Spring Fling: Five Positions (Besides QBs) to Watch

The second year under Coach Billy Napier has been about attrition and re-setting culture.

Spring Fling: Five Positions (Besides QBs) to Watch

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 | Football, Chris Harry

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If it wasn't common knowledge than it became increasingly evident last fall that Coach Billy Napier inherited a football roster light on talent, given the recruiting void laid bare by Dan Mullen and the previous Florida staff. Even the quarterback expected to go in the top 10 of the NFL draft later this month had serious question marks, what with his injury history and lack of playing experience.

So it should be of some comfort to Florida fans that some of the team's best or most promising players during Napier's inaugural 2022 season — such as transfers O'Cyrus Torrence, Montrell Johnson Jr. and Ricky Pearsall, plus true freshmen Trevor Etienne, Shemar James and Kamari Wilson — were Napier acquisitions.

Wisconsin transfer quarterback **Graham Mertz**

Now another full year and recruiting cycle into the roster rebuild, Napier has added a signing class rated among the top 10 nationally and pulled another 10 players out of the transfer portal, with the overwhelming bulk of those newcomers already on campus and ready to make their UF debuts Thursday night in the 2023 Orange & Blue Spring Game.

* Orange & Blue game day information here.
* Broadcast info, here.

An accounting of the roster will find a handful of players remain who played for Mullen, plus another four who were Mullen commitments that Napier followed through on and signed. Of the 106 players on the current roster, 60 of them — or 57 percent — were brought in by Napier and his staff, with another five true freshmen due to check in this summer.

Translation: This is a roster overall, obviously. What's also obvious, given the program has posted back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1978-79, is that a roster overhaul was needed. A culture overhaul, also.

Now comes Year 2 under Napier, which inside the new and palatial $90 million Heavener Football Training Center already has a different feel than Year 1. Make no mistake, what took place during the disappointment of last season did not sit well with Napier, whose father was a high school teacher and took responsibility when his students fared poorly on tests. Napier's father was also a football coach who taught his son about where responsibility falls after a loss, as well.

The next phase of his reboot is well underway, with the first 2023 sneak peak set for Thursday night at 7:30, albeit under what could be threatening weather conditions.

As usual, the most scrutinized players of the glorified scrimmage will be the quarterbacks. UF fans have rudimentary knowledge of fourth-year junior transfer Graham Mertz and how he fared at Wisconsin. They also watched redshirt sophomore Jack Miller III and the rest of the undermanned Gators struggle mightily in the Las Vegas Bowl loss to Oregon State in December. They may also have a curiosity about redshirt freshman Max Brown. All three will play Thursday and their highlights, lowlights and statistics will be crunched and scrutinized during the game, as well as the months to come.

But there are plenty of other areas that hold a great deal of significance relative to the Gators' chances of rebounding from a second consecutive 6-7 season, starting with both sides of the trenches.

So here's five areas worth a closer Orange & Blue look.

DEFENSIVE LINE

There were plenty of issues with the Florida defense last season. Truth be told, no area played well. That's why, when the final (and cringeworthy) numbers were in, the Gators finished 103rd overall in total defense, giving up 415.8 yards per game. They were 101st against the run, 86th against the pass, 97th in sacks and surrendered — this is truly amazing (and not good) — 49.7- percent conversion rate on third down, a statistic that outgoing defensive co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Patrick Toney probably will have nightmares about during his new post as defensive backs coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

Returning co-coordinator Sean Spencer and new-guy coordinator Austin Armstrong, Toney's replacement, have their work cut out for them, but also nowhere to go but up.

Florida's softness on defense started inside. Gervon Dexter Sr. had an OK year and will probably have a decent NFL career as well, but he'll have a better players around him on the next level. The Gators will need a collection of improvement on the defensive interior to help them make a significant jump in 2023. A pair of transfers, Cam Jackson (from Memphis) and Caleb Banks (Louisville), will have a lot to say about how much UF improves up front.

Jackson, who started all 13 games for the Tigers last season and totaled 41 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries and one pass breakup, goes a whopping 6-6, 355. Imagine Jackson lining up alongside returning rotational lineman Desmond Watson, currently listed at 6-4 and 449 pounds (sic) heading into his junior year. Banks, a redshirt freshman, didn't play much at Louisville, just six games, but he and Jackson have drawn solid reviews from the coaches during the spring. Roll those two, plus Watson and 6-3, 321-pound sophomore Chris McClellan into the inside mix.

