The 2020 season will forever be remembered for the group of breakout stars that took Gators fans on a magical journey that ended just six points shy of the program’s first SEC title in a dozen years.
Prior to last fall, some wondered if the Gators were wasting their time by trying to involve Kadarius Toney in the offense more. He spent his first three seasons wowing with his ability to turn anything into an explosive play and frustrating with his inability to catch the ball within the normal flow of the offense and his tendency to turn bad plays into horrible ones by dancing around in the backfield.
He shut up his critics early and often last season. He would’ve eclipsed the 1,000-mark if he hadn’t opted out of the Cotton Bowl. He could be a first round pick in next week’s NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, Kyle Trask was considered perhaps the top quarterback in the conference, but who could’ve possibly predicted that he would break school and conference records and be named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, especially against a conference-only schedule?
Even Kyle Pitts fits under the category of breakout star. He entered the season as likely the best tight end in the country and exited it in the discussion as perhaps the best tight end ever. He could become the highest-drafted tight end ever.
Left tackle Stone Forsythe drastically improved as a pass-protector, while linebacker Ventrell Miller filled the void left by David Reese seamlessly.
Of course, all of those players except for Miller are now gone. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for Dan Mullen. The expectation at Florida is to reload, not rebuild. For the 2021 Gators to achieve as much as the 2020 version did or perhaps go even further, they’ll need some new stars to emerge.
Here are the five most likely candidates to transform from afterthoughts to all-SEC contenders and top draft picks when their time comes. The players are listed in alphabetical order.
Wide Receiver Jacob Copeland
In 2019, Freddie Swain and Josh Hammond enjoyed terrific senior seasons after disappointing starts to their careers. Those two, plus Van Jefferson, departed and left the Gators needing to make up their production. Then Toney blew up and Trevon Grimes enjoyed the best season of his career.
Now both of them are gone, and people are once again questioning whether coach Billy Gonzales’ unit will take a step back this season.
Copeland is the player most likely to keep the train going. He’s a highly talented upperclassman who’s underwhelmed so far that some people are about ready to give up on.
Sound familiar?
Copeland was a top-70 recruit in the Class of 2018. He’s extremely fast and elusive, and he’s stronger than his 6-foot, 204-pound body would suggest. However, his career statistics show just 45 catches for 724 yards and five touchdowns. He’s disappeared for large stretches, especially in games against top competition.
Part of his lack of production can be attributed to having better players ahead of him on the depth chart, but he’s also struggled to create separation and catch the ball.
While it was hard to draw conclusions for most players this spring due to the only access coming through Mullen’s phone via Instagram Live, Copeland was one of the exceptions. He looked sharp with his route-running and put a couple of defensive back on their butts with some of the cuts he made.
With the offense shifting to more of a run-first attack this fall, he likely won’t put up the numbers Toney did, but he should still enjoy a highly productive year.
Safety Trey Dean
Dean’s career has been the definition of a roller-coaster ride.
He came to Florida in 2018 as a four-star safety. However, the coaches decided to train him at cornerback as a freshman. He broke up six passes and intercepted another and started nine games after Marco Wilson suffered a season-ending injury. He had some typical freshman struggles, but he also had some nice moments that left you feeling optimistic about his future.
Unfortunately for Dean, he never got a chance to build on that freshman season. The coaches decided to move him to STAR to replace Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in 2019.
That experiment was an unmitigated disaster. He never looked comfortable at that spot. He couldn’t keep up with the shifty slot receivers, and open-field tackling was an adventure. He came under intense scrutiny after his poor performance was one of the main factors in a loss to Georgia. He eventually lost his starting job at STAR and moved back to cornerback for the final few games.
Last year saw him playing his third position in three years, as the Gators moved him back to safety, his most natural position. For some reason that defies all logic, he was fourth in the rotation behind Donovan Stiner, Shawn Davis and Rashad Torrence.
When he did get a chance to play, he looked like their best safety. He intercepted a pass from Mac Jones in the SEC Championship Game and laid the wood in the running game on a couple of occasions throughout the year.
With Stiner and Davis gone, Dean is the undisputed leader of the safety group. The stability of playing the same position for the second year in a row, the increased playing time he figures to receive and the detail-oriented coaching he is receiving from Wesley McGriff should land him on an All-SEC team at the end of the season.
