Florida Gators football mailbag

Florida Gators football mailbag: Nick de la Torre answers questions from Gator Country members in the first offseason mailbag of 2016.

Hogtown: When do you expect Callaway to rejoin the team? Do you have any kind of ballpark date?
A: The last I checked on the situation it was still being handled internally within the university but people around the program seemed optimistic that Antonio Callaway would be able to return to the team sometime in the Summer.

Jack: Are there any walk ons that may scholarships this year? I expect the two veteran QBs will each get one.
A: Florida recently extended a scholarship offer to long snapper Ryan Farr, who’s a sophomore from Henderson, Nevada. At this time I don’t know if Florida will extend any more scholarships, they have some to play with. As always, scholarships are yearly contracts that need to be renewed, so Florida could offer someone like Austin Appleby a scholarship, or even a younger player with the knowledge that the scholarship would only be for a year.

TheGator: Will the Gators go back to ATL this year?
A: Right now I think Florida has to be the favorite. The Gators are the returning SEC East champions and I’m not buying into the Tennessee hype train this season. I drank that Kool-Aid last year and it tasted bitter by the time the season rolled around.

Florida’s schedule is also favorable and two new coaches in the SEC East will be trying to rebuild, something Florida is a year ahead on. The biggest game on the schedule is LSU and Florida gets the Tigers at home. The trip to Knoxville on the last Saturday in September will go a long way towards showing if Florida has taken the next step in their progression.

HalJordan: Which player(s) are you most excited about for the 2016 season?
A: I’m excited to see C’yontai Lewis and DeAndre Goolsby, Luke Del Rio, Tyrie Cleveland, Josh Hammond and Dre Massey. On defense, Caleb Brantley, it’s time for him to realize his potential. Also, Alex Anzalone, Jarrad Davis and Quincy Wilson. There are a lot of guys to be excited about on Florida’s team.

MuleGator: Looks like we will be playing three top ten teams (LSU, Tennessee and FSU), Georgia (top 20) and Arkansas (top 25). Any thoughts on how strong those teams actually are and how we stack up?

LSU is going to be exactly what we’ve come to expect. They’ll have a top-notch defense, a superstar running back and a gigantic question mark at quarterback. Getting LSU at home is huge. Florida stacked up well on the road last year with a bad quarterback; I like their chances much more this year.

As stated before, I’m not buying the Tennessee hype this year. My pick could change before the end of September, but I’m picking Florida now. The streak is real, and you can tell that it’s starting to aggravate the players as they are starting to get chippy on social media months before the game.

FSU, Georgia and Arkansas all sort of fall into the same category for me. Last year Florida played a schedule full of teams that wanted to spread the field and air the ball out. This year there will be a lot of traditional offense opponents. FSU has uncertainty at quarterback and a Heisman hopeful at running back; they’ll lean on Dalvin Cook. Georgia could be starting a true freshman in Jacob Eason by the time Florida comes to town and Kirby Smart will likely lean on Georgia’s tailbacks to help ease in Eason. Arkansas and Bret Bielema will run the ball until their noses bleed. LSU will also fall into this category as well.

How does Florida’s defensive front seven hold up against those power-running teams? It’s too soon to tell.

RajinGator: Did we get some good news this spring with depth at LB? Specifically, pleasant surprises with both David Reese and Kylan Johnson?
I went into spring with linebacker and safety being my biggest concerns and left with far less concerns about linebacker. The above answer plays into this as well. Last year Florida was able to get away with playing nickel and dime because they had great depth in the secondary and the teams they played were using four receiver and five receiver sets. They don’t have that kind of depth and the opponents have different offensive schemes. If Alex Anzalone is healthy all season, and Jarrad Davis as well, Florida is set at linebacker. I really like David Reese and think he’ll be able to contribute early, either in a back up role or as a starter if an injury does occur. Kylan Johnson also needs to stay healthy. He was injured most of his redshirt season and had an injury again this spring. He’s made great strides at his new position and his skillset compliments the other linebackers well. Those four are the linebackers that I think you can count on right now and the guys that the staff is confident rolling out there with.

Poetic Fuse: Is this team coming across as more disciplined off the field? Especially compared to being under previous coaching staffs?
A: College kids are going to be college kid. They’re going to make mistakes and it doesn’t matter who the coach is, it’s part of growing up and it’s going to happen. I think the team really is buying what McElwain is selling, however. I think a lot of the guys needed a new voice and a new staff to follow.

Dillonuldrick: Now that Spring is over and guys are starting to get a feel for what their role will be this year, how many players do you expect to transfer?
A: I can’t put an exact number on it but I wouldn’t be surprised to see some attrition. There were frank conversations before spring began and after watching how reps and playing time are divvied up over the course of camp some may see the writing on the wall.

Juggernautz: Do you think either Trask or Franks will redshirt?
A: I think Feleipe Franks needs to redshirt. I don’t expect Kyle Trask will redshirt. Trask may be the second best quarterback on the team already and you can create separation between the two freshmen if you are able to redshirt one of them.

850Gator: Does Putu grab a starting spot? If so, where and over who?
A: It won’t be at cornerback, but Florida really needs to find a reliable option at safety next to Marcus Maye. Marcell Harris and Nick Washington didn’t do enough to lock down the job there, so if Putu is going to start it would be at safety.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC

3 COMMENTS

  1. I like the idea of red shirting Franks and not Trask. So then they are a year apart. Then they can red shirt Jake Allen next year and two years from now have a senior-Del Rio,junior-Trask,sophomore-Franks,and freshman-Allen. As long as none of them transfer. If anyone does I would think it would be Franks,if anyone,but I hope not cuz I think if he waits his turn and learns from coach Mac he’ll be real good. He has the size and arm to be great.

    • I think everyone is overlooking Austin Appleby though. He went 8-11 for 80 yards in the spring game withe the backup O against the starting D and one of the best secondaries in the country. He lead two drives that ended in field goals against the starters. He did get sacked 3 times, but I think that’s because he was playing against the starting D with a backup O line. He really impressed me in the spring game.