A member of Gator Country asked me to compare Pro Football Focus’ grades from Florida’s transfer portal class to the Gators’ 2023 roster. This will be a multi-part series as I will be breaking down each position group. First up is the offensive line.
OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson and Devon Manuel
San Diego State offensive tackle Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson was the Gators’ first transfer portal commitment of the offseason, pledging to the Orange and Blue on December 17th.
Crenshaw-Dickson will enter his 6th and final year of college football in 2024. The senior logged 2,410 snaps across 36 career starts at San Diego State, playing both left and right tackle with the Aztecs. The 6’6, 310-pound offensive tackle posted a pass block grade of 77.3 in 2023, which ranked 55th amongst FBS tackles last season.
Arkansas offensive tackle Devon Manuel was the Gators’ second OL commitment of the offseason. Manuel played in nine games for the Razorbacks in 2023, logging 417 snaps (all at left tackle) in the process. The 6’9, 310 offensive tackle will have two years to play with the Florida Gators.
OT Offensive Grades in 2023 (100 snaps minimum)
Lyndell Hudson: 75.8
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson: 72.8
Devon Manuel: 69.4
Austin Barber: 67.4
Damieon George: 62.0
Kam Waites: 61.3
OT Pass Block Grades in 2023
Lyndell Hudson: 80.2
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson: 77.3
Austin Barber: 70.7
Kam Waites: 64.6
Devon Manuel: 62.1
Damieon George: 56.8
OT Run Block Grades in 2023
Lyndell Hudson: 76.4
Devon Manuel: 69.9
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson: 69.4
Austin Barber: 68.6
Damieon George: 65.7
Kam Waites: 62.7
Pressures allowed
Lyndell Hudson: 2 (96 pass block snaps)
Devon Manuel: 7 (195 pass blocking snaps)
Kam Waites: 7 (114 pass block snaps)
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson: 10 (343 pass block snaps)
Austin Barber: 16 (356 pass block snaps)
Damieon George: 29 (396 pass block snaps)
Analysis
Damieon George allowed a pressure every 13.6 pass blocking snaps on average while Austin Barber allowed one every 22.25 snaps. Brandon Crawshaw-Dickson allowed a pressure every 34.3 snaps and Devon Manuel every 27.8. If this list was based on pressures allowed per snap, it would rank as follows from best to worst.
Lyndell Hudson, Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, Devon Manuel, Austin Barber, Kam Waites, Damieon George.
Sacks allowed
Lyndell Hudson: 0
Kam Waites: 2
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson: 3
Devon Manuel: 4
Damieon George: 4
Austin barber: 5
Pass Blocking Efficiency – A PFF Signature stat measuring pressure allowed on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks allowed.
Lyndell Hudson: 98.9
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson: 98.0
Devon Manuel: 96.8
Austin Barber: 96.8
Kam Waites: 95.9
Damieon George: 95.6
Penalties
Devon Manuel: 2
Kam Waites: 2
Lyndell Hudson: 2
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson: 4
Damieon George: 9
Austin Barber: 9 (3 not accepted)
Analysis
Lyndell Hudson leads the majority of these categories, which is simply due to the fact that PFF thinks he performed well in the limited playing time he had. Hudson recorded 176 across seven games for the Gators.
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson outperformed Florida’s starting tackles in several metrics according to PFF, including pass block, pass blocking efficiency, penalties, pressures allowed, and run block. I expect the 6th year senior to be a starting offensive tackle come the 2024 season.
Devon Manuel’s grades were comparable to Austin Barber’s, who both served as a starting tackle in the SEC during the 2023 season. It’s important to note that this was Manuel’s first season recording significant playing time, while Barber logged 655 snaps in 2022 and graded as Florida’s best offensive tackle.