Uf outlook
The Gators will lose the right-side starters after the year, but center Kingsley Eguakun should be back along with White. That the current unit was so dominant early in the season is a great sign for the potential future of the unit, but the word potential is key there. One year could make a whole lot of difference for the Florida offensive line. Reaction time is still a bit slow, sometimes allowing pressure to get to the quarterbacks from the interior. The interior guards - most specifically Reese and Braun - haven't always done a great job passing off assignments and picking up the linemen working to the interior off games up front. That doesn't happen without all five being on the same page with a good deal of chemistry and knowledge of the scheme.įlorida's actually been pretty solid in pass protection throughout the year even after taking some definite steps back against LSU, but if there is one thing the unit has been a bit vulnerable to it's speed players on twists and stunts. The Gators instantly became one of the best rushing teams in the country. The group Florida trotted out for the first month of the season was a well-oiled machine, hitting their spots in the run game and getting hats on hats. What showed up right away in 2021 was that the starting five had played some meaningful football and had taken advantage of plenty of reps together throughout the spring and in fall camp.
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Strengths: Scheme Knowledge, Starting Five Chemistry Right now, it's easy to wonder if they'll get any onto the second team given the current trajectory. Left tackle Richard Gouraige has also been pretty good aside from a very forgettable game at LSU (in which he didn't look 100% healthy), but Florida still probably comes up empty on first-team All-SEC types on the O-line. White has been the best offensive lineman, but even he has seen a slide in recent weeks. We thought Braun might start to develop into a true All-SEC type player beginning this year, but the guy who really appeared on the verge of doing that early in the season was Ethan White. Good news: That hasn't happened yet.īiggest Negative: Where are the elite types? The Gators are a comfortable seven men deep, but beyond that things could get ugly in a hurry. As is, the shuffling has impacted the productivity levels, but Florida hasn't truly had to rely on its untested depth just yet. While all five starters have been dinged up this season, no one has yet had to miss an extended period of time. Though those injuries have been minor, the productivity of the group has declined, and there are still question marks about the overall depth. The bottom line, though, is that the unit that started the season pushing people around hasn't done it as much lately all five starters have left a game with an injury at some point this season. That didn't really happen, though backups Joshua Braun and Michael Tarquin have proven since they're at least reliable depth pieces. While both had quality experience, both had been just average in 2020 and the thought was it would be nice to see some higher-upside young players push them for starting jobs. Overview: There were concerns about the depth of the unit heading into the season when reports out of fall camp made it clear the starting five on the offensive line was likely to feature guard Stewart Reese and Jean Delance on the right side. We continue with the offensive line position, where Florida looked to have a dominant group early on but has been hit by minor injuries across the board ever since. Swamp247 sets aside the emotional week-to-week swings of the season and does its best to take a balanced look at each position group to see what's working, what isn't and what could change. 1 Georgia in a pretty disappointing spot. While there have been bright spots, Florida rests during its bye week ahead of a showdown against No. Florida is now past the halfway point in its season, having amassed a 4-3 record through the first seven games.