The flashy moves and long, breakaway touchdowns Florida fans became accustomed to behind former Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson’s offense likely won’t look the same this season.
Positional changes occurred in nearly all facets of Florida’s offense, and other than the running back room, many of the skill positions this season will be led by new faces.
Despite several new roster pieces, the Gators’ offensive scheme is likely to remain unchanged. UF’s offense will still rely on running the ball.
Florida head coach Billy Napier has found plenty of success doing so in his career and did last season also. The Gators ran for 200 yards per game, 5.5 yards per rush and produced a 56% to 44% run-pass split.
The running back room will be led by the Florida sophomore-junior duo of Trevor Etienne and Montrell Johnson Jr.
Johnson — who began his collegiate career at Louisiana with Napier and then transferred to UF — exploded onto the scene last season and ran for 841 yards and 10 touchdowns on 155 carries.
As a true freshman, Etienne emerged to be one of the Gators’ premier playmakers. He ran for 719 yards and six touchdowns on 118 attempts.
The Gators running back room is rounded off with freshman Treyaun Webb and junior transfer Ja’Kobi Jackson.
The Coahoma transfer was expected to act as a reserve among the Gators running back room but elevated in position ranking after senior running back Cam Caroll sustained a season-ending knee injury during practice Aug. 18.
There isn’t as much change at any position in Florida’s roster as there is among the wide receiver room. Six contributors from 2022 are no longer on the team and three newcomers have joined.
The Gators wide receiver corps is led by senior slot receiver Ricky Pearsall. The senior wide receiver transferred to UF from Arizona State and caught 33 passes for 661 yards and five touchdowns in his first year with Florida.
He lined up in the slot for two-thirds of snaps and played the rest of his time lined up inside. Pearsall has suggested many times throughout the offseason he won’t be limited to playing inside receiver.
“I look at myself as a very versatile receiver, so wherever they have me, I’ve got to excel,” he said in a press conference Friday. “Whatever opportunity they give me at that moment in time, I’ve got to make a play.”
In addition to their senior slot receiver, the Gators pass catching room is loaded with young talent.
Freshmen Andy Jean, Aiden Mizell and Eugene Wilson III have each received plenty of praise throughout the offseason and practices leading up to UF’s Week 1 matchup.
Each wide receiver was ranked four-stars in high school and among the top-60 at the position.
Jean operated outside and in the slot during the offseason and has decent size as a wide receiver with a 6-foot-1-inch, 198-pound frame.
Wilson has been tabbed as a potential breakout player among freshmen on the team. ESPN recently named the freshman among college football’s top-50 newcomers entering the 2023 season.
Wilson didn’t enroll early or participate in spring practices, yet he has still impressed in the limited amount of reps he’s received.
“I’m excited for him as much as you guys are excited for him,” Pearsall said Friday. “It kind of looks easy for him when he’s out there … he’s taken tremendous strides. I’m really excited for him.”
Wilson earned a jersey number change and is now donning a single-digit. His jersey number switched from No. 21 to No. 3.
“He definitely deserves it,” Pearsall said.
Mizell is the final freshman receiver who appears poised to have an opportunity to contribute early on in the season. The freshman has been touted as having “elite speed” and is the son of former UF All-American sprinter Ebony Robinson.
Florida senior quarterback Graham Mertz mentioned Mizell and called him a “burner” earlier this offseason when he was asked whose speed stood out the most among players during a press conference March 25.
The youth presence is abundant in Florida’s wide receiver room, and the team is not short of experienced veterans.
Sophomores Caleb Douglas and Marcus Burke are the Gators outside receivers and have the opportunity to get more reps due to their experience.
Douglas appeared in eight games his freshman year and hauled in 10 receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Burke has appeared in 11 games and caught six passes for 103 yards.
Junior Ja’Quavion Fraziars and redshirt sophomore Kahliel Jackson are also likely to be given the opportunity to contribute this season as backup wide receivers.
Fraziars has appeared in 22 games and has caught 11 receptions for 99 yards and three touchdowns. Jackson appeared in three games at the end of the 2022 season and caught two passes for 43 yards.
The Gators kick off their season against the No. 14 Utah Utes at 8 p.m. Thursday in Rice-Eccles Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Contact Luke Adragna at ladragna@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @lukeadrag.
Luke Adragna is a third-year journalism student and the Florida Gators football reporter at The Alligator. He is a cat ethusiast and completes the NYT Daily Mini in less than a minute each day.
