Starting QB set, but other questions linger for Gators
GAINESVILLE — The Florida Gators open preseason camp Friday on the clock.
The Aug. 24 opener against the Miami Hurricanes in Orlando offers Dan Mullen’s squad a stern early test and a possible springboard into the 2019 season.
UF’s nation-leading 27-game win streak in season openers ended in 2017 against Michigan, beginning the demise of Jim McElwain. Typically, though, Week 1 is a tune-up game for the Gators, who opened Mullen’s first season with a 53-6 win against Charleston Southern.
The Gators should enter the Miami game ranked in the top 10 and are expected to build on a surprising 10-3 season. UF now has 20 practices during preseason camp, including scrimmages on Aug. 5 and 11, to get ready for a season filled with high expectations and potential pitfalls.
Here are five things to watch during the next three weeks:
Set under center: Quarterback drama and questions will not dominate preseason camp for the first time in years. After outdistancing his competition during a heated QB race last August, Feleipe Franks is now the Gators’ clear-cut starter.
The last time the Gators were set under center entering camp was 2014 with Jeff Driskel. Driskel would go on to lose his job, as would coach Will Muschamp. Franks, though, looks poised to take the next step as a
quarterback during his third season as a starter. The 21-year-old seized the reins of the offense during a four-game winning streak to end last season and rode the momentum into the spring and offseason.
Franks still has plenty of room to improve. Blessed with impressive enough arm strength for the Boston Red Sox to draft him in June as a pitcher, Franks still struggles with accuracy, especially on the deep ball. Big-game consistency is another question mark, given he had three touchdown throws, two interceptions and a 48.1 completion percentage during the 2018 Gators’ three losses. Franks also will be operating behind an inexperienced offensive line. He will have to maintain his composure and make sound decisions under duress.
Despite the questions, one thing is clear: This is Franks’ team right now.
Toney’s touches: Pretty much every time Kadarius Toney touches the football, good things happen. But a season ago, Toney did not have the ball in his hands often, finishing with just 46 chances in 13 games despite averaging 10.9 yards per touch.
Toney’s freelancing style worries turnover-phobic coaches. But Mullen and Co. seem to be coming around on the dynamic former high school quarterback turned slot receiver. Along with star cornerback C.J. Henderson, Toney will wear the No. 1 jersey. The number is reserved for players who are “ballers,” according to Mullen.
How many times Toney’s number is called remains to be seen. But if he continues to develop as a receiver and execute the plays his coaches call, Toney has the potential to be the Gators’ most explosive player since Percy Harvin.
Herculean task for Hevesy: No position group progressed further a season ago than the Gators’ offensive line. The unit was exposed at times by overmatched Charleston Southern and then dominated a week later during UF’s first loss to Kentucky since 1986. But by season’s end, coach John Hevesy’s group was the unit pushing around opponents.
Now Hevesy essentially is starting over. UF must replace four players who combined for 141 starts. Center Nick Buchanan, a first-time starter in 2018, and promising yet injuryprone guard Brett Heggie are the only linemen with more than one career start. During the spring, the Gators’ second unit featured three first-year freshmen.
Hevesy’s sense of urgency was evident at times in the spring, highlighted by a 30-minute “come-toJesus” meeting with his players following one of the final practices. Hevesy is sure to be feeling the stress again with Miami looming. Led by All-America candidate Shaquille Quarterman, the Hurricanes’ linebacking corps is among the nation’s best. Plus, first-year coach Manny Diaz is a longtime defensive coordinator who twice was on the same staff at Mississippi State with Hevesy.
Developing depth: If the O-line comes around under Hevesy, the Gators’ 1’s should be able to play with anyone on the schedule. The backups, however, enter camp a mystery at many positions. Two units with ample options are wide receiver and tailback. Beyond that, an injury or two or a poor performance from some of the team’s starters will challenge UF’s depth.
The offseason transfers of highly touted freshman Chris Steele and veteran Brian Edwards put the spotlight on the lack of depth at cornerback. Henderson and redshirt sophomore Marco Wilson, if fully recovered from an ACL tear, form one of the nation’s top tandems but also cannot play every snap. Trey Dean stepped in for Wilson as a freshman but is expected to move to the Star position to replace Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. John Huggins’ breakout spring there does give the Gators some flexibility.
Beyond senior David Reese, the linebackers are unproven. Outside of Adam Shuler and Kyree Campbell the interior defensive line was inconsistent a season ago. And who is going to back up Franks — redshirt freshman Emory Jones or redshirt junior Kyle Trask? Jones is expected to be involved in the offense in some capacity but might not be ready yet to handle a complete game plan. Meanwhile, Trask still has not started a college game.
Poised to break out: Several players positioned themselves during the spring to become major impact players, if not stars, in 2019. The leading candidate is junior receiver Trevon Grimes, who despite catching 26 passes a season ago did not prove to be the game changer many expected following his arrival from Ohio State. Grimes’ 195 receiving yards during the spring game, including two TDs longer than 60 yards, came with everything stacked in the offense’s favor yet also showcased his rare combination of size (6-5, 210), speed and physicality — along with his comfort level in Year 2.
Huggins’ pick-six in the Orange and Blue game capped a spring where he went from a little-used reserve — he had three tackles in eight games in 2018 — to a head-turning playmaker. Sophomore Kyle Pitts’ ability to run and create separation at 6-foot-6, 246 pounds offers position flexibility.
Expect coaches to capitalize on mismatches inside and outside. Sophomore linebacker Amari Burney, a converted safety, can chase down ball carriers, run with receivers down field and come off the edge to blitz the quarterback or cover the flats. And while he might not show up on many of the postgame highlights, redshirt freshman right guard Chris Bleich stood out at a position that the Gators have been desperate to fill.