SEC East Preview – Florida Gators

We've completed our look at the SEC West, so now we'll continue our SEC Previews with the eastern division. Up first alphabetically: the Florida Gators.

Coming off a disappointing 2014 campaign, the Gators are hoping for a bounce-back season, especially with the addition of new head coach Jim McElwain. McElwain, former Alabama offensive coordinator and Colorado State head coach, may be expected to accomplish a bit too much in his first season in Gainesville, but that's life in the SEC, and he of all people knows that.

Offense

Just like almost every team in the SEC, Florida needs to find themselves a quarterback, and they need to do it in a hurry. Last season, Jeff Driskel, one of the top prospects coming out of high school in 2011, and I think it's safe to say that he was a certified bust. However, just because he has moved on to bigger and better things doesn't mean the QB situation at Florida is fixed. Incoming transfer Luke Del Rio (heard of him before?) will have to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules, so that leaves a multitude of players to fight for the starting spot. Even so, it will still most likely come down to two players: Treon Harris and Will Grier. Harris, as a freshman, started the final six games of the season last year, going 4-2 and leading the Gators to their big upset victory over the Georgia Bulldogs. Grier is a redshirt freshman who was highly touted coming out of high school (remember, so was Driskel), but he seems to possess the physical attributes that could potentially win him the starting job in Gainesville. Whoever it is that the Gators decide to take snaps in 2015, they'll need some skill players around them to be successful.

The Gators lost junior running back Matt Jones to the Washington Redskins in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft, their leading rushing from last season. Replacing him won't be easy, but junior Kelvin Taylor may be up to the challenge. He's a 5'10" 210 lb player who actually played at receiver quite a bit last season. Taylor led the team with 187 yards in the Gators' win over Georgia, so he has proven that he has the abilities to carry the rock as their primary back. He'll be asked to do more this season as the team will be breaking in a relatively inexperienced quarterback, if for nothing else but to take some pressure off the signal-caller.

Out wide, we've already mentioned that Taylor can play at receiver, but the Gators will rely more on juniors Demarcus Robinson (last year's leading receiver) and Ahmad Fulwood. Antonio Callaway is an incoming freshman that could make a huge impact for McElwain's squad. Callaway is a 6'0" 185 lb kind of scat receiver who can give defensive backs absolute fits as he has done in the off-season in 7 on 7 camps. Don't be shocked if they try to get him the ball in the running game as well, hoping to get him in space to make a defender miss.

If there's one area where you can't afford to lose everyone in the unit, it has to be the offensive line, and sure enough, Florida has no returning starters from last year's O-line. D.J. Humphries would have been a senior this season at the left tackle position, but he opted to put his name in the NFL Draft hat, getting selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round. Out of the other four that are now gone, three of them were also drafted. It's going to be ugly for the Gators early on in the season, and even more so come the meat of their SEC schedule. With every position open on the line, it's hard to project who will start where, so I guess we'll all find out who the five new players are come September 5 against New Mexico State.

Defense

Even though they had a poor season last year, the Gator's defense was actually the strong suit of the team. They ranked 19th in the nation in points allowed/game (21.1) and 15th in yards/game (329.8). Unfortunately for the Gators though, they lost one of the best edge rushers in the country in Dante Fowler, Jr. to the draft, and also six other plerys to graduation. That's seven total players they lost on defense! As for the entire 2015 D-line corps, Alex McCalister and Bryan Cox, Jr. should be the main men to focus on this season, the second and third leading sack artists from last season, respectively. They'll line up on the outside, while it seems junior Joel Ivie and redshirt sophomore Caleb Brantley will sure up the inside. They'll also be sure to get freshman CeCe Jefferson on the field as much as possible. The five-star defensive tackle out of Glen St. Mary, FL has the potential to become one of the best players in the country during his tenure at Florida.

Who will play at linebacker? That's a great question, because the Gators lost all three starters from last season. Pull up the 2015 depth chart, close your eyes, and chunk a dart. You may be more accurate that way.

All joking aside, the Gators will be lacking for experience, but will be sporting some really good potential. the four linebackers that committed in 2013 should all see significant playing time this year, along with senior Antonio Morrison. Alex Anzalone, five-star out of Wyomissing, PA, should get the starting nod, but will be fighting for playing time with fellow 2013 commits Jarrad Davis, Daniel McMillian, and Matt Rolin. They didn't sign a single linebacker in the 2014 class, so McElwain may need to focus on filling that hole as quickly as possible on the recruiting trail.

If the Gators are set at any position, it's in the defensive backfield. They sport one of the, if not the, most talented cornerback duos in the country in Vernon Hargreaves III and Jalon Tabor. Keanu Neal will return as the free safety, and in the place of graduated strong safety Jabari Gorman, redshirt senior Marcus Maye should be the easy choice for a replacement. If Florida is going to win more games than they did last season, they'll most definitely need their secondary to be the playmaking unit on the defensive side of the ball.

Special Teams

Redshirt junior Austin Hardin will return as the place kicker for the Gators. He has a career field goal percentage of 50%, so he isn't by any means the best kicker in the world. The Gators will need him to perform better in 2015 if and when they get into a close SEC game that could come down to a single possession.

Taking over the punting duties from the departed Kyle Christy will be redshirt sophomore Johnny Townsend. Townsend had decent distance and hang time in high school, but has a slow take off, according to Rivals.com. With the inexperience on the offensive side of the ball, he'll need to develop a long and accurate leg to take a bit of pressure off the offense.

McMoney's Prediction

Good news: the Gators play in the SEC East and have a favorable schedule. Bad news: it's still not easy for them. They travel to LSU and to South Carolina, so those are almost guarantee losses, and of course they play Georgia in Jacksonville like always. And since last year's cocktail party was such a surprise, don't think it can't happen again. They also travel to two-time defending eastern division champ Missouri halfway through the season. That's a tough road schedule. Not to mention they play host to Tennessee, Ole Miss, and of course their usual final regular season game with the Florida State Seminoles.

I see six losses, and that's not even counting a loss in the unpredictable South's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, especially after last season. I'll say Georgia is out for revenge, and that'll give Florida seven total losses.

Let's go with 5-7.