Depth across the offensive line is imperative in college football. In each of the three full seasons under head coach Billy Napier, the Gators have played seven offensive linemen at least 200 snaps. Whether it’s due to injury or a rotation, you can expect several reserve linemen to find significant snaps this season.
One of those guys will be redshirt sophomore Roderick Kearney. The 6’4, 310 pound linemen started his career as a center before switching to guard in an effort to get him on the field quicker. In Florida’s season opener vs Long Island, Kearney logged a team high 54 snaps and graded out as the Gators’ 5th best offensive linemen, according to Pro Football Focus. Kearney replaced redshirt senior Damieon George Jr. at right guard after the first few series, seeing time with both the first and second team units.
“He’s going to play. We view him as a starter,” Napier said on Kearney during Wednesday’s press conference.
Redshirt sophomore Caden Jones is in a very similar position as he’s competing for snaps at right tackle. Jones primarily played with the second team against LIU, but ultimately performed better than starter Bryce Lovett, albeit a small sample size.
Florida’s staff plans to work both Kearney and Jones into the offensive line rotation for now.
“They’ll play. We’re committed to playing them,” Napier said on Kearney and Jones. “And I think the young players, we need to do that, especially early in the season with the conditions and the heat, the humidity, you need to have some rotation there.”
“We have a ton of confidence in both players,” Napier added. “Kam Waites as well. We will see – look, I think we’ve got a good two-deep there, you know, I have a lot of confidence in Caden, Kam, Rod, even Jason Zandemela, so we feel good about three tackles, four guards, two centers, you know, and then I think, as we get healthy, we could even have more, so, yeah, we’ve got a lot of confidence in those guys.”
As a top 150 overall prospect in the 2023 class, Kearney has patiently waited his turn, appearing in just seven games over his first two season while logging just 74 offensive snaps.
“We’re deep. We’re deep at offensive guard. So, it’s great to have depth on the offensive line. It’s like a one-two punch. That’s what we call like, when I get out, he get in, when he get in, I get out. So just having that rotation, just to wear the defense down, and just to practice against these guys is amazing,” Kearney said on being part of the rotation.
“It means a lot,” Kearney added. “Ultimately, I feel like they believe in me. That just makes me want to go harder and do my job even more.”
Kearney has been constantly praised by teammates and coaches as one of the hardest working players on the team over the years. We finally get to see him in action in 2025, which could serve as a significant developmental season for Kearney as starting right guard Damieon George Jr. is in his final year of eligibility.