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By closing out the season on a three-game losing skid, the Gators aren’t receiving many postseason accolades. Florida won the SEC East in 2015, but is currently an unpopular pick to be playing in Atlanta come December 2016.
As has been the case for much of the post-Urban Meyer era of Florida football, the offense has struggled while the defense carried the team. One offensive unit, however, showed marked improvement under the new staff.
Let’s go down the roster, position by position, and have a look:
QUARTERBACKS
Two distinctly different performances factor into this grade.
In this first half of the season, Will Grier (106-of-161, 1,204 yards, 10 TD, 3 INT) made five starts and led the team to a 6-0 record, including a thrilling come-from-behind 28-27 victory over Tennessee in Week 4 and a 38-10 blowout of then-No. 3 Ole Miss the following Saturday. Grier wasn’t perfect, especially in road starts at Kentucky and Missouri, but his high completion percentage (65.8) and grasp of the offense would grade out around a B-plus.
But prior to Week 7, Grier was suspended for one calendar year due to a positive test for a banned substance. Treon Harris (119-of-235, 1,676 yards, 9 TD, 6 INT) took over as signal-caller, and more or less regressed each week. With victories against Georgia, Vanderbilt and South Carolina, the Gators did enough with Harris to claim the SEC East. In consecutive losses to Florida State, Alabama and Michigan, the Harris-led offense managed only two offensive touchdowns. Harris’ eight games at quarterback grade out as a D-minus.
Grade: C-minus
RUNNING BACKS
Because of a lack of veteran personnel, the Florida running game was pretty much a one-man show starring Kelvin Taylor. The junior legacy – he’s the son of Gator great Fred Taylor – notched 1,035 yards on 259 carries in a Mr. Everything role that included short yardage and goal-line carries despite his size (5-foot-10, 205 pounds). Freshmen Jordan Cronkrite (44 carries, 157 yards) and Jordan Scarlett (34 carries, 181 yards) flashed their capabilities at times, but never displayed consistency to take on steady complementary roles. Taylor’s season as a whole rates a B-plus, but the unit as a whole grades lower.
Grade: C
RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
The one area that the Florida offense did well in throughout the year was pass-catching. Antonio Callaway broke Gator great Reidel Anthony’s receiving yardage record (615 yards) for true freshmen by hauling in 35 catches for 678 yards, using his speed to burn SEC defenses. When junior wideout Demarcus Robinson wasn’t in the doghouse, he served as a reliable possession receiver (48 catches, 522 yards).
Perhaps more noticeable in Jim McElwain’s offense compared to previous schemes was the role the tight ends played. While the former staff often used converted defensive ends as blockers and decoys, the 2015 offensive relied heavily on tight ends Jake McGee and DeAndre Goolsby, who finished fourth and fifth on the team in receptions.
Grade: A-minus
OFFENSIVE LINE
The Florida offensive line gave up the most sacks (45) among SEC teams this season. McElwain inherited a very thin unit and was forced to play up to three true freshmen at the same time this season. Against a weak SEC East, the line gave the offense just enough opportunities to move the ball and score. Youth gets punished in the SEC trenches, and the Gators were forced to take their lumps this season.
Grade: D
DEFENSIVE LINE
The Gators were second to only Alabama’s defense this season with 40 quarterback takedowns. More than half of those sacks (23) came from starters and regular contributors up front (Jonathan Bullard, Alex McCalister, CeCe Jefferson, Caleb Brantley and Joey Ivie). The Gators also did a solid job of keeping opposing ballcarriers from getting past the line of scrimmage, allowing 128.1 rushing yards per game (No. 25 in the FBS).
Grade: A
LINEBACKERS
Florida was razor thin at linebacker for most of the year, and injuries to Alex Anzalone, Jeremi Powell and Matt Rolin didn’t help. Fortunately, for the Gators defense, the athletic duo of Antonio Morrison (103 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks) and Jarrad Davis (98 tackles, 11 TFL, 3.5 sacks) provided excellent production from sideline to sideline tracking down the football and making plays.
Grade: A
SECONDARY
The 2015 Florida secondary had A-grade talent, but the unit set the bar high for its collective performance this season by publicly engaging in the DBU (Defensive Back University) debate on social media. Considering the preseason hype, anything short of an A-plus performance came off as subpar.
Cornerbacks Vernon Hargreaves III (an expected early first-round draft pick) and Jalen Tabor (UF’s best corner according to Pro Football Focus’ evaluations) made plenty of impressive plays (the pair accounted for eight interceptions), but big passing days for LSU, Alabama and Michigan against the Gators keep this unit from grading out an A.
Grade: B-plus
SPECIAL TEAMS
In the 2015 season, no unit was more of a mixed bag for Florida than special teams. K Austin Hardin was a dreadful 5-of-14 in field goal attempts with three blocked kicks on the season. The Gators became so desperate for kicking help they held an open tryout during their bye week. Pre-dental student Neil MacInnes made the team after the audition, but finished the season 2-of-3 on extra points with no field goals attempted.
The Gators found much more success in the punting game. P Johnny Townsend was the No. 10 punter in the FBS with an average of 45.4 yards per punt on 71 attempts this season. When it came to returning punts, Callaway made a name for himself with three returns exceeding 50 yards, including touchdowns against LSU (72 yards) and Alabama (85 yards).
Grade: D
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
