There was certainly some doubt circulating around the potential of the college football season, but Saturdays in the Fall are back this week. With major conferences beginning their 2020 season in the coming days, college football is back.
As for the SEC, the conference-only season will start on September 26th. After back-to-back Top 10 finishes and New Years 6 bowl game wins, the Florida Gators enter year three with Dan Mullen leading the way. Now in year three, the expectations for Mullen and his Gators are to take the next step.
Leading the Gators to a 21-5 record in his first two years as head coach, Mullen has Florida football back in the national spotlight. Taking over an offense that was near the bottom of the SEC, the Gators have ranked in the top-30 nationally in scoring offense both years with Mullen calling the shots.
Mullen has had great success early in his tenure at Florida, but there are still hurdles to overcome in order for the Gators to take the next step. The biggest one being that Mullen has yet to beat the Gators primary division rival, Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs. Usually, the winner of the showdown in Jacksonville represents the East in the SEC Championship, with that spot belonging to the Dawgs for the last three years.
With the season just weeks away, let’s take at how the Gators will look on both sides of the ball in the shortened 2020 season.
The Offense
The offensive side of the ball is Mullen’s bread and butter. He is widely regarded as one of the top playcallers in the country as well as quarterback mentors. Florida will be led by Kyle Trask under center, who Mullen has turned into a household name. Trask was a high-school backup and didn’t start a game in college until taking over for an injured Feliepe Franks last season. Trask would go on to lead the Gators to an 8-2 record as starter, throwing for 2941 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. The Texas native has used this offseason to slim down about 20-pounds so he can be more effective in the pocket. Now heading into 2020, Trask is the unquestioned starting quarterback and leader of the offense.
Where the Gators offense will look different is who Trask will be throwing the pigskin to. Florida’s top four wide receivers on the depth chart from a year ago are now all on NFL teams. However, Trask does return his favorite target in tight end Kyle Pitts. Mullen has used Pitts as a nightmare matchup, lining him up out wide, in the slot and next to the offensive tackles. With new tight end coach Tim Brewster, the Gators are hoping to turn Pitts into a complete tight end. He led the Gators with 54 receptions a year ago, but he could be in store for a bigger 2020.
Florida’s receiving corps will look much much different after losing their top four guys from last year. But the expectation in Gainesville is that Trevon Grimes will blossom into a clear No. 1 guy. There’s no denying the ability of Grimes, who has a great combination of size and speed. He averaged 14.8 yards a catch in 2019 and has shown he can be a premier deep ball target, and that’s just what he will need to be for Florida in 2020. Behind Grimes is where the Gators will need more production from their receivers. They’ll need gadget-player Kadarius Toney to become more of a complete route runner and receiver. Gator fans know what Toney can do with the ball in his hands, but he needs to find a way to stay on the field more. Jacob Copeland will likely be the guy on the opposite side of the field of Grimes outside, who showed flashes of his ability a year ago as a redshirt freshman.
The Gators have no shortage of skill players that can produce, but it’s no secret they need to be better up front in the trenches. Florida’s offensive line play was far too inconsistent in 2019 and it hindered their success, specifically in the run game. The Gators averaged just 129.8 yards on the ground in 2019, ranking 107th in the nation, which was way off their mark in 2018, where they averaged 213.3 yards on the ground per game, the 27th best in the country. The Gators have a stable of running backs that are more than capable of making game-changing plays on the ground. However, it’s going to be up to the big fellas up front to generate enough push and create running lanes for the Gators backs.
The Defense
They say in Gainesville that the Gators never have to rebuild on the defensive side of the ball, they just reload. The case may be the same once again this year for Todd Grantham’s defense, with the Gators losing a number of key contributors to the NFL, but they have the guys to replace those. Florida saw cornerback CJ Henderson go in the first round of the NFL Draft, but shouldn’t have much of a problem replacing him in the secondary. Marco Wilson returns for his senior year, with Grantham labeling him as one of the most versatile corners he’s coached. Wilson will be asked to play the STAR role for the Gators, the nickel corner which may be one of the most important positions in Grantham’s defense. On the outside, Florida will rely on Kaiir Elam to lock down one side of the field, which he is fully capable of doing. Elam was one of the top freshman defensive backs in the country a year ago, recording three interceptions and four pass break-ups. The Gators have a number of young corners who may be thrown into the fire on the other side of the field, led by Chester Kimbrough, Jaydon Hill, and true freshman Jahari Rogers.
Another void the Gators will have to fill is their pass-rush from a year ago. Jon Greenard was a monster off the edge a year ago, but he’s in the NFL now. So is Jabari Zuniga, who had an injury-plagued 2019 but has been one of the Gators best pass-rushers the last few years. With big shoes to fill getting after the opposing quarterback, Florida looks for a big year from Georgia transfer Brenton Cox Jr. The former 5-star recruit will likely be the one replacing Greenard in the BUCK role in Grantham’s defense. The BUCK is the edge rusher in Grantham’s famous 3-4 personnel that gets after the quarterback at all costs. The rest of Florida’s defensive line will be filled by the likes of Zachary Carter, Tedarrell Slaton, and Kyree Campbell.
In the middle of the defense, the Gators linebacker unit has been completely revamped since Mullen and Grantham arrived in town. Ventrell Miller will fill the middle of the Gators defense and Grantham has said he’s had an impressive camp as the starting middle linebacker. The Gators have also slotted Mohamoud Diabate into a linebacker spot where they can use his speed to their advantage. Other linebackers the Gators will rely on include defensive swiss-army knife Amari Burney, James Houston, and highly touted freshman Derek Wingo. Speed and athleticism is the name of the game for the Florida linebackers.
The Schedule
Sep. 26 @ Ole Miss
Oct. 3 vs. South Carolina
Oct. 10 @ Texas A&M
Oct. 17 vs. LSU
Oct. 24 vs. Missouri
Nov. 7 vs. Georgia (In Jacksonville)
Nov. 14 vs. Arkansas
Nov. 21 @ Vanderbilt
Nov. 28 vs. Kentucky
Dec. 5 @ Tennessee
The Gators will kick off their season in Oxford, Miss. against the Ole Miss Rebels in the first game of the Lane Kiffin era. With expectations as high as they’ve been for some time in Gainesville, we’ll see if Mullen and his Gators are up to the task.
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