GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- They won 10 games and played for the SEC Championship in what many view as a comeback season for the program. Still, as the Gators regroup and head to Orlando on Sunday to begin preparation for the Jan. 1 Citrus Bowl matchup against Michigan, there will be a lot of talk about what lies ahead next season.
Florida surpassed expectations in 2015 under first-year coach
Jim McElwain. Most figured six or seven wins and a lower-tier bowl game would be satisfactory as McElwain rebuilt the program.
The Gators proved some rebuilding jobs are quicker than others.
As McElwain and his staff started to prepare for Michigan prior to the holiday break, they also turned an eye toward 2016 in the way they conducted practices.
Florida's veteran players spent extra time in the weight room and on the training table to recover from the grueling season. For Florida's younger players, they took the majority of reps in the early bowl practices.
That will change once the team settles in Orlando and returns to practice Monday afternoon. McElwain hopes to see a rejuvenated team not only for Michigan, but also for spring practice when players such as
Vernon Hargreaves III,
Jonathan Bullard,
Trip Thurman and
Antonio Morrison are gone.
"The way you segment [bowl practice] is a big thing,'' he said. "It allows us a chance to step back and get a bunch of guys a lot of valuable, fundamental reps. That will only move to help them as we move into next spring. I just know how refreshing it is and how far it pushes your program forward."
While the Gators will enter 2016 with several key questions, most notably at quarterback after the departure of
Will Grier and the recent struggles of sophomore starter
Treon Harris, the program is trending upward after losing 13 games over the 2013 and '14 seasons.
Florida's first trip to the SEC Championship Game in six years caught the attention of recruits, and a renewed sense of confidence seemed to overtake the team in McElwain's first season.
Besides the loss of senior leaders such as Bullard, Thurman and Morrison, the Gators are losing underclassmen Hargreaves, running back
Kelvin Taylor, receiver
Demarcus Robinson and defensive lineman
Alex McCalister to the NFL Draft.
All played important roles in McElwain's first season.
However, there remains plenty of talent on the defense, highlighted by linebacker
Jarrad Davis, cornerbacks
Jalen Tabor and
Quincy Wilson, and defensive lineman
Caleb Brantley among others.
Brantley never gave serious thought about leaving after his redshirt sophomore season.
"I feel like I really haven't played how I can play yet,'' he said. "I played good, but I know I can do better. I feel like have to mature more. I have to help the young guys."
Davis, perhaps the most improved player on the roster in 2015, confirmed after Florida's loss to Alabama in Atlanta that he plans to return for his senior season. Meanwhile, Taylor's defection shouldn't be a crushing blow with the emergence of true freshmen running backs
Jordan Cronkrite and
Jordan Scarlett late in the season.
While the future of Harris as the team's starting quarterback is the most scrutinized question heading into the matchup against Michigan, redshirt sophomore
Luke Del Rio is expected to make a run for the starter's job in spring practice after sitting out this season due to NCAA transfer rules.
"He's been having some really good practices out there,'' McElwain said. "When he came here [last summer] he was a little bit of a spark plug out there, a guy who kind of knows how to go about it. He'll be a guy obviously heavily in the mix moving forward. We're sure excited he's here."
Defensively, linemen
Jordan Sherit,
Khairi Clark,
Keivonnis Davis,
Joey Ivie,
Cece Jefferson and
Justus Reed form a strong young nucleus to help offset the loss of Bullard and McCalister.
When McElwain checks out his team this week at practice, he won't fret too much over what the Gators are losing. He is excited about the ones returning and those who will join the program on National Signing Day in February.
"A lot of good players are going to be around," he said.
But first, the Gators have work left on the 2015 season. They want to put some distance between the back-to-back losses to Florida State and Alabama to close out the regular season.
"We want to go out winners,'' Sherit said.
