GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Less than two weeks after the Florida baseball team captured the school's first national title on a warm summer night in Omaha against Southeastern Conference rival LSU, the SEC is set to take center stage once again.
This time in a hotel attached to one of the country's largest shopping malls.
That can only mean one thing folks: SEC Football Media Days are back!
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The Gators
are scheduled to stop by the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala., on Tuesday to partake in the league's summer kickoff bash. Head coach
Jim McElwain will be joined by players
Marcell Harris,
Duke Dawson and
Martez Ivey to talk about the upcoming season and who knows what else.
After all, former Gators coach
Steve Spurrier once dubbed the event the start of "talkin' season." To get everyone into the spirit, Spurrier narrates the SEC Network's show opener Monday to launch
more than 30 hours of live coverage this week.
Arkansas, LSU and Tennessee check in with the mass of media on Monday, followed by Florida, Vanderbilt, Georgia and Mississippi State on Tuesday.
Here are five questions surrounding the Gators that will be asked on Tuesday:
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1. Who's the starting quarterback?
This one sounds familiar as McElwain enters his third season at UF. Then again, it's been an annual topic of discussion nearly every preseason since Tim Tebow took off his Gators helmet for good. Redshirt freshman
Feleipe Franks was labeled the front-runner at the end of spring camp, but with the recent addition of graduate transfer
Malik Zaire from Notre Dame and with
Luke Del Rio still on the roster, there is plenty of intrigue heading into fall camp where this position is headed.
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2. What is the outlook for receiver Antonio Callaway?
Callaway has been Florida's most dangerous offensive weapon in McElwain's first two seasons. He's also been a source of concern when he's not on the field. Callaway made more offseason headlines this spring and enters his junior season as a likely NFL draft pick next spring if he stays focused and fulfills his promise. However, Callaway's status for the season opener remains uncertain.
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3. Who will step up on defense?
The Gators lost seven starters on defense from last season, including linebacker
Jarrad Davis, the unquestioned leader of a unit that has consistently ranked among the nation's best this decade. The secondary is young, the linebackers talented and the defensive line capable. Still, is this the year Dawson and Harris shine at defensive back? Will
Vosean Joseph emerge as a player known for more than a hit at LSU? Are
Cece Jefferson and
Taven Bryan ready to lead up front? Can
Jabari Zuniga be the dominant player many think he can be? The answers will determine a lot about this team.
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4. Is this the year Florida's offense really takes off?
Much of this answer lies in the question about the quarterback, but the Gators have more talent on offense than they have had in several years. Callaway, senior
Brandon Powell and the sophomore class of
Tyrie Cleveland,
Josh Hammond and
Freddie Swain form a strong core of receivers. Tight ends
DeAndre Goolsby and
C'yontai Lewis are talented and offer different looks, and running backs
Jordan Scarlett,
Mark Thompson and
Lamical Perine are more than capable of carrying the ground game. Meanwhile, the offensive line is deeper than the past couple of seasons and features Ivey, considered a budding star. If the quarterback play is above average, the Gators have a good chance to return to Atlanta.
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5. Can the Gators win the SEC East for a third consecutive year and challenge Alabama for conference supremacy?
McElwain is 19-8 in his first two seasons and has led Florida to back-to-back SEC East titles, no small feat considering some of the roster holes when he took over, primarily on offense. He squeezed enough from the offense and relied heavily on the defense to exceed preseason expectations both years. The Gators lost to Alabama each season in the SEC Championship Game, proving a significant gap remains between the programs. Still, another strong recruiting class has the Gators on the verge of perhaps rejoining the national elite if they can sort their quarterback issues out. Whether that's in 2017 or beyond is the biggest question of all.
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A look at some fresh links to get you in the mood for SEC football and the talkin' season (as if we need any help):
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Heading to Hoover in a little while, so check out FloridaGators.com on Tuesday for a live blog from the Gators' visit and much more on Twitter (@GatorsScott, @GatorsFB, @GatorVisionTV) and other social media platforms.
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