Florida Gators fall football mailbag

You’ve got questions and I’ve got answers for your Florida Gators football fix.

The mailbag is a day late but it won’t be a dollar short. Let’s jump right in.

Gator_nica: From what you’ve seen in practice, what will the Florida W-L record be for the regular season? Who do you have us losing to?

I think if Florida stays healthy they have a nine game win ceiling this season. The schedule is brutal with a month span of games at Alabama, at Tennessee and against LSU. Florida washes that slate of games down with Missouri and Georgia.

I think Alabama, Florida State one of LSU/Georgia/South Carolina are probably losses. But 7-8 wins this season is a possibility and nine wins could get the Gators to Atlanta.

Mr-BGator: Can the depth on OL and DL be good enough for some quality rotation this year?

The depth on the offensive line is concerning. The starting five should be improved this season but after them I really only trust Rod Johnson and Trenton Brown to play this season.

The defensive line depth is not an issue in my mind. Jay-nard Bostwick, Gerald Willis, Khairi Clark, Caleb Brantley, Joey Ivie and Neiron Ball (he’s been playing some defensive end in pass rush situations) give Florida a lot of depth on the defensive line.

Gatordon: Are these injuries of real concern to the staff?

No.

How well are they digesting Roper’s offense?

The team has the offense down. It’s a simple offense to grasp and the team should be able to run it with the tempo that Roper wants.

Griffvero: Is the offense in spread all the time, 2×2, 3×1, empty? Any 2 back, do we even have a FB?

It’s a spread offense, so yes. There are some two back looks but everything is out of the shotgun. There is no longer a fullback position.

HawthorneGator: If u didn’t know any players classification, where would u rank Brandon Powell on the depth chart among running backs? (No politics, no seniority. Just what you’ve seen in reps)

Powell is third behind Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones. I expect him to play a good amount this season.

Fdelat1: Grier or Harris who’s looked better?

Grier started camp off much stronger but Harris was lights out the last part of last week. I think Harris will win the QB2 job heading into the season, but I’ve always felt like that was the plan.

 

MikeGator: I haven’t really heard too much of anything on Humphries & Green. How are they playing, particularly vs Fowler?

Chaz Green has had a very good camp. Humphries has had a mixed bag. He’s struggled against Alex McCalister and Neiron Ball some. Everybody struggles against Fowler.

 

Gatorwilk1: What has happened to Chris Thompson?Is he lost on depth chart?

Not at all. Thompson didn’t really have a place in the old offense but he’s found a home in Roper’s. In a spread offense there will always be room for a guy with his kind of speed.

 

Twitter questions:

 

@Cpaul1285: My boys are calling me crazy for thinking we should put up 150 points through the first three games. Your prediction from observations?

50 points a game might be a little off but I guarantee Florida will score more than the 71 points they scored in the first three games last year.

 

@UF_fan_4_ever: Could Harris be the go-to guy over Grier and be our future starting QB after Driskel?

It’s too early to tell who will be the quarterback of the future but I think Harris wins the backup job this season.

 

@Ivo_solis: Is the overall linebacker play better than last year?

Yes.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC

2 COMMENTS

  1. Nick, I’mm curious about the RB question. You currently have Powell running 3rd behind Taylor & Jones, but what about Mack Brown. I thought that I have reading where he is having a pretty good fall camp. I know Powell is very talented and obviously more suited for the spread offense, but is he really ahead of Brown on the depth chart at this point and if so why. I also know that Lane has been injured with a nagging little shoulder injury and unfortunately for him supposedly according to some of you guys does not fit the new spread offense., but after watching him run over people on numerous occasions in the spring game, I find that a little hard to be;ieve. Was the O&B game an anomaly?

  2. I think Treon Harris will become the starting quarterback sometime this year. I don’t believe Driskel can get it done. I hope I’m wrong, but I’ve seen Driskel play and coaching is not going to turn a bad player into a good one. Harris, though, does have me excited. It may be that UF has finally got a good quarterback, the first one since Tebow. I may be wrong, but I think the sooner the Jeff Driskel experiment is over, the sooner UF will have a good offense, if my wish of Harris being a keeper comes true.