The Florida Gators may have concerns about depth at several positions this season, but one thing is for sure, it won’t be at running back.
The Gators have up to six viable options at the position going into fall camp. That is almost unheard of, but between Jordan Scarlett, Lamical Perine, Malik Davis, Adarius Lemons, Dameon Pierce and Iverson Clement, there is plenty of competition to go around.
Co-offensive coordinator John Hevesy has never been a part of anything like it, and he’s not complaining.
“We’ve had the one guy, and then you’ve had two that’s a good player, and three, okay, he’s got to learn and develop,” Hevesy said of his previous teams. “To have the number we have—there’s a bunch of kids … So to me, that will be an intriguing thing going into camp of who’s done their job in the summer, got better in the summer to turn it over into fall camp.”
Of course, the big story coming out of the running back room going into the season is the return of Scarlett. He spent last season away from the team due to his part in the credit card scandal, and now that he knows how it feels to be away from his team, he does not want to experience that again.
He said he remembers sitting back and watching Florida lose game after game last year, and just thinking to himself that he could have been there to make a difference.
This season is his second, and final, chance. He has a lot to prove.
“I feel like now I have to take advantage of the opportunity,” Scarlett said. “I had it taken away from me, so I kind of knew what it felt like to not have it. Now, I’m definitely taking advantage of it.”
Scarlett’s teammates have taken notice of the improved drive he now has, especially the ones on defense that have to go against him day in and day out.
“Scarlett’s a load to bring down, always,” said linebacker Jeremiah Moon. “He’s come back hungry. He made mistakes, but he’s ready to come back and step up and do what he has to do.”
Behind Scarlett, there is a lot of intrigue about how Davis will return from his ACL injury. Some of that should be answered in the coming weeks as the Gators go through fall camp.
If he comes back as electrifying as he was in his freshman campaign, Florida will be in great shape.
Then, there is the question of how the freshmen will compete. The Gators brought in two highly touted recruits in Dameon Pierce and Iverson Clement. Both impressed in the spring, and both bring much different skillsets to the table.
Pierce is a guy who will run through everything, or everyone, in his path. Scarlett said he’s even heard players on defense telling him to give them a break because he runs too hard.
Clement, on the other hand, likely won’t knock anyone over. But then again, his shiftiness makes it where he doesn’t have to.
“Man, those guys don’t even seem like freshmen right now because they’re taking everything in so fast,” Perine said. “That’s the way Coach [Greg] Knox coaches things. He’s a fast-paced guy. He’s going to make sure everybody, even the walk-ons, know everything they’re doing in the running back room or on the field.”
Through all this talk of second chances, returns from injury and the what ifs of the young guys, Perine often gets left out of the conversation.
He had an impressive freshman season, but cooled off as a sophomore. While he still ended up leading Florida in rushing yards last year, he didn’t make the strides many expected him to.
It can be hard to feel overlooked by the media and fans, but Perine is only concerned with the work he’s putting in and the way his coaches see him.
“I don’t really care about that,” he said. “At the end of the day, they don’t control it. When I get on the field, I control that.”
When it comes down to it, as Hevesy said, this tough competition will be decided by who was willing to put the work in over the summer and fall camp.
The Gators have a nice mix of speed, strength and agility in the running back room and will have more weapons in the arsenal than most teams throughout the country in 2018.
“Everybody’s got something different to bring to the table,” Perine said. “Everybody’s a different back, so when any of us get in the game, you can expect big plays.”