It feels like Montrell Johnson has been the guy at running back for Florida since Billy Napier took over in the Swamp, but 2024 will be the first time he truly enters the season as Florida’s primary running back.
Despite impressing as a true freshman under Billy Napier at Louisiana, Johnson spent his sophomore year splitting carries with first-year rusher Trevor Etienne and mobile quarterback Anthony Richardson . Johnson led the team with 155 carries in 2022, but Etienne (118) and Richardson (103) clearly ate into his workload.
He split carries with Etienne again in 2023, ending the year with 152 carries. Etienne’s workload increased by 23 carries despite playing two fewer games than the year before.
With Etienne at Georgia now, Johnson is set to receive the lion’s share of Florida’s handoffs.
“I expect to get the ball more coming in the future, this next season,” Johnson said at the SEC Media Days . “I’m not too worried about (the offense losing Etienne), because I feel like I can hold the load on my own and just go out there and make sure I play mistake-free football.”
That kind of confidence is necessary to face the kind of schedule Florida has in front of it. The SEC schedule is tough enough, but adding matchups against Florida State , Miami and UCF means the Gators will face the toughest schedule in the country this fall.
“The locker room is very exciting,” he said. “With this upcoming schedule, I feel like the guys are using it as motivation and looking at it as 12 opportunities to prove ourselves to the nation.”
Johnson is also looking to expand on his pass-catching game since he’ll be in the backfield more often. After finishing his sophomore year with 58 yards on 12 catches, Johnson hauled in 30 passes for 236 yards last season. His receiving touchdown total stayed put at just one, but there’s been a clear effort to improve in that area.
“I want to catch more balls in the backfield and just get in space more. I just show my ability to, you know, make the first defender miss stuff like that.
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