Florida hosted their 2023 Orange and Blue game on Thursday night, where team Orange edged out the victory 10-7 after a game winning 46-yard field goal off the leg of sophomore Trey Smack.
Gator Country provides five early takeaways from the Gators’ spring game.
AUSTIN ARMSTRONG’S DEBUT
The energy from Austin Armstrong’s defense was felt inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Thursday night. The Gators combined for nine sacks by nine different players and 11 QB hurries from ten different players, led by Princely Umanmielen (team Blue) with two.
Team Blue, who relied on play calls from linebackers coach Jay Bateman, gathered six sacks throughout the contest, the most by any team since Blue in 2000 and Orange in 1997.
Florida combined for 14 TFL, with Scooby Williams (Blue) TJ Searcy (Orange), and Mannie Nunnery (Blue) each having two.
The Gators’ defense was active when the ball was in the air, totaling five pass break ups (Orange 3 Blue 2) in the game.
Florida got creative with their defensive play calls, often blitzing the STAR position and essentially using the safety as a third linebacker.
The Gators forced 11 punts on Thursday night.
Austin Armstrong and Jay Bateman constantly brought pressure, which was too much for Florida’s banged up offensive line to handle. We heard throughout spring camp that this Gators’ defense has a newfound energy, and that’s exactly what we saw during Florida’s spring game.
There’s no telling how this defensive performance will translate to the fall, but Austin Armstrong left an excellent first impression on Gator Nation in his Florida debut.
RUNNING BACKS
The running back room is the clear-cut strength of the Florida Gators in 2023.
Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne met their expectations, combining for 87 yards on 16 carries, an average of 5.43 yards per carry. Johnson had the longest run of the game (28) with Etienne holding the second longest (27).
However, it was true freshman Treyuan Webb who led the Gators in rushing with 53 yards on 12 carries. Webb displayed great vision, constantly taking what the defense gave him on Thursday night.
Transfer running back Cam Carroll put Gator Nation on notice after hurdling defensive back Javion Toombs early in the second quarter, leading team Blue to their only touchdown of the game. Carroll finished with 39 yards on nine carries, an average of 4.3 yards per carry.
Carroll is a freak athlete and is someone that the Gators could utilize in 2023. His pass catching and blocking ability make him a strong candidate for the third down running back role this season.
Both Webb and Carroll had a long of 12 yards in the contest.
I feel even better after the Gators running back room after watching the Orange and Blue game. Webb and Carroll will provide quality depth behind one of the best running back duos in college football.
NEWCOMERS
Twenty-six of 33 first-season Gators made their debuts in the Orange and Blue game tonight with 15 Gators earning starts.
Additionally, 38 players made their Gators debut, many of which were big contributors throughout the contest.
Defensively, transfer linebacker Mannie Nunnery stood out to me the most, totaling five tackles (3 solo), one sack, two TFL, one PBU, and one QB hurry. Nunnery was all over the field on Thursday night. His speed and athleticism allow him to effect multiple areas in the game. Nunnery will see significant reps in 2023.
Defensive lineman Caleb Banks and Cam Jackson impressed as well. Banks was one of nine players with a sack and Jackson was credited with a PBU in the contest. This duo has positively impacted the Gators interior defensive line.
Transfer linebacker Duece Spurlock led the Gators in tackles with eight, adding one QB hurry to his stat sheet. “Spurlock had one of his better days,” Billy Napier said during the postgame press conference.
True freshman Jaden Robinson was active on Thursday night, totaling seven tackles, one sack, and one pass break up.
I liked what I saw from true freshman safeties Bryce Thorton and Jordan Castell, their skillset’s complement each other very well.
Edge TJ Searcy continued his monster spring campaign, totaling six tackles, one sack, and one QB hurry for team Orange.
Offensively, freshman receiver Andy Jean showcased his ability to find the open space and use his athleticism to create yards after the catch. Jean finished with two receptions for 28 yards while displaying some explosion on kickoff returns. Jean is making a bid for early playing time come September.
NO QB SEPERATION
While the stat sheet may say otherwise, I don’t believe either Graham Mertz or Jack Miller separated themselves from each other.
Mertz finished the game completing 18-29 passes for 244 yards and one touchdown.
Miller completed 10-21 passes for 144 yards and one touchdown.
Both QBs played snaps for the Orange and Blue teams.
To be fair to the quarterbacks, this game was designed to not show very much offensively. Multiple drives were killed due to a “sack” that wouldn’t have been a sack in a real game.
Mertz stated, “Not a whole lot,” while laughing when asked how much of the playbook we saw on Thursday night.
Miller said, “Probably day one install,” when asked the same question.Ma
Their offensive line didn’t help them out much either, which leads me to my final takeaway.
OFFENSIVE LINE STRUGGLES
Florida’s offensive line struggled on Thursday night, specifically in pass protection. Allowing nine sacks and 11 QB hurries is not the standard at the University of Florida, however, there are some reasons as to why the Gators didn’t look as good as some would have thought.
The Gators had a surprising nonparticipant in two year starting center Kingsley Eguakun. This forced Jake Slaughter to run with the first team, something that hasn’t been the case for all of spring football. Missing your starting center and leader on the offensive line can directly impact the offensive line’s success, as they are often tasked with communicating with the rest of the offensive line on who the blitzers and creepers are.
True freshman Knijeah Harris ran with the first team at left guard. He has been working there for a few weeks, but he’s still relatively new to the position and to his teammates alongside him.
The Gators’ defensive line has improved and was beating their competition often on Thursday night.
Florida also struggled with snapping the football, but it was off the hands of freshman Rod Kearney and Christian Williams, who have not regularly snapped the football in spring camp. I wouldn’t be worried as Florida’s top two centers haven’t had issues snapping the football.
The Orange and Blue game showed me that Florida needs to get healthy along the offensive line, and that adding another piece to the puzzle may not be such a bad idea.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As David Wunderlich stated in his previous article, the first rule of spring games is not to take too much from spring games.
The reality of the situation is that Florida’s offense is not nearly as bad as they looked, and their defense is not nearly as dominant as they looked. There’s only so much you can do offensively when the opposing defense is constantly outnumbering your offensive line while you are working with day one install of the playbook.