Gators Welcome Scarlett Back

Jordan Scarlett rushed for 889 yards in 2016. (Photo: Alex de la Osa/UAA Communications)

Gators Welcome Scarlett Back

Saturday, March 17, 2018 | Football

Running back Jordan Scarlett provides the Gators experience and proven production after missing last season due to off-the-field issues.

By: Ethan Hughes, FloridaGators.com correspondent

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – There were many storylines to take away Friday evening as the Florida Gators opened spring camp with an open practice at the Sanders Practice Fields. The ones certain to garner the most discussion are the wide-open quarterback competition, the Gators' continued acclimation under new head coach Dan Mullen and his staff, and the debuts of seven early enrollees and two transfer wide receivers.

While the return of Jordan Scarlett won't generate the same buzz, it's no less significant.

Scarlett, a redshirt junior, led the Gators with 889 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 2016. He headed into 2017 poised for a breakout year and was projected as a potential early-round NFL Draft selection. Then, just three days prior to the Gators' opener against Michigan, Scarlett's named was added to the list of players indefinitely suspended for their involvement in a credit card fraud case.

Rather than dropping out of school, training on his own and hoping an NFL team would take a chance on him, Scarlett chose to stay at UF and earn his way back onto the team. His teammates have welcomed him back with open arms.

"Scarlett's like our brother," redshirt senior tight end C'yontai Lewis said. "It was sad for him to miss the whole season. We were really excited to get all [the suspended players] back."

Added redshirt senior athlete R.J. Raymond: "He's flying around helping people in the weight room. Obviously, he is learning from his mistakes, but he's looking past it and how to become a better person. He's a better person now. It's great having him back. Everybody loves to be around him. He's a great, awesome, funny guy."

Running back is arguably the Gators' deepest position entering the spring. Junior Lamical Perine led the team in rushing in 2017 with 562 yards and eight touchdowns, sophomore Adarius Lemons flashed towards the end of the season, sophomore Malik Davis is due back from a knee injury in the fall, and the Gators welcome two highly-touted early enrollees in Dameon Pierce and Iverson Clement.

52300 — Running back Jordan Scarlett is back after missing the 2017 season. (Photo: Alex de la Osa/UAA Communications)

Still, Scarlett adds veteran leadership and an element of power, qualities the other running backs on the roster cannot provide.

"We need a big running back like that," Lewis said. "He can hit the holes, like the A-gap, and bring power to the team on third-and-one, fourth-and-one. We need him to bring that extra power like running the ball and getting that extra yard.

"He's a good downhill runner, and he's a veteran – he knows a lot more about the game than a lot of young running backs."

While Scarlett ran extensively with the 'ones' during Friday's practice, Gators' head coach Dan Mullen says roles and playing time will be earned and defined in practice.

"Everybody earns every carry they get out here on the field," Mullen said. "If guys earn carries, you're going to earn reps. Everything you do is earning reps. Everybody gets into 'who's starting, who's not starting?' I don't care. The most important one is who finishes. You want to see who the real people are? It's not maybe who plays the first play of the game. It's when we're in overtime, who's playing the last play of the game?"

When a player misses an entire season, others step up in his place and the player returns the following season, many would be concerned about friction building between the returning player and his teammates. Mullen, however, says he has no such concerns, in large part due to his preference for playing multiple backs rather than relying on a bell cow.

"We want to rotate," Mullen said. "We're going to play a lot of guys. We're going to play fast because our expectations of the effort you have to give is maximum. I don't know if you can play 90 snaps or 80 snaps or 70 snaps at the standard we expect you to play. We're looking for guys to earn reps so that we can play at the level we expect."

Senior linebacker David Reese, Scarlett's classmate, regularly took on Scarlett in practice his first two years on campus. Reese was impressed by Scarlett's first practice in nearly seven months.

"Scarlett hasn't lost a step," Reese said. "He's still the same size, still the same speed, and I feel like he's going to pick back up where he left off at."

Added senior left tackle Martez Ivey: "He looked better, way better."

Mullen was brought to UF to pull an abysmal offense out of the gutter. While many point to newcomers as the face of the Gators' offensive revolution, perhaps Scarlett will be the spark Gators fans have long sought.

What a redemption story that would be.