Please Read: Welcome to the new-look Inside the Gators
- Predicting Who Plays: Seven signees most likely to avoid redshirt season
- Florida Football Preseason Superlatives
- Early Entry Review: Lagway embarks on promising future
- Redshirt Report: High football IQ will serve Kearney well
- Anonymous Player Q&A I: Thoughts on the state of Florida football
- O&B Board: Uninformed Thoughts on Florida’s NIL
- Under Napier, Florida has a clear recruiting footprint
On Monday evening Florida football released their first depth chart of the 2023 season.
Inside the Gators shares these 10 Observations.
10 DEPTH CHART OBSERVATIONS
1) In what is probably the best news Florida could get this week, after being sidelined for most of fall camp, senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. is listed at the top of the depth chart. According to Billy Napier, that isn’t symbolic. He is up there because the staff believes he is good to go this weekend against Miami.
2) There are a couple of surprises, but maybe the most shocking is at right tackle. After missing, or at least being limited during several practices this fall, junior Kamryn Waites is listed as the outright starter at right tackle over transfer senior Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson. The right side of the line has been an area of concern, but this is a big swing considering Waites has three college starts, including one at right guard in the bowl game two years ago and two at right tackle to end last season. To this point, he has been known more at Florida for fighting nagging injuries than his play on the field.
3) In the 2022 season opener, only two of the 22 starters were brought in by Billy Napier and Company. Last season that number swelled to 12 out of 24. This year 19 of the 24 starters have been signed by Napier and Company
Note: Using the first player listed when there is an OR
4) Though both are listed with the OR – Desmond Watson ahead of Cam Jackson and Caleb Banks over Joey Slackman doesn’t completely match up with what we saw and heard about camp performances.
5) Since Florida only listed a total of six receivers, going two deep instead of three deep like they did every other position, only the top six are shown, but it’s no surprise. Going back throughout all of our Practice Observations, the top six of Eugene Wilson III, Chimere Dike, Kahleil Jackson, Elijhah Badger, Aidan Mizell, and Marcus Burke had separated themselves from the pack. It would be interesting to see where Tank Hawkins would land on the depth chart.
6) Senior Keon Zipperer, who is returning from a knee injury, and practiced with a contact jersey on all fall, isn’t listed on the tight end depth chart.
7) Only seven players are listed as starters at the same spot they were listed as starters on last year’s season-opening depth chart:
LT: Austin Barber
QB: Graham Mertz
RB: Montrell Johnson Jr.
End: Caleb Banks
LB: Shemar James
CB: Jason Marshall Jr.
S: Jordan Castell
8) Last year there were 21 true freshmen who appeared on the initial depth chart: This time around there are 13 true freshmen from the Class of 2024 who are included on the opening day depth chart:
LT: Fletcher Westphal
C: Jason Zandamela
TE: Amir Jackson
QB: DJ Lagway
RB: Jadan Baugh and KD Daniels
F: LJ McCray
NT: Michai Boireau
LB: Myles Graham
SAM: Aaron Chiles
CB: Teddy Foster and Jameer Grimsley
S: Gregory Smith III
9) If the depth chart holds true, five players will be making their first-ever appearance as a Gator this Saturday and will be doing so while holding down a starting position:
WR: Chimere Dike
WR Elijhah Badger
LB: Grayson Howard
SAM: George Gumbs Jr.
S: Asa Turner
10) If you’ve been reading along, you shouldn’t be surprised at the emergence of George Gumbs Jr. as a potential starter. In our 10 Takeaways: Thoughts on Florida football’s testing numbers we pointed out that he has above-average athletic testing numbers for a defensive end and then we included him on our Five Newcombers to Keep an Eye on in our Take Five Fall Camp Preview.
2 comments