July 2023 Depth Chart

[LongTooth]

2023 Depth chart as of July.

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Surely there will be movement when fall practice starts. Just looking over this, a few things stand out:

The house cleaning has been intense. Pearsall and Mertz are the only two seniors of any type running with the ones on offense and both are transfers. Out of the 22 starters on both sides of the ball, only five are Mullen holdovers. We’re young.

Losing transfer OT Kiyaunta G. hurts. Bad. But we are much bigger across the offensive front. The OL coaches have got to hit it out of the park or Mertz and the good RBs we have will get wrecked.

I expect the freshman WRs will rise in importance throughout the season and hopefully give Pearsall support, as long as Mertz isn’t on his back and actually has the arm strength to get them the ball.

Our interior DL is huge. Derek Wingo is now listed as a MLB. Someone has to step into ventrell miller’s shoes asap. Transfer LB Mitchell needs to come up big and stay healthy.

I hope our DBs learned some tough lessons last year and we get better play from the DBs. Raymond has brought in better talent, but Toney was such a crap DC he made Grantham look better and I never would have expected that. Glad his abortion of a tenure was only one season. He should have never been hired but we missed on our primary candidates. BN at least knew to cut him loose immediately. Maybe Corey’s cadre will perform better if AA has any ability as a DC.

We’re still two years away from being back in the conversation for real. It is what it is, particularly thanks to Mullen’s total lack of recruiting and our circus at QB. A losing season this year and next might be too much for BN to survive and that’s too bad cuz he looks to be building what should be a solid team by Lagway’s sophomore year in ‘25.

But remember, Anthony Richardson single handedly gave away the UK and Vandy games and Toney was a piss poor DC. If the OL can protect Mertz, if Mertz can not suck, if we avoid the injury bug, and if Armstrong has any legitimacy as a SEC DC, 7 or 8 regular season wins are there as long as that awful bowl game wasn’t a preview of what to expect for 2023. If it was, ugh. This season could be a real slog.

 

[RiverRat]

Good post LT
The most amazing stat you posted was only 5 starters are from Cousin Eddys tenure.
Most gambling sites have the over/under set at 5.5, I’m taking the over and believe Fl . Comes out with at least 8 wins.

 

[TLB]

Just looking over this, a few things stand out:

Not much of a pumper, are ya? Need to work on that a bit...otherwise there is a mind camp spot reserved for you.


Seriously, though, thanks for posting, reading, and breaking it down.

 

[MJMGator]

Good post LT
The most amazing stat you posted was only 5 starters are from Cousin Eddys tenure.
Most gambling sites have the over/under set at 5.5, I’m taking the over and believe Fl . Comes out with at least 8 wins.

I’m still skeptical about our win total. So many unknowns at this point makes it tough to be confident. Not bashing anyone, but we’re young and inexperienced. The future looks bright but the present is sketchy.

 

[maheo30]

Mullinz left us so thin on the o-line. We need depth there badly. Our recruiting at OT hasn't helped either. The idea that Hudson, Slaughter, and Herman are backups terrifies me. The depth issue on the interior will be fine. To me, current OT recruiting isn't going to solve the depth issue unless it improves.

 

[RiverRat]

I’m still skeptical about our win total. So many unknowns at this point makes it tough to be confident. Not bashing anyone, but we’re young and inexperienced. The future looks bright but the present is sketchy.

Going to be interesting that’s for sure.
Defense has got to play better, O line has to protect the QB better than they did in the spring game, like you say so many unknowns, one thing we do know is “ if you ain’t a Gator your GatorBait” Go Gators!

 

[NavetG8r]

We knew we would be young this year. The mass exodus of the Mullen era softies made sure of that. I think we'll be better this year. It may not be real obvious from their win/loss record, but I think we'll notice differences that'll give us hope for the future. I'm hoping for 7 regular season wins and if we can manage to get all our players to show up for the bowl and win it, that would have us ending up with a much better feeling about the team going into the off season.

 

[oxrageous]

A losing season this year and next might be too much for BN to survive and that’s too bad cuz he looks to be building what should be a solid team by Lagway’s sophomore year in ‘25.

You honestly believe Stricklin would fire Napier if we had another losing season, right in the middle of this rebuild with very strong recruiting? Sober up.

Napier could go 0-12 and still keep his job.

 

[Gatorraid81]

Stricklin won’t be firing Billy, he’ll be getting fired with Billy if it don’t work out. Billy’s gonna make or break Stricklin. I think Billy gets 4 years unless catastrophe happens this year and next.

 

[GatorTruth133]

You honestly believe Stricklin would fire Napier if we had another losing season, right in the middle of this rebuild with very strong recruiting? Sober up.

Napier could go 0-12 and still keep his job.

I think if he has 3 straight losing seasons as he said (“this year and next”), there is no way he should be kept. At some point you have to see results. I think he for sure gets year 3. However, you’ve got to make a jump by year 3.

