Ad Disclosure
Going 11-13 during a two-year stretch, including an embarrassing home loss to Georgia Southern in 2013, assured the end of the Will Muschamp era at Florida.
It’s now up to coach Jim McElwain to pick up the pieces in Gainesville and return the Gators to prominence, both nationally and within the SEC.
But it’s going to be a process, as Florida has a few holes which will take time to repair.
Here’s a quick look at the Gators strengths and weaknesses going into the 2015 season.
PROJECTED OFFENSIVE STARTERS
Strengths: WRs/TEs
Demarcus Robinson proved himself a big-time playmaker on the edge last year, racking up 810 yards and seven touchdowns on 53 receptions. Thirty-four of the junior’s catches resulted in either a first down or a touchdown, including 12 that represented successful third-down conversions. Sophomore Brandon Powell has moved from running back and will create havoc from the slot with his ability to shake defenders in open space. Tight end Jake McGee, the Virginia graduate transfer who lasted just nine snaps last year before breaking his leg in the first game, is a future pro who boasts great hands and route-running ability.
Weakness: The offensive line
Senior left guard Trip Thurman is the only Gators offensive lineman to have started a collegiate game, meaning a lot of unproven players will contribute from the season’s outset. They’ll have to get acclimated early as a brutal schedule awaits Florida in October.
PROJECTED DEFENSIVE STARTERS
Strength: CB Vernon Hargreaves III
The All-American cornerback is a natural cover corner who has great ball skills to go along with excellent body control and innate football instincts. He’s a sure bet to go high in next spring’s NFL draft. Hargreaves will anchor a Florida defensive secondary that’s tough and talented.
Weakness: The linebacker position. The Gators weren’t deep at linebacker to start with, so the knee injury suffered by middle linebacker Antonio Morrison was especially hurtful. The status of Morrison, a second-team All-SEC pick a year ago after registering a team-high 101 tackles, remains in doubt this year. McElwain confirmed that he underwent two surgeries to repair the injury and will be limited to non-contact drills during fall camp. Junior Alex Anzalone, a backup linebacker who also saw action on special teams in 2014, will assume Morrison’s spot in the starting lineup if he can’t go.
POSITION UNITS
Strength: Defensive line
The Gators will again have a veteran presence up front with senior defensive end Jonathan Bullard leading the way. Bullard toyed with skipping to the NFL, but is back with hopes of improving his professional stock. Junior sack artist Alex McCallister will assume the other end spot, giving Florida an effective one-two pass-rushing tandem. Junior nose tackle Joey Ivie and Redshirt freshman Taven Bryan will hold things down on the interior defensive tackle spots. True freshman defensive end CeCe Jefferson and Bryan Cox Jr. also will figure into the mix.
Weakness: Quarterback
The battle between redshirt freshman Will Grier and sophomore Treon Harris remains close and could extend all the way to the Sept. 5 opener against New Mexico State. The big-armed Grier has lots of gaudy high school stats and press clippings, but is an unproven talent yet to take a collegiate snap. A dual-threat quarterback, Harris started the final six games of 2014 in place of an ineffective Jeff Driskel, but it remains to be seen whether he is the long-term answer to Florida’s quarterback woes of recent years.
SCHEDULE
Strength: Easy start
The Gators start out with an easy opponent in New Mexico State and will be favored the next week against East Carolina. But the degree of difficulty rises exponentially from then on.
Weakness: Brutal October stretch
The schedule-makers didn’t do McElwain any favors with consecutive games against a gauntlet of nationally-ranked teams in the likes of Ole Miss (Oct. 3), Missouri (Oct. 10), LSU (Oct. 17) and Georgia (Oct. 31). Just winning two of those would be a victory of sort for the Gators.
FAN BASE
Strength: Burning desire to win
Gators fans are a passionate bunch with lofty expectations of competing for the SEC championship every year. Mediocrity is not accepted in Gainesville, which was why Muschamp was sent packing.
Weakness: Burning desire to win
There’s nothing wrong with lofty expectations, but they must grounded in reality as well. There’s a reason why McElwain was brought in to fix things with the Gators. It’s a process and it rarely happens overnight, a fact that will be hard to stomach for Florida fans.
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
