Since Billy Napier was hired on Nov. 28, much of the discussion surrounding the Gators has been about the future. With the splash that Napier made on early national signing day and the seemingly never-ending staff that he’s putting together, fans have reason to believe that brighter days might be on the horizon.
However, it’s almost time to stop dwelling on the future and start thinking about what the 2022 season might entail for the Gators. They’ll begin spring practice in less than two weeks.
Until then, we’ll break down what to watch for from each position during the spring. We’ll continue today with the running backs.
The Returnees
Demarkcus Bowman, Lorenzo Lingard and Nay’Quan Wright
Wright is by far the most experienced running back on the roster, and he enters the spring as the favorite to be the lead back. He carried the ball 76 times for 326 yards and a touchdown in 2021.
At 5-foot-9 and 201 pounds, he runs like a bowling bowl. He doesn’t often go down on first contact.
He also is a weapon as a receiver, as he’s produced three games of at least 50 receiving yards over the past two seasons.
Bowman figures to benefit a ton from the coaching change. The former five-star recruit only got 14 carries last year, all of them in garbage time. He’s a lightning-quick athlete who’s a threat to score just about every time he touches the ball. For some reason, the previous coaching staff couldn’t find room on the field for a player like that, not even as a returner on special teams.
With a solid spring, he should position himself for a much larger role in the fall.
Lingard, another former five-star prospect, has only touched the ball 17 times in his two seasons at Florida. He was one of their most productive backs during scrimmages last offseason, so perhaps he can replicate those performances and earn some playing time this season. It will be tough, though, with the other two returnees that were ahead of him last year, a big-time addition this spring and one more arriving over the summer.
The Newcomer
Montrell Johnson
Johnson followed Napier and running backs coach Jabbar Juluke from Louisiana.
As a freshman, he led the Ragin’ Cajuns with 162 carries and 12 touchdowns and ranked second with 838 yards. He became the 13th player in NCAA history to record a 99-yard rushing touchdown. He was named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year.
That’s not bad for a guy that was ranked as the 60th-best running back in the 2021 class.
Johnson is a similar type of player as Wright in that he’s a 5-foot-11 guy that runs with more power than you’d think. With that 99-yard score, he obviously has enough acceleration and speed to break off big plays as well.
Breakout Watch
Demarkcus Bowman
This was an easy choice. Bowman and Lingard are the only two players at this position who haven’t broken out yet, and Bowman seems to be the better player.
It was a head-scratcher to see the offense sputtering at times last season and knowing that one of their top playmakers that could’ve provided a spark was just collecting dust on the sideline.
That likely won’t be the case this year. If he turns in another solid spring, he should enter the summer at least second on the depth chart.
Three Questions
1. Can Wright become more explosive?
He’s averaging right at four yards per carry for his career. That’s an OK number, but it’s not good enough for a lead back on a team with championship aspirations.
He was fourth among the five running backs in yards per carry in 2021 after ranking last in 2020 and in 2019.
Part of that has to do with the offensive line’s struggles, but Dameon Pierce and Malik Davis both found ways to create explosive plays even with a struggling line.
As the leading returning back, Wright will need to be much more explosive to hold off Bowman and Johnson.
2. How will Johnson’s skillset translate to the SEC?
There’s no question that he was on track to become a star in the Sun Belt.
But this isn’t the Sun Belt anymore. The defenses he’s going to face will be bigger, stronger and faster than anything he’s ever seen before.
Johnson was a really powerful and really explosive runner at Louisiana. Will he still look like that against players like Gervon Dexter, Ventrell Miller and Trey Dean this spring?
3. Can Lingard enter the battle?
He seems to be the forgotten man at this position, which is odd because five-star players haven’t exactly flocked to Gainesville in recent years.
He was considered one of the most explosive runners in the 2018 class, and he’s now more than three years removed from his torn MCL as a freshman at Miami. Plus, he was one of the names that was mentioned the most as a standout in scrimmages last offseason.
If he continues that this spring, perhaps he’ll be the breakout star this season.