Florida Gators Football Mailbag

It’s officially game week for the Florida Gators. As the Gators make their final preparations for the Utes, Gator Country gives you a Florida Football Mailbag to get you caught up on the latest Gator news. 

I’ve decided to make this into multiple parts. 

OklahomaGator: When do you foresee the starting two deep roster being released?

Nick Marcinko:  Most teams release the two-deep depth chart on Mondays of game week. I did some research and Louisiana released their depth charts on Wednesday’s during game week last season. There’s also a chance Napier doesn’t release one at all. 

Gator30339: Do we expect to see a lot of Jack Miller or one of the other back ups in mop up duty in the fourth quarter?

Nick Marcinko: When Jack Miller is healthy, he’s going to be receiving mop up duties for the most part. When healthy, Miller is the backup QB, the staff will want to get him as many reps as possible this season. He’s also the QB in the room that has the best chance to start in the coming seasons. Miller hasn’t played a whole lot so getting him game reps will be crucial for his development. 

Irgator12: How does the defense look? It played at an SEC level in a handful of games last year and then just fell apart. Do they have their confidence back?

Nick Marcinko: If there’s one thing that I can tell you about this defense it’s that they don’t lack confidence. Guys like Brenton Cox, Gervon Dexter, Ventrell Miller, and Trey Dean all hold themselves to a very high standard and know that they can play football at a high level. We’ve seen the veterans praising some of the younger guys too, such as Devin Moore and Shemar James, who are likely to make an immediate impact. For me personally, it’s more about the confidence the players now have in the coaching staff. I think the players are more comfortable with the scheme and recognize that they will be put in a position to succeed. I really like where the Gators defense stands right now, but they are very thin in a few spots which could end up hurting them this season. No question that the defense is trending in the right direction. 

Jcmiller910: Four questions for you Nick. 1) Why has Jaydon Hill been out? 2) Who do you expect to be our starting corners against Utah? 3) What is your expectation on how good or bad this Gator football team will be? 4) Name a breakout player for this upcoming season on both the offense and defense.

Nick Marcinko: Jaydon Hill is still recovering from his torn ACL that took place during last year’s fall camp. I would expect Jason Marshall and Devin Moore/Jalen Kimber to start at cornerback. Florida has a floor of 6-6 and a ceiling of 9-3, in my opinion. I really like where the Gators sit on offense, specifically with the offensive line and the run game. I’m slightly worried about the receivers hindering Richardson’s ability to “Ball-out”. My number one concern for this year’s Gators team is staying healthy. The depth is an issue for this team, and it will take a couple years to fully recover from this. The last coaching staff didn’t leave this roster in a good spot. We’ve seen expectations for this year’s team vary, which I think is fair. But one thing I don’t understand is that most media sites have Richardson as a top 10 pick in next year’s NFL draft, while also projecting Florida to go 6-6. If Richardson has a season worthy of being drafted top ten overall, the Gators will win more than six games. A breakout player I like on offense is Ricky Pearsall. He didn’t quite put-up monster numbers for ASU last season, but he has a chance to do so this season. In my opinion, he is the clear-cut WR1, the staff is going to try to get the ball in his hands frequently. On defense, I’m going to go with Princely Umanmielen. There might not be a player on the Gators that works harder than Umanmielen. He’s been committed to Florida and committed to getting better since arriving in Gainesville. He’s going to have a chance to get to the QB a lot this year. 

Year_of_the_gator: What is you impression regarding AR’s progress and current ability as a starter? I’ve read in some places where he is inconsistent and has accuracy problems, and other places where he is doing well, perhaps had a bad day in one of the scrimmages. The way different outlets report things, it is hard to synthesize the information we get. I get the sense all the outlets hear/see the same things, but just characterize it differently in their daily reports.

Nick Marcinko: The reason for the varying reports is simply because Richardson hasn’t played a lot, and when he did, he had his ups and downs. From watching practice, I can tell that Richardson is a more polished passer. I do believe he has come a long way from last season. Richardson is still young and lacks experience, don’t be surprised if he has the occasional turnover this season. What stood out to me was Richardson’s spring game performance. I thought he looked more comfortable and really controlled the game. I think Richardson has a tremendous amount of ability, perhaps more than anyone in the country. I’m excited to see what he can do this season. 

TheGator: How do the bodies look? Are we bigger and stronger? Or leaner and faster?

Nick Marcinko: The team looks to be in really good shape. Every player has a unique workout plan relative to their body and position on the field. Mark Hocke and his staff are very committed to making sure the Gators get where they need to be. 

MrB-Gator: What is your impression of Kitna and Engel?

Nick Marcinko: I think they are both serviceable QB’s. I would have Kitna slightly above Engel just because he has more raw talent and fits the QB mold more. I don’t believe either will be pushing for the starting QB job anytime soon. 

Ajoseph: The Spring Game had a ton of passing which looked nothin like what Billy ran at Louisiana. From watching practices, do you foresee us running an offensive like Louisiana ran, or a spread closer to what Mullen ran, or another scheme altogether?

Nick Marcinko: I think the bottom line is that Napier is going to call the game to his team’s strengths this season. I think good coaches adapt based on their players’ strengths, especially when it’s your first year with the team.  Napier is going to run the football this year. Although the spring game had a lot of passing, it was more of a reserved approach. Lots of slants and shorter routes and less deep shots. Napier had a ton of success at Louisiana, you will see a playbook similar to that one down the road. 

Liveoak1: Who are some of the younger players that have made the biggest progress? What is your take on seeing the early stages of Hocke’s S&C program?

Nick Marcinko: Devin Moore, Shemar James, Caleb Douglas and Trevor Etienne are the rookies that stand out the most. I spoke earlier on Hocke, so I won’t dig too deep into that, but I can tell you the players and recruits really like the staff that he’s put together. 

 

This is the end of part one. If I didn’t get to your question, it will be in part two. 

Nick Marcinko
Nick is a recent graduate from the University of Florida with a degree in Telecommunications. He is passionate about all sports but specifically baseball and football. Nick interned at Inside the Gators and worked part time with Knights247 before joining the Gator Country family. Nick enjoys spending his free time golfing and at the beach.