 

[RiverRat]

Billy has four years to make things right and I believe he will
All you yack-a-doodles that think otherwise can howl at moon till your face turns bulldog red and it want make any difference

 

[GatorJB]

This is the year we'll be able to tell how big a benifit having two O-line coaches has or not. This unit still has the potential to be pretty good, but the ceiling isn't as high due to the OT from Kentucky leaving. The WR depth is very strong, and it wouldn't surprise me if one of them ends up starting before the end of the season. Our defense is young, but I think this will easily be our best defense since before COVID, which isn't saying much. Better size and depth up front and in the middle is at least a step in the right direction.

 

[LongTooth]

You honestly believe Stricklin would fire Napier if we had another losing season, right in the middle of this rebuild with very strong recruiting? Sober up.

Napier could go 0-12 and still keep his job.

No. He’s not getting fired regardless of this season’s outcome. And personally, I don’t think he should have to worry about next year either.

But, entitled UF fans with short to non existent memories will be clamoring for his head if we struggle this year and next. Stricklin is weak and may bend to the mob.

I’m ready to be impressed and pleasantly surprised by any progress, but I’m not going to expect anything earth shaking until 2025 when Lagway has a year of play under his belt and a solid, deep team around him. If we still can’t compete with our biggest rivals at that point BN’s chair should heat up.

 

[LongTooth]

This is the year we'll be able to tell how big a benifit having two O-line coaches has or not. This unit still has the potential to be pretty good, but the ceiling isn't as high due to the OT from Kentucky leaving. The WR depth is very strong, and it wouldn't surprise me if one of them ends up starting before the end of the season. Our defense is young, but I think this will easily be our best defense since before COVID, which isn't saying much. Better size and depth up front and in the middle is at least a step in the right direction.

OL must, MUST, stay healthy. Problem is, guys go down on OL like flies. We need to be three deep there across the board and … we’re not.

I’m really curious as to how much AA will be able to move the needle with this defense. Stoops made instant impact but had better players. LB corps is another one that needs to stay healthy.

The skill positions are deep on both sides of the ball, but if we lose people on LOS, at LB, or QB, ouch.

 

[LongTooth]

I think if he has 3 straight losing seasons as he said (“this year and next”), there is no way he should be kept. At some point you have to see results. I think he for sure gets year 3. However, you’ve got to make a jump by year 3.

Lagway better come out like a house on fire then because our 2024 schedule is the toughest in the nation. BN should be given at least until 2025, and our program has been such a clown show I’d give the man another year after 2025 due to the massive hole he is digging us out of. We’re looking to wash away more than a decade of apathy and incompetence.

 

[GatorTruth133]

Lagway better come out like a house on fire then because our 2024 schedule is the toughest in the nation. BN should be given at least until 2025, and our program has been such a clown show I’d give the man another year after 2025 due to the massive hole he is digging us out of. We’re looking to wash away more than a decade and of apathy and incompetence.

My problem is that this is unaccompanied by no way to judge performance, just blanket excuses. If you think he deserves 5 years minimum and questions shouldn’t be asked, at least give objective ways to judge when questions are fair.

 

[oxrageous]

I would agree that if Billy has a losing season in year 3, that should be the end of it. There wouldn't be any excuse for that whatsoever.

I'd be completely shocked and disappointed if we had a losing season THIS year. I expect 8 wins minimum.

 

[GatorTruth133]

I would agree that if Billy has a losing season in year 3, that should be the end of it. There wouldn't be any excuse for that whatsoever.

I'd be completely shocked and disappointed if we had a losing season THIS year. I expect 8 wins minimum.

Ox, I think we agree on more than it seems. I don’t see 8 wins regular season wins this year, but I’d love to be wrong. I think there is a wide bell curve of 3-9 to 9-3 based on a few factors. The biggest being the OL. Can we replace two All-SEC guards/ one All-American and a tackle with 42 starts?

If Mertz gets pressured like AR did at times last year, we are in major trouble. If they can’t open holes where our RB’s average less than 4 ypc in a game like happened multiple times last season, we are in major trouble.

On the flip side, if they give Mertz tons of time and do well in all 12 games, we can possibly get up to that 8 win range. I’m not sure we get to those heights, but we will see.

 

[LongTooth]

My problem is that this is unaccompanied by no way to judge performance, just blanket excuses. If you think he deserves 5 years minimum and questions shouldn’t be asked, at least give objective ways to judge when questions are fair.

Questions should be asked constantly and answered with improvements on his end.

Toney was a horrible hire. BN moved to cut him immediately. If AA leaves people asking questions then he shouldn’t be here long either.

If the offense doesn’t improve and he keeps making strange in game decisions, we need to ask questions about his play calling and lack of OC.

But, the talent gap that this board has harped on and has been growing between us and our rivals over the last ten years is still large, though it’s narrowing. I just think the improvements we want to see at all levels of the program will be incremental until 2025. We were on the brink of total collapse.

 

[LongTooth]

A fairly positive spin on the OL for 2023. Locked on Gators notes the guys we lost, thinks we will take a slight step back, but if the new guys stay healthy, and gel while veterans improve we should be ok.