Florida was in desperate need of a blowout victory; they got one in week five. The Gators clinched their 750th win in program history on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Eastern Washington Eagles 52-17 inside the Swamp. The early lead allowed Billy Napier and his staff to play 81 different Gators in the game. We saw the future of the Florida football program.
You can say what you want about Florida playing FCS teams, but the Gators should take any chance they get to rotate that many players into a college football game. It’s difficult for 81 players to play in a season, much less one game. The Gators saw action from almost all of their available scholarship players and a handful of walk-ons as well.
“I think a lot of guys got really good experience today that I think will be very beneficial for them in the future,” Billy Napier said during the post-game press conference.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the younger players that saw the field during Sunday’s victory.
GATORS OFFENSE
The following players made their Gators debut in week five: RB Eddie Battle, WR Caleb Douglas, OL Jalen Farmer, OL Jordan Herman, RB Carlson Joseph, QB Jalen Kitna, WR Taylor Spierto, and OL Christian Williams.
The big winners of this group are Caleb Douglas and Jalen Kitna. Kitna logged 29 snaps and threw his first career touchdown pass to Douglas, who caught his first pass and touchdown in the process. Douglas caught my attention in fall camp; I’m glad he was able to showcase his talent during his 11 snaps.
OLINE
11 scholarship offensive lineman played in the game. Here’s the snap count breakdown.
42- Richie Leonard
40- Austin Barber
28- Richard Gouraige
25- Ethan White
24- Kamryn Waites
24- Josh Braun
22- Jalen Farmer
21- Kingsley Eguakun
17- O’Cyrus Torrence
12- Jake Slaughter
5- Christian Williams
Richie Leonard and Austin Barber leading the offense in snap count excites me. Those are two players that will have a significant impact on next year’s Gators’ offense. Kamryn Waites, Jalen Farmer, Jake Slaughter, Josh Braun, and Christian Williams are more players that the Gators’ staff may call on next year to contribute.
The unit as a whole played extremely well. You saw multiple offense lineman make their Gators debut while creating huge gaps for reserve running backs to run through.
RECEIVERS
It wasn’t just Caleb Douglas who made an impact on Sunday. We saw plenty of young receiver talent during the victory to Eastern Washington.
Daejon Reynolds led the Gators in receiving with just 18 snaps, setting a career high 74 yards.
Ja’Quavion Fraziars logged 16 snaps, by far his largest number this season. Markus Burke played in 10 snaps on Sunday. Fraziars and Burke didn’t show up in the stat sheet, but with several veteran receivers on the team, getting these guys play time is critical.
The Gators had a pair of young TEs log their first snaps of the season. It was good to see Jonathan Odom (27) and Nick Elkins (10) out on the field. There’s been plenty of questions about the current state and future of the Gators’ tight end room. Those questions may not have been answered, but it was good to see these two play with confidence and make an impact. Odom made a key block on Ricky Pearsall’s 76-yard run.
GATORS DEFENSE
DL Keenan Landry and OLB Jack Pyburn both made their collegiate debut. Pyburn logged 18 snaps and recorded his first career tackle in the process.
SAFETY
All eyes were on the safety unit on Sunday. Kamari Wilson logged a team high 64 snaps in his first start, recording a career high six tackles.
Miguel Mitchell was my MVP for the defense. He played in 29 snaps, collected four tackles, and forced a fumble. Mitchell was flying around on Sunday afternoon, seemingly always in a position to make a play. The Alabama native looked comfortable at safety for the Gators.
Corey Collier notched his first career tackle in 14 snaps. Collier was late getting over on an Eagles touchdown when Devin Moore was beat from the line of scrimmage. Collier won’t have a serious impact on this year’s team but allowing him to get more repetition will increase his chances at a future impact.
Donovan McMillon was another safety many Gators fans were excited to see. He logged 28 snaps and recorded five tackles in the contest.
Week five was a step in the right direction for the safety unit. Rashard Torrence played his best game of the season and we saw a multitude of talented young safeties.
LINEBACKERS
Shemar James led the linebacker unit with 39 snaps. James set a career high with eight tackles in the win. James has played a significant role this season, but with a crowded LB room, his snap count has been limited.
Derek Wingo recorded four tackles in 35 snaps. Wingo has primarily played in a special teams role this season. We saw him in action at LB pretty often against EWU. Wingo is unlikely to make a serious impact on the defensive side of the ball this year, but with two veteran LBs expected to leave after this season, Wingo could move up on the depth chart.
Diwun Black set a career high with three tackles, logged a QB hurry, and notched a tackle for loss, the first of his career. Black put his speed on display in this one; he was flying around and playing with a ton of confidence in his 15 snaps.
Scooby Williams logged 27 snaps, recording three tackles.
DLINE
Chirs McClellan led the youngsters with 33 snaps and registered his first career fumble recovery. McClellan is a strong player that moves very well for his size. He’s pushed offensive lines around all year long. McClellan is a guy that’s going to draw double teams in his time as a Florida Gator.
Lloyd Summerall is a player that the Gators rotated in early on Sunday. He was in on the 2nd drive of the game and ended up playing 20 snaps, his season high. He logged two solo tackles in the contest.
Jamari Lyons (10) and Chris Thomas (6) both appeared in the game as well.
Justus Boone made his first career start, logging 33 snaps in the contest. He finished the game with four tackles.
CORNERBACKS
I didn’t think we saw the best game from freshman DB Devin Moore, but he was able to play in 35 snaps. Moore is still a freshman and is going to get better. It’s important that he continues to play significant snaps for the Gators.
Jordan Young (22) and Kamar Wilcoxson (21) were the other two that played a significant role in this game. Wilcoxson added two solo tackles and a QB hurry to the stat sheet.
SPECIAL TEAMS
We saw a slight tweak in the special teams unit against EWU. Trey Smack made his collegiate debut, handling kickoff duties for the Gators. This is what I expected the Gators to do at the beginning of the season. Smack has a huge leg and is on scholarship; he should be controlling kickoffs. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the new normal for special teams.
The Gators were able to rotate a ton of different players into this game against EWU. These games play a role in establishing depth for this year and beyond.