Please Read: Welcome to the new-look Inside the Gators
- After visiting Florida, Gators commit to see Georgia this weekend
- Four-star Brown III talks Florida visit, state of the program
- Recruit Reaction: Ready to see how they bounce back and respond
- Grading the Gators: The clock is ticking
- 10 Observations: Florida Opening Day Depth Chart
- Predicting Who Plays: Seven signees most likely to avoid redshirt season
- Florida Football Preseason Superlatives
Here are five Florida Gators who are in the spotlight, and on the spot, to perform this week against the Samford Bulldogs.
Billy Napier – The head coach finds himself on the spot for the second straight weekend. Last week his test was to get into the win column against a rival/ranked opponent – and he failed miserably, dropping to 1-8 and 2/11 in those categories. Though Napier is only 11-15 overall, he is an abysmal 7-15 against P5 (now P4) opponents. He, however, is 4-0 while feasting on lower-level Non P4 opponents. Two of those wins have been blowouts, two were closer than expected. This weekend, to get the bad taste out of their mouth, and regain some semblance of footing with the fanbase, the Gators need to go up early and keep their boot on the throat of the Samford Bulldogs. Anything less than a 25-35 point win might be seen as too close for comfort considering Napier’s precarious position with the Gator Nation.
DJ Lagway – He is easily the Florida player on the spot this week. It’s time for the former five-star, the No. 2 rated prospect in his class, to show up and shine like he showed flashes of on the backend of the blowout loss to Miami. A great showing on Saturday is sure to give hope for the future. With a more run-heavy playlist this week in practice mixed in with the deep ball, it’s time for Lagway to lead Florida into a crucial bounce-back weekend.
Montrell Johnson Jr. – Steve Spurrier touched on this following the loss to Miami, but Florida needs to FEED MONTRELL THE BALL. He finished last week with 106 rushing yards (2nd in SEC) on just 11 attempts and showed dominance against a much better Miami front than he will see this Saturday. If the line opens the holes necessary, it could be a big day for Johnson Jr.
Offensive Line – We’re going to go with the entire group, including the coaches, who inexplicably decided to go with a pre-determined rotation last weekend against a dominant Miami defensive line. Once again, the offensive line has something to prove. Last week they were closer to jello than a brick wall when it came to defending their quarterback, which in turn resulted in a concussion for Graham Mertz. That is inexcusable and if they can’t get it together this weekend against the likes of Samford, it might be the time for some in-season changes.
Jason Marshall Jr. – last Saturday, the tackling was soft, the effort was soft, and there were so many missed assignments in the secondary that it was hard to watch. That wasn’t all on Marshall Jr., but with veteran safety Asa Turner down with a hamstring injury for this week’s game, it’s only going to put more pressure on him to lead and thrive; especially after a tackle-less week one performance.
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