Somewhat lost in all the talk about the difficulty of Florida’s 2024 schedule is just how improved the roster is.
UF only had one draft pick last year, an unusually low number for the program, but a similar number won’t be repeated for some time. There is a lot of potential pro talent on the team right now.
I went through and found a whopping 14 players who, if they have a good showing in 2024, I think could hear their names called in 2025. To be clear, I’m not predicting the Gators to have 14 selections. I am saying that I have a list of 14 players who could earn draft spots. Only a subset of them will be taken, as some will not quite perform well enough, or get hurt, or not have a team fall in love with them, or whatever other reason a guy ends up a UDFA.
QB: Graham Mertz
Mertz might sneak into the late rounds if he can improve on last year’s performance. He changed the narrative on his college career last year after struggling at Wisconsin, but he will be old for a quarterback prospect and doesn’t have a rocket arm. If he can improve his accuracy on deeper throws, he could earn his way in to a 2025 quarterback draft class that doesn’t project as being all that deep.
RB: Montrell Johnson
WR: Elijhah Badger
OL: Austin Barber, Jake Slaughter, Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson
Barber didn’t perform up to expectations last year, but he reportedly was plagued with nagging injuries. Spring reports had him fully healthy this year. Slaughter is a bit of a projection here, but the Pro Football Focus folks really love his game. He’ll be old enough to declare if he has a big season. Crenshaw-Dickson performed well enough in the Mountain West, but a good showing in the SEC would set him up even better to hear his name called.
DL: Joey Slackman, Cam Jackson, Justus Boone
Slackman received NFL attention at Penn before a torn biceps slowed him down. Jackson received postseason all-star game invites after his performance last year before deciding to come back for one more season. Boone was poised for a big 2023 before he went down for the year; I expect big things from him off the edge.
LB: Shemar James
It’s contingent on him staying healthy and declaring early, but if he can do the former then he easily could earn the status to do the latter.
CB: Jason Marshall, Devin Moore
Moore has consistently been one of UF’s best corners when available, but he’s had rotten injury luck. By his own account, he’s finally 100% healthy. Anyone who’s in the running for Florida’s best corner is practically by definition a draft prospect.
S: Asa Turner
ST: Jeremy Crawshaw
Again, it would be a true surprise if all those guys got drafted. I do think all of them have the potential to be drafted if they play well enough this fall.
Now, this list only includes actual draft-eligible players. There are more players, including some who will be draft-eligible after the ’24 season, who could work their way into future drafts based on things we’ve already seen.
QB: DJ Lagway
Is it presumptuous to put him here with only a spring game to his name? Perhaps, but you can tell he’s got the goods. It will take a lot of bad luck for him not to end up drafted.
WR: Tre Wilson
TE: Arlis Boardingham
Like Wilson, Boardingham was a freshman All-American last year. He could play his way into the draft after another couple of years of improving and refining his game.
OL: Knijeah Harris
DL: Caleb Banks, TJ Searcy, Kelby Collins
Banks played well enough in spring that Slackman couldn’t lock down a starting job, though Slackman was still recovering for a good chunk of the session. Searcy and Collins were steady performers as true freshmen last year and will tell us something about their futures with how they do this year.
LB: Grayson Howard
CB: Ja’Keem Jackson, Cormani McClain
Jackson showed significant flashes in his limited playing time as a true freshman a year ago. McClain was a 5-star for a reason, and he could easily flourish in a new environment.
S: Jordan Castell, Bryce Thornton
ST: Trey Smack
That list makes up another baker’s dozen players who potentially could hear their names called.
It doesn’t include some younger guys who just haven’t had much of a chance to show off yet like Treyaun Webb, Aidan Mizell, Rod Kearney, Dijon Johnson, and others. It also doesn’t include some bigger projections like spring game superman Jadan Baugh, the raw but incredibly athletic George Gumbs, or top rated ’24 signees LJ McCray, Myles Graham, and Aaron Chiles.
The length of these lists is a reflection on Billy Napier’s talent acquisition skills. Only five players signed with the previous staff: Barber, Slaughter, Boone, Marshall, and Crawshaw. Smack and James had committed to Dan Mullen as well, but the latter decommitted even before Mullen was fired and had to be re-sold on the program by Napier.
Florida was in a dicey place talent-wise the past couple of seasons, as guys who were bad fits, had bad attitudes, or were allergic to fundamentals like tackling played a lot because there weren’t enough good alternatives. The Gators still aren’t back to where they were in their heyday, as many of the players I listed above are more back-half of the draft types than possible first or second rounders.
Still, a back-half of the draft prospect is still better than much of what they’ve had in recent seasons. There isn’t a single position on the field that lacks a potential prospect for the next two drafts. Florida should be a visibly improved team regardless of what happens with the schedule from hell because there are so many more good players everywhere.