“Coaches feel like I’m a very versatile player, so I can play all defensive back positions,” Dean said. “Just to be out there and do whatever my team needs me to play, no matter if it’s corner, STAR or safety, I’m able to play all of them at a high level. So, whatever God and my coaches want to me to play I’ll go out there and do to the best of my ability.”
Defensive Tackle Gervon Dexter
At 6-foot-6 and 308 pounds, Dexter walked onto campus last summer as perhaps the biggest physical freak on the roster. He has the strength you would expect from someone his size and the athleticism you would expect of someone 60 or 70 pounds lighter. His body has only improved after nearly a full year with director of strength and conditioning Nick Savage.
I told my momma we gone see better days …… @CoachSavage pic.twitter.com/IoSZXYtV5d
— GervonDexter (@GervonDexter) April 17, 2021
The one knock on the former five-star recruit is that he didn’t start seriously playing football until his sophomore year of high school. As a relative newcomer to the game, he got by in high school at times by simply being much faster and stronger than the person trying to block him. That’s not the case in the SEC. It takes technique and attention to detail to win matchups at this level. A year under defensive line coach David Turner should have him better equipped in that regard.
The additions of Antonio Shelton and Daquan Newkirk from the transfer portal should also aid his development. Dexter’s not going to have everything thrown at him at once and have to learn exclusively through trial by fire. He’ll be able to come along at his own pace and have a couple of veteran players to model himself after.
“I see a change in him now,” Turner said.” I think he’s a little more comfortable. I think the speed of the game and the understanding of what we’re trying to do in terms of blocking and hand placement and things like that. He’s a work in progress. Everybody wants him to be great now, and I’ve talked to him a little bit about that.
“He’s a prideful kid. He doesn’t like not to play well. He’s just got to take it one day at a time and not worry about it. He’s not going to be as great as everybody expects him to be right now. It’s a process. We just got to keep taking it one day at a time with him and getting better at some of the little things, and, eventually, he’s going to be the player we all know he can be.”
Dexter likely won’t be a starter this season unless Shelton or Newkirk get injured, but you should expect to see more disruptive plays when he’s in there after he made just 1.5 tackles-for-loss and no sacks as a freshman.
Left Tackle Richard Gouraige
Yes, I know it’s a bold prediction to include an offensive lineman on this list. However, Gouraige was their second most consistent lineman last year, and he slides into his more natural position at tackle this season.
He checks all the boxes for things you want in a left tackle. He’s experienced, long (6-foot-5) and moves his feet well. He should also be more advanced in the running game than the typical left tackle after playing guard the last three years.
Plus, left tackle really hasn’t been much of a problem under Mullen and offensive line coach John Hevesy. Martez Ivey played decently well there in 2018, and Forsythe will likely get drafted next week. It’s the right side of the line that has been the major problem.
The offensive scheme should be more conducive to offensive line success this season. The read-option game that quarterback Emory Jones brings to the table should provide an element of deception that the line can take advantage of. It should also open up some shorter throws for Jones.
“I think Richard played a lot in fall camp, mostly all of fall camp last fall camp at tackle, and then towards the end of camp started moving back in towards guard,” Hevesy said. “So, he’s got a lot of reps at left tackle. He’s done a great job so far, a very knowledgeable kid. To me, just very meticulous about his work ethic. Everything he does, he’s studying film, he’s constantly on it. I feel very comfortable. He’s had a year, close to a year and a half of playing time. Him being in the game doesn’t really bother me because he’s got that game experience.”
Linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper
Hopper is the perfect linebacker for the way the modern game is played from an athletic standpoint. He began his high school career as a cornerback prior to outgrowing the position. He’s bulked up to 221 pounds, which is about what you expect from a linebacker in an age of spread offenses and throwing the ball 40+ times per game.
He’s highly athletic and is the Gators’ best coverage linebacker. However, he still looked loss against the run at times last season, and he received extensive playing time in the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma rushed for 435 yards in that game.
The Gators don’t return an obvious starter alongside Miller. Hopper’s biggest competition for the job should be Mohamoud Diabate and Amari Burney. Diabate is a work in progress in pass coverage, and Burney might be a lost cause at this point.
If Hopper wins the starting job and improves his run fits, he could be in line for an all-league type of season.
“Just feel like he’s a guy that can make plays, what it comes down to,” Miller said. “We got spring this year, so it’s a chance to learn and develop more, learn the system more. And as we’ve seen last year, as he learns more, he makes more plays.”