After spending Sunday with his staff breaking down every player on
the roster, Florida coach Will Muschamp said Monday he's still not quite
ready to finalize a depth chart heading into the Sept. 1 opener against
Bowling Green.
“We didn't set the depth chart,” Muschamp said. “We will release one the Monday of game week.”
Although there's no depth chart, Muschamp did reveal Monday where the Gators stand in most position groups.
Here's a position-by-position breakdown heading into today's final preseason scrimmage:
Quarterback
— Sophomores Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel remain in a dead heat and
will continue to split the reps 50-50 with the No. 1 offense, Muschamp
said. The quarterbacks will be in non-contact jerseys the rest of the
way. Muschamp said Driskel's bruised shoulder will be re-evaluated next
Monday. In the meantime, he has not been cleared for contact. A starter
likely won't be named until sometime next week.
Tailback — The
clear starter here is senior Mike Gillislee, who has distanced himself
from his competition. “The bulk (of the carries) are with Gilly. That's
what we discussed yesterday. That was pretty evident as we worked
through camp. Mack Brown and Matt Jones are in that next pecking order,
then Omarius Hines is going to get his touches as well,” Muschamp said.
“I'm very encouraged with the other guys (Brown, Jones and Hines).
There's not a tremendous drop-off, in my opinion, other than
experience.”
Fullback — The starter is Trey Burton and the backup
is Hunter Joyer. Muschamp said Monday that tailback Chris Johnson also
is going to get a look at fullback. “He's still battling for reps (at
tailback), but he can help us a lot at the fullback position as well,”
Muschamp said.
Tight end — Jordan Reed, who is expected to return
today from a sprained knee, is the clear starter, with Clay Burton,
Tevin Westbrook and true freshman Kent Taylor lining up behind him. One
player not in the mix at the moment is true freshman Colin Thompson, who
will undergo surgery Wednesday to have a screw placed in his fractured
foot. He could be out for eight weeks or longer and figures to redshirt
this season.
Wide receiver — Muschamp said Monday he's been
pleased with this group and is confident they can make plays down the
field. The top wideouts are Frankie Hammond Jr., Quinton Dunbar, Andre
Debose, Solomon Patton and true freshman Latroy Pittman. “I think
they've all improved. We've all gotten better at that position,”
Muschamp said.
Offensive line — If the season started today, the
starting line would consist of Xavier Nixon at left tackle, James Wilson
at left guard, Jon Harrison at center, Jon Halapio at right guard and
either Chaz Green or Matt Patchan at right tackle. The likely backups
would be D.J. Humphries (LT), Kyle Koehne (LG), Sam Robey (C), Jessamen
Dunker (RG) and Green or Patchan (RT). Other players in the mix for
playing time, according to Muschamp, are Ian Silberman and Trip Thurman.
Muschamp said Koehne can play all five positions and Harrison and Robey
also can play guard.
Defensive line — The starting four is pretty
obvious: Lerentee McCray at Buck, Dominique Easley at end, Omar Hunter
and Sharrif Floyd at the tackle positions. McCray's backup is true
freshman Dante Fowler. The No. 2 end is either Earl Okine or true
freshman Jonathan Bullard. The backup tackles are Leon Orr and Damien
Jacobs. “The luxury we have this year is depth,” Muschamp said. Muschamp
said when Ronald Powell returns, there's a chance McCray could move
back to strongside linebacker, where he started last season.
Linebacker
— Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins are the obvious starters at middle
linebacker and weakside linebacker, respectively. The likely backups are
Michael Taylor and Antonio Morrison. At strongside linebacker, Darrin
Kitchens and Neiron Ball are dead-even in the battle for the starting
role.
Cornerback — The Gators continue to have four players
battling for the two starting positions. They are Marcus Roberson,
Jaylen Watkins, Loucheiz Purifoy and Cody Riggs. “We're repping all four
guys and we'll continue to evaluate that,” Muschamp said. “(Today's
scrimmage) is a great opportunity and they've got to go out and make
plays.”
Safety — Matt Elam and Josh Evans appear to be the
established starters, especially Elam, with De'Ante Saunders, Valdez
Showers, Brian Poole and Jabari Gorman all battling for playing time.
Punter — Kyle Christy.
Place-kicker — Caleb Sturgis.
Punt returner — Marcus Roberson.
Kickoff returner — Andre Debose and Mike Gillislee.
