On Wednesday evening, Florida released its first depth chart of the 2024 season ahead of their week one matchup against Miami on August 31st.
You can check it out here.
Gator Country provides five takeaways from Florida’s week one depth chart.
Montrell Johnson is back
Arguably the most important news coming from the depth chart was that Montrell Johnson sits alone atop the running backs. Johnson had missed roughly two weeks of practice time after undergoing a knee scope to remove some cartilage earlier in fall camp. Johnson returned to practice last week in a limited capacity and is now expected to start in week one.
“We anticipate Montrell [Johnson] being available,” Napier said on Wednesday. “If he’s on that depth chart at the top of the list, that means he’s ready to go.”
Johnson recorded a team-high 817 rushing yards and five touchdowns in 2023 and holds 2,496 career rushing yards and 27 touchdowns in three seasons at the collegiate level. Florida has their RB1 for arguably the most important game of the 2024 season.
Kamryn Waites first string right tackle
It’s no secret that the right side of the offensive line has been a question mark throughout fall camp. Redshirt junior Kam Waites is listed as Florida’s first-string right tackle, according to the depth chart. Waites is also listed at third-string right guard.
“He’s been healthy, for one,” Napier said on Waites. “We’ve always had a ton of confidence in him. He’s finally had an opportunity to be healthy and take the reps. He’s very versatile. He can play inside and outside both – and he will. But 6-8, 355 doesn’t hurt. And just a great offseason. I think he’s always been a guy we felt had a good future. He was able to play a little bit at the end of last year. I think that’s helped him going into the offseason. But we also have several other guys that I think are capable at that position.”
Although Waites is listed as the starter, I don’t believe he’s locked up the job permanently just yet. I expect several players to compete for the job as early as week one vs Miami, including Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson and Caden Jones.
Neither of Florida’s offensive tackle transfers (Devon Manuel and Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson) are listed as starters.
Position battles
There’s 17 ORs listed on Florida’s week one depth chart, which can mean one of two things. Either Florida’s staff doesn’t want the public to know who’s starting / receiving significant playing time OR there’s real position battles ongoing.
For the sake of talking points, I’m going to highlight a few key position battles that I think are legitimate.
STAR: Sharif Denson OR Aaron Gates
This is one that I have mentioned as being one of the closest position battles throughout fall camp. I believe you’ll see both Denson and Gates log significant snaps in week one.
WR: Elijhah Badger OR Kahleil Jackson
This is one of the bigger surprises on the depth chart because we had been hearing for all of fall camp that Jackson is in the top three receiver group. Although, it’s entirely possible that Badger is starting to pick up the playbook and positioning himself for more playing time sooner rather than later.
JACK: TJ Searcy OR George Gumbs Jr
Searcy is one of my breakout player of the year candidates, but I’m not sure if Florida’s staff is going to be able to keep George Gumbs Jr. off the field on obvious passing downs. He’s simply one of the best athletes on Florida’s roster and could be a real difference maker on third down. Gumbs is also listed as Florida’s starting ‘SAM’ linebacker.
F: Justus Boone OR Kamran James OR Tyreak Sapp
Simply put, Florida is loaded at the ‘F’ position. True freshman LJ McCray is the 4th name listed on this list but doesn’t have an OR attached to his name, meaning he’s got three guys in front of him on the depth chart.
Kick / punt return duties
PR: Eugene Wilson OR Chimere Dike
KR: Montrell Johnson OR Elijah Badger OR Jadan Baugh OR Ja’Kobi Jackson
Billy Napier has made it crystal clear that the top quality they are looking for in a kick / punt returner is taking care of the football. Aidan Mizell being left off this list is a bit shocking to me, however.
Dike and Badger both have return experience at their previous schools, so those would be my front runners as of now.
16 seniors
I counted 16 scholarship seniors or graduate students on Florida’s 2024 depth chart compared to six in 2023. Florida has 10 seniors on defense compared to just two from a year ago. Florida had one of the youngest teams in college football last season and that is no longer the case.