though getting to the quarterback more often and quickly would help. The more pressure the line can create up front the easier life will be on the secondary.
Linebackers | B+
The Gators get back their leading tackler, Ventrel Miller, a three-year starter and the anchor in the middle of this defense. Miller was named to the Butkus Award Watch List for the nation’s top linebacker after posting the best season of his career. Mohamoud Diabate, UF’s second-leading tackler, should be a full-time starter at linebacker as a junior after starting six games in 2020. He has a knack for getting into the backfield and, alongside Miller, should cause havoc in the middle of the field. Linebacker might be the deepest position on this defense. Senior Amari Burney, who has started eight games in three seasons, is behind Miller and Diabate and should see significant playing time. The Gators can also deploy Ty’Ron Hopper, Derek Wingo, two highly rated recruits who have less experience so far at the college level.
Defensive backs | D
Florida’s secondary sank a team with a shot at postseason success last season. And it loses starting safeties Shawn Davis and Brad Stewart as well as corners Marco Wilson, a starter from his freshman year on, and Donovan Stiner, a three-year starter. The only returning top performer from the secondary is Kaiir Elam, who might just be the best player on not only this defense but the team. Elam was named to the Nagurski Trophy Watch List for the nation’s top defensive player and he’ll need to live up to that as the sole bright spot in this unit. The secondary depth took a hit when Jaydon Hill tore his ACL in early August. He started five games as a sophomore and was expected to line up opposite Elam. Florida is relatively young after Elam with redshirt freshman Avery Helm and true freshman Jason Marshall waiting in the wings. Help (and much-needed experience) arrived in the offseason via transfers Elijah Blades from Texas A&M and Jadarrius Perkins from a junior college.
Special teams | C
The special teams unit is all new for the Gators this season. Kicker Evan McPherson made the decision to leave for the draft early and was awarded with a fifth-round selection. The battle to replace one of the best kickers in program history is between Chris Howard, who has seen limited opportunities for Florida in the past two seasons, and Jace Christmann, a transfer who Mullen recruited at Mississippi State. Punter Jacob Finn transferred after the arrival of Jeremy Crenshaw, an Australian punter. Florida’s biggest loss at receiver doubles as one of its many departures on special teams. Toney returned punts and kickoffs for the Gators last season and ran back a punt for a touchdown against Kentucky. Fenley Graham, a speedy redshirt freshman defensive back, could be the next return man for UF, which has struggled in that facet under Mullen. Special teams was one of the strong suits for this team last season. That’s unlikely to be the case in 2021, and it could take time for the new starters across the unit to get accustomed.