Over the course of the next several weeks, the SoBros Network crew will be going team-by-team through the SEC, previewing the 2018 American tackle football season. Up next, the Florida Gators!
2018 Florida Preview
Dan “The Man” Mullen is back in The Swamp, peeps. Mullen’s track record speaks for itself. But, what really sticks out to me is that he took Mississippi State to a bowl every single year he was there, minus his first season. The guy wins and that’s what UF needs right now. Coming off the Jim McElwain years (how weird is it to look back and see he won SEC Coach of the Year in his premiere season, but would be fired before season three was even over?), Gator fans are ready for a more stable and consistent head man.
The team Mullen takes over may be coming off a four-win season, but there’s plenty of talent to go around. The offense returns 10 (!) and six on defense. So, there shouldn’t be a ton of early season growing pains. With the entire offensive line returning (though a couple of these guys have struggled), the big question comes down to what these skill players are made of. Felipe Franks appears to be the guy going into the year at quarterback. But, coming off a nine touchdown to eight interception year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see redshirt Freshman Kyle Trask push Franks for playing time. Mullen is known for his work with quarterbacks. So, I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do with these guys.
The next question mark comes at the receiver position with uber talented guys like Kadarius Toney and Tyrie Cleveland always banged up. The rest of the receiving corps has been nothing short of under-performing so far in their careers. If Florida is going to put last year in the rear view, it’s going to come down to what kind of rhythm the receivers can get in with whoever lines up behind center.
Florida’s got runners, though. Jordan Scarlett, Lamical Perine and Adarius Lemons all bring big-play potential. Admittedly, this is a crowded back field. But, with uncertainty at the quarterback position, I expect Mullen to lean on this (possible) three-headed monster running back crew.
On the defensive side, the Gators are coming off their worst year since 2007. They gave up 33 point to Michigan, 42 to Georgia, 45 to Missouri, and then ended the season by allowing 38 to those hated Seminoles. There is a lot of room for growth with this bunch, but there is certainly talent at all three levels. The Gators should be able to get a pass rush going with guys like Cece Jefferson and Jabari Zuniga back and could wreak havoc in new d-coordinator Todd Grantham’s 3-4 scheme.
David Reese is back leading the LB unit after finishing last year with 102 tackles. This group was definitely lacking last year and Reese will need help to shore up the unit. But, word around the water cooler is Rayshad Jackson is going to be the guy to step up.
The linebacking unit may be the biggest worry on the defensive side, but when it comes to the secondary, Gators fans ain’t worried about nothing. Marco Wilson and CJ Henderson are in the discussion for best cornerback tandem in the SEC. Henderson is coming off a four interception season on a defense that was really all over the place at times. A little more consistency from the defensive unit as a whole could mean a bump up in interceptions for this crew. Be on the lookout for Chauncey Gardener-Johnson, who is making the move to nickel back this year. Dude is super fast and could be a legit play-maker for the Gators.
2018 Gators Schedule
Saturday, 9/1: vs. Charleston Southern- The Dan Mullen era kicks off against three time Big South Conference Champions CSU. The Swamp is gonna be all kinds of riled up for this one y’all, and the faithful should go home very happy.
Saturday, 9/8: vs. Kentucky- Benny Snell guy here, but I’m not sure what to make of the Kentucky quarterback situation…I guess I’m not sure what to make of the Gators situation either…screw it. I’ll take the Gators at home.
Saturday, 9/15: vs. Colorado St: Three straight home games and I think Dan may find himself 3-0 with Rocky Top dead in his sights.
Saturday, 9/22: @ Tennessee- First road game for Dan the man and it seems to be very winnable. UT appears to be a team that will have a narrow margin of error to be successful week in and out. Gators with the w.
Saturday, 9/29: @ Mississippi State- Mullen returning means a bat shit crazy Starkville, MS. I’ll take Nick Fitzgerald and the home squad in an emotional one.
Saturday, 10/6: vs. LSU- I’m really not sure what to make of this LSU team, and by this point, they will have already played both Miami and Auburn. Could go either way. Insert Coach O hot seat reference.
Saturday, 10/13: @ Vanderbilt- I want to pick Derek Mason, but I have absolutely zero faith in the Vanderbilt defense at this moment. The Gators head into the bye with more wins than they had all of last year.
Saturday, 10/20: Bye
Saturday, 10/27: vs. Georgia- I’m actually pretty excited for this rivalry to get piped up again. These two head coaches at these two schools in grimy Jacksonville…sign me up. Dawgs for the win.
Saturday, 11/3: vs. Missouri- Both offenses from last year’s blowout win for Missouri return for a rematch in Gainesville. After the butt kicking UF took last year, Coach Mullen coaches them up for the revenge win.
Saturday, 11/10: vs. South Carolina- Not a lot of turnover for either offense coming back from last year’s game where Jake Bentley threw three interceptions but still got the win. Depending on where both teams are at this point in the season, I could see it going either way. For now, I’ll say Gamecocks.
Saturday, 11/17: vs. Idaho- Another Gator dub
Saturday, 11/24: @ Florida St.- These late-season rivalry games are so hard to predict in August…I guess I’ll take the Seminoles because my nephew likes them. Yeah, that’s solid prognosticating.
Prediction
This is a talented team returning 10 starters on offense and six on defense from a year that Gator fans want to forget. Of their seven losses last year, three came by eight points or less. There are a couple of coin flip games (at least now), but with a little Mullen magic, I don’t think it’s crazy to say UF doubles their win total from last year.
Other 2018 SEC Previews
Alabama Crimson Tide
Arkansas Razorbacks
Auburn Tigers
Florida Gators
Georgia Bulldogs
Kentucky Wildcats
LSU Tigers
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Missouri Tigers
Ole Miss Rebels
South Carolina Gamecocks
Tennessee Volunteers
Texas A&M Aggies
Vanderbilt Commodores
John Mosley is the independent wrestling and TV aficionado of the SoBros Network. He graduated from ETSU with a degree in Radio, TV and Film along with a minor in Film Studies. Since graduating he’s done pretty much nothing but watch, film, edit or commentate for local wrestling promotions and is the current color commentator for Resolute Wrestling. #Preds #Titans #DefendOrVacateConor – Follow on Twitter: @SoBroMose
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