GC VIP Stadium Road Audibles — 11/18/19 Edition

On Friday, I told you not to worry about Missouri’s trend of playing better at home than on the road. It was more that Mizzou’s level of play on either offense or defense took a dive in two road games and then they struggled in the other two road games without a healthy Kelly Bryant. Bryant was back and looked fine health-wise against Florida, but the Gators handled business anyway.

I don’t know about you, but I never felt the game be in that much doubt. It was clear even with only a 6-3 lead at the half that UF was the better team overall. Dan Mullen was right in his halftime interview that all that was missing was better execution, and that indeed came in the second half.

By this past weekend, the Gators weren’t playing for style points any longer. They are playing for a New Year’s 6 bid that’s going to be hard to get for reasons related to tie-ins and the way the semifinal rotation works, but unpacking that is a post for another time. The bottom line is this: they might get a bid if they finish 10-2, but they won’t if they finish 9-3. They moved to 9-2 with a win over Mizzou, so everything remains on track.

Without a lot of style points to pick over, the thing I want to highlight is the early returns on Mullen’s roster improvement project. With injuries and attrition cutting the roster down in size, a lot of younger players are getting a chance to play. Right now, the kids look all right.

Mullen signed Emory Jones as his quarterback of the future in 2018. Jones is presently the team’s best rushing option after going for 6.5 yards per carry against Mizzou, and he connected on a 48-yard pass to go with his ground game. Dameon Pierce is the team’s second-leading rusher in yards and carries, and he also signed in 2018.

The two transfer receivers put on a show. Van Jefferson looked like an old pro, schooling defenders on the way to 82 yards on six catches. Trevon Grimes finally got a chance to use his unfair size and speed combo on a 41-yard sideline completion, and he finished second on the team with 66 receiving yards.

Another pair of 2018 signees had positive games receiving. Jacob Copeland showed good strength en route to three catches. Kyle Pitts has blossomed into one of the best receiving tight ends in the country, and he racked up 38 yards on four catches. He had an impressive one called back for offensive pass interference on Grimes, too.

The offensive line remains an issue, but 2018 signee Richard Gouraige has worked his way into starting even if Saturday wasn’t his best outing. Then against Vandy 2019 signee Ethan White had a chance to show promise for the future.

Over on defense, 2018 signee Trey Dean has been a secondary starter in most games he’s played, though right now he’s a reserve behind 2019 signee Kaiir Elam when he plays outside. Amari Burney was a top backup at star last year before moving to starting linebacker this year. He’s been out to injury the last couple weeks, though.

Up front 2019 signee Mohamoud Diabate has become a regular fixture, especially now that Jeremiah Moon is gone for the regular season. He had a breakout game against Vandy and was solid against Mizzou. Fellow 2019 signee Khris Bogle has made regular appearances as well.

And, as long as we’re counting transfers on offense, we can’t overlook Jonathan Greenard and Adam Shuler on defense. Greenard has proven to be one of the elite edge rushers in the country, while Shuler is more than solid inside. It’s become a running joke in the fan base that Shuler keeps getting held without a flag being thrown for it. The kernels of truth to it are that SEC officiating has been near-brutal across the board this year for everyone and that opponents often have to hold Shuler in order to keep their quarterbacks upright.

There’s no way around it: the Gators will lose a ton of important players off this team. If you can get to senior day in two weeks to give some appreciation to the core group of veterans, I encourage you to do so. This is a special group that’s accomplished some special things.

There are 13 graduating seniors. The baker’s dozen includes the do-everything running back, four receivers, both excellent defensive line transfers I mentioned above, and a leader at linebacker in David Reese. On top of them, it appears likely that at least CJ Henderson will turn pro early, and it’s hard to imagine that both Kyle Trask and Feleipe Franks will return next year.

There will still be some McElwain guys playing major roles. Whichever of Trask and Franks stays, Kadarius Toney, several offensive line starters, most of the defensive line rotation, and everyone at safety unless Dean moves there will still be holdovers. The 2020 roster will be majority Mullen players, but plenty of Mac veterans will have roles.

But you can see the new core starting to shine through despite many of the biggest contributors being older players from before the coaching change. I still think roster unevenness is likely to result in next year’s team taking a step back from this year’s in quality, but the magnitude of that decline diminishes with each Mullen recruit who steps up. Throw on top Mullen’s ability to recruit quality transfers and not just warm bodies to fill holes, and 2020 may be more of a speed bump than anything else.

David Wunderlich
David Wunderlich is a born-and-raised Gator and a proud Florida alum. He has been writing about Florida and SEC football since 2006. He currently lives in Naples Italy, at least until the Navy stations his wife elsewhere. You can follow him on Twitter @Year2