Gators still faced with questions on offense
GAINESVILLE – The University of Florida opens preseason practices Thursday as two-time defending SEC East champions. But the Gators still have much to prove and plenty of question marks entering coach Jim McElwain’s third season in Gainesville.
Here are five pressing issues as UF prepares for the upcoming season, beginning Sept. 2 against Michigan in the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium: quarterback has been an obstacle.
Yet upon his arrival, McElwain joked he could win games with his dog under center. Instead, his offense has been a dog too often. The 2016 Gators were last in the 14-team SEC in total offense and failed to score an offensive touchdown during November losses at Arkansas and Florida State.
When the season ended, coordinator Doug Nussmeier’s job appeared in jeopardy. It undoubtedly will be if he and McElwain cannot get more out of a group with nine returning starters, including four on the offensive line. The key will be for a quarterback to emerge from among Notre Dame graduate transfer Malik Zaire, redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks and Luke Del Rio, the starter to open 2016. Coaches will have to make a choice soon because the Michigan game, visits from Tennessee and Vanderbilt, and a trip to Kentucky make for a challenging September.
The Gators have fielded some of the nation’s top cornerbacks the past few seasons. Dawson, a fifth-year senior, is expected to be the next one after moving from nickelback. Who lines up on the other side is a mystery. Sophomore Chauncey Gardner worked there during the spring. But safety Marcell Harris’ season-ending Achilles tendon tear likely forces Gardner to the back end of the defense, where his speed and instincts make him a dangerous playmaker. UF’s best option will emerge from a collection of corners who formed the deepest part of the nation’s 10th-ranked recruiting class.
A dual-threat quarterback out of Alabama recruited as an athlete by the Gators, Toney is a player without a position. During the spring game, he showed he needs a role somewhere. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Toney lined up under center spring drills due to a lack of available arms. Taking snaps in the spring game, Toney averaged nearly 15 yards on five carries and scrambled away from trouble to complete a 9-yard touchdown.
While his skill set is illsuited for a QB in McElwain’s pro-style offense, Toney should be a weapon for an attack that had the fewest plays 20 yards or longer last season in the SEC.
The nation’s fifth-ranked defense in 2016 was gutted during the offseason. The unit now must replace both tackles, both linebackers and sure-tackling safety Marcus Maye. All five were NFL draft picks. UF will turn to a pair of reserve tackles, Taven Bryan and Khairi Clark, to replace Caleb Brantley and Joey Ivie on the line. Injuries to Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone gave young linebackers David Reese and Vosean Joseph a head start. Each recorded double-digit tackles in a game, but now will have larger roles and opponents setting up their game plans for them.
Thanks to Robinson’s struggles with academics, the Lakeland product’s biggest impact this year might not be in the Swamp. The NCAA will decide whether Florida’s highest ranked recruit on offense, at No. 114 overall, makes it to campus, McElwain confirmed last month. UF’s receiving corps remains deep, but at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Robinson would give the Gators a big, athletic target they lack on the outside. As it stands, the earliest he is expected to arrive — if at all — is Aug. 21 when fall classes begin.