Lindys and Athlon's pre-season Florida preview

[Mark Wheeler]

I bought the preseason Lindys and Athlons today. Unless you are sky-high and looking for a reason to be depressed, you probably will want to steer clear of the two this year.

Lindys

Florida is ranked No. 32 in the nation, No. 9 in the SEC
Their UF comment asks if Graham Mertz is the answer and then says UF's season may depend on it

Only two Florida players make their top national players' lists

Montrell Johnson is the No. 22 running back
Jeremy Crawford is the No. 3 punter

Florida is picked 4th in the East

The good news is the 1-2 punch at running back and it's the second year in Napier's system
The bad news is that UF lost AR, lost OL, LB, and the returning skill position players seem to be average

Only one player (Jeremy Crawford) is on the first two All-SEC teams

No Florida players in the Top 10 NFL Talents

Athlon

Florida is ranked No. 49 in the nation and doesn't project the Gators to make a bowl game

In their SEC unit rankings, they have the Gators

QB - 13
RB - 6
WR - 12
OL - 9
DL - 11
LB - 12
DB - 10

No Florida players on the first two All-SEC teams

Anonymous SEC assistant on Florida: "This season is going to test a lot of people's patience. [Head coach Billy] Napier was never going to be Steve Spurrier, and he inherited probably the least talented overall roster in 20-some-odd years at Florida. There's a reason they ran off [Dan] Mullen, and it wasn't about his record. The lack of winning on those top guys [in recruiting] is starting to show up on the field."

He went on to talk about the defense not having a lot of talent for Austin Armstrong and that UF has depth at running back.

He wondered if UF fans are going to have the patience to build because the roster doesn't look like it is from the state of Florida and that can't be fixed in two offseasons.

 

[crfcom]

I bought the preseason Lindys and Athlons today. Unless you are sky-high and looking for a reason to be depressed, you probably will want to steer clear of the two this year.

Lindys

Florida is ranked No. 32 in the nation, No. 9 in the SEC
Their UF comment asks if Graham Mertz is the answer and then says UF's season may depend on it

Only two Florida players make their top national players' lists

Montrell Johnson is the No. 22 running back
Jeremy Crawford is the No. 3 punter

Florida is picked 4th in the East

The good news is the 1-2 punch at running back and it's the second year in Napier's system
The bad news is that UF lost AR, lost OL, LB, and the returning skill position players seem to be average

Only one player (Jeremy Crawford) is on the first two All-SEC teams

No Florida players in the Top 10 NFL Talents

Athlon

Florida is ranked No. 49 in the nation and doesn't project the Gators to make a bowl game

In their SEC unit rankings, they have the Gators

QB - 13
RB - 6
WR - 12
OL - 9
DL - 11
LB - 12
DB - 10

No Florida players on the first two All-SEC teams

Anonymous SEC assistant on Florida: "This season is going to test a lot of people's patience. [Head coach Billy] Napier was never going to be Steve Spurrier, and he inherited probably the least talented overall roster in 20-some-odd years at Florida. There's a reason they ran off [Dan] Mullen, and it wasn't about his record. The lack of winning on those top guys [in recruiting] is starting to show up on the field."

He went on to talk about the defense not having a lot of talent for Austin Armstrong and that UF has depth at running back.

He wondered if UF fans are going to have the patience to build because the roster doesn't look like it is from the state of Florida and that can't be fixed in two offseasons.

Scott Strickland just needs to let them all know it doesn't matter what they think, He's running the AD and they aren't. Napier will make it happen. Having said, the Gator running game will surprise some this year and the defense will keep UF in a lot of games.

 

[GatorDMD]

Scott Strickland just needs to let them all know it doesn't matter what they think, He's running the AD and they aren't. Napier will make it happen. Having said, the Gator running game will surprise some this year and the defense will keep UF in a lot of games.

He doesn't have a secure enough seat to stand up to fans like that. A lot of them wanted him out for how he handled the women's basketball coach.

When he hires coaches that win championships then he can talk the talk. For now the coaches he has hired are just above .500.

 

[SFFloridaFan]

I can't believe no Pearsall no Etienne, or no Marshall making all SEC.

I'll bet 2 of the 3 make the final post season one.

 

[crfcom]

I can't believe no Pearsall no Etienne, or no Marshall making all SEC.

I'll bet 2 of the 3 make the final post season one.

You would hope the coaches will make sure Pearsall gets the touches this season to push him forward in the NFL Draft. He did a lot for UF when it was down. I think Etienne finishes as RB1 and Marshall will be a defensive star.(EDIT) I also expect Mazzccua to make a lot of noise on the o-line, some of the coaches said he would be another Torrence.

 

[BD489]

He doesn't have a secure enough seat to stand up to fans like that. A lot of them wanted him out for how he handled the women's basketball coach.

When he hires coaches that win championships then he can talk the talk. For now the coaches he has hired are just above .500.

Basketball issue was brutal and his handling seemed horrendous. Strickland needs Napier and golden to be stars.

 

[OrangeandBlue]

Basketball issue was brutal and his handling seemed horrendous. Strickland needs Napier and golden to be stars.

Golden is on the way.

Napier I think he can do it but I have some doubts until he shows it on the field.

 

[crfcom]

Golden is on the way.

Napier I think he can do it but I have some doubts until he shows it on the field.

Golden is on fire, but he recruits 15 players. Napier recruits 85. That's why rebuilds of football programs take so much longer than basketball. That many more players also means more staff. It's a big job. Norvell is in year 4 at FSU and may have turned the corner. We shouldn't really expect more from Napier but it appears he's making progress much faster than Norvell has.

 

[Titletown]

Basketball issue was brutal and his handling seemed horrendous. Strickland needs Napier and golden to be stars.

There are teams other than football and basketball.

We've had a great year in other sports with a couple of national titles.

Holloway won another in track while our fans weren't paying attention.

 

[BD489]

There are teams other than football and basketball.

We've had a great year in other sports with a couple of national titles.

Holloway won another in track while our fans weren't paying attention.

I’m aware but Strickland didn’t hire those coaches.

 

[UFgator52-20]

I went from feeling so good about where we are because of recruiting to reading this and feeling down again.

If we're not the biggest surprise out there then it's going to be a hard season to live through.

 

[Titletown]

I’m aware but Strickland didn’t hire those coaches.

We won the ESPN award for having the best men's, sport teams.

 

[BD489]

We won the ESPN award for having the best men's, sport teams.

I saw that. I would still ask how many of those coaches Strickland hired versus inherited.

 

[JayM]

The good news is we are way under the radar. It's way easier to motivate a team without expectations than a team that thinks they are great. It's so much easier to hunt than be hunted. I hope we are pleasantly surprised.

FSU, for example, has huge hype because they won 10 games last year with a pathetic schedule and fluke win over LSU. They aren't as good as they might think they are. They could be in for a big fall from grace, starting with LSU. I have a feeling LSU is going to embarrass the half noles. LSU was the better team last year and found a way to lose. They have this game circled for sure, they have better players across the board and Brian Kelly is a way better coach than Norvell. SEC. SEC. SEC.