Just how well those guys wreak havoc inside will have a lot to say about what Princely Umanmielen, Justus Boone, Tyreak Sapp and Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr. can do as far as pressuring the quarterback on the outside.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Fourth-year junior center **Kingsley Eguakun**

It was a perceived strength of the team last season, but 80 percent of the unit that started the bulk of the '22 campaign is gone. Torrence, the right guard and consensus first-team All American, declared for the NFL Draft (he's expected to be a first-round pick), left tackle Richard Gouraige wrapped his eligibility and left guard Ethan White (12 starts) and right tackle Michael Tarquin (6 starts) surprisingly entered the transfer portal in December. That left center Kingsley Eguakun (13 starts) and Austin Barber (5 starts at right tackle) as the most experienced returnees, so that leaves three holes to fill.

UF also welcomes back Richie Leonard IV to take over for Torrence. Leonard was basically the unit's sixth man last season, appearing in 11 games. So put Eguakun in the middle, with Leonard to his right and Barber, the team's most experienced returnee on the outside, moving from right to left tackle. That leaves two spots to fill.

One of those holes will be manned by 6-3, 322-pound true freshman Knijeah Harris, by way of IMG Academy. Yes, a starting nod to a collegiate rookie is a lot to ask, especially on the offensive line, but his readiness also speaks to the young talent Napier is accumulating. Harris will play left guard, the spot White manned for basically the last three seasons.

The right tackle position will be a battle — likely throughout the offseason and into fall camp — between a pair of SEC transfers in Kiyaunta Goodwin, once one of the highest-rated signees in Kentucky history, and Damieon George Jr., by way of Alabama. Best case scenario? Goodwin and George are both so good and close in their level of play that it affords the Gators some much needed depth up front. Either way, both are going to play a lot. Somewhere.

SAFETIES

Rashad Torrence II and Trey Dean III each started 25 games the last two seasons and finished either first or second on the team in tackles in 2022. Having consecutive seasons with safeties — the last line of defense — as tackle leaders speaks to what was going on in front of them. Anyway, they're both gone.

The aforementioned Wilson was a big-time get for Napier, who landed the nation's No. 2 safety (a top-five overall player by some recruiting services) and five-star prospect out of Fort Pierce, Fla., in his first few weeks as UF's coach. Wilson, a sophomore who goes 6-foot and 207, was an early enrollee in '22, played in all 13 games and finished with 39 tackles and a forced fumble. The free safety spot is his now in barely 15 months on campus, which UF coaches probably will be using as a beacon to attract other five-stars.

Sophomore Miguel Mitchell, by way of Oxford, Ala., didn't arrive on campus with Wilson's credentials, but he played his way into the secondary rotation to post 15 tackles and a forced fumble. Those are two really impressive second-year building blocks and they'll be side-by-side on the back end. Hopefully, they won't lead the defense in tackles.

TIGHT ENDS

Redshirt freshman tight end **Arlis Boardingham**

Can't say opportunity isn't knocking here.

To review:

Senior and projected starter Keon Zipperer, a starter in six of eight games last season with 13 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown, suffered a knee injury in spring practice two weeks ago.
Fifth-year senior Dante Zanders (7 starts, 10 catches, 75 yards) suffered an AC sprain during spring and will be held out of the game.
Junior Jonathan Odom (7 catches, 69 yards, 2 TDs) went down with a severe knee injury in the bowl game and won't be available until fall camp at the earliest.

As far as guys with some SEC experience stripes, that's it.

Say hello to Arlis Boardingham, a 6-3, 246-pound redshirt freshman from Van Nuys, Calif., who played a few snaps in the Vegas Bowl and now (at least for the spring) sits atop the depth chart. Boardingham is more skilled as a receiver than blocker at this point, but now warrants a look. Behind him is classmate Hayden Hansen, a 6-6, 250-pounder from Weatherford, Texas who played zero snaps during his redshirt 2022 campaign.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Pearsall, who came from Arizona State and totaled 33 receptions for 661 yards and five touchdowns as one of the most consistent players in an inconsistent passing game, not only stands out here, but probably will represent the Gators at SEC Media Days in July. Very solid.

Over three seasons, Xzavier Henderson has played in 35 games, caught 73 balls for 835 yards and five touchdowns. He's in a good shape for that spot opposite Pearsall, but who else will be on the receiving end of Mertz or Miller or Brown or whoever figures to play itself out over the next five months.

Sophomore Caleb Douglas played the final eight games in his true freshman season and flashed some moments on his way to 10 catches for 175 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Junior Ja'Quavion Fraziars has played 30 games over the previous three seasons, with 11 catches, 99 yards and three scores. Those are a couple more familiar faces. Redshirt sophomore Marcus Burke, who saw time in eight games last season, is back also.

But the spring may just spring guys like true freshmen and early enrollees Andy Jean and Aiden Mizell into the Gator Nation consciousness. Both were four-star prospects who had the likes of Alabama and Georgia on their lists and both have flashed big plays in the spring.