GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators reported for fall camp on Tuesday and will hit the field Wednesday in preparation for the season opener against the Miami Hurricanes . Here are five things that I’m going to be watching this camp.
One of the biggest moves the Florida Gators made this offseason was the addition of veteran coach Ron Roberts as executive head coach, co-defensive coordinator, and linebackers coach. The Gators hired Austin Armstrong prior to the 2023 season to be its defensive coordinator and it’s believed that Armstrong will still call plays. There is a history between the two, Armstrong was a graduate assistant under Roberts in 2018 when Roberts was Billy Napier’s defensive coordinator at Louisiana.
“I think Coach Roberts is one of the best football coaches in America. That was not an option to add him to our team in the initial cycle. The opportunity to add somebody who is one of the best football coaches in America to our staff and collaborate with is a blessing to say the least. Our agenda here is to create the best defense in college football, and you do that by hiring smart, capable, competent people and we couldn’t have gotten anybody better than him,” Armstrong said this spring. “It’s a unique thing for me because I was the guy’s GA [graduate assistant] five years ago. It’s kind of good for me to have a guy in the trenches with you again that you have a close, personal relationship for five years. He’s made me better throughout my career and the guy doesn’t get enough credit.”
I’m interested to see how the two work together and how having Roberts on staff can help the defense.
Three new Florida Gators I want to see
The Gators added several players after spring camp but there are three that I really want to see in person. Senior receiver Elijhah Badger , freshman linebacker Aaron Chiles , and freshman tight end Amir Jackson .
Badger was a late portal addition and is expected to compete for a starting job at the X position with Kahleil Jackson . Badger is an explosive receiver who was very productive at Arizona State the past two seasons, hauling in 135 passes for 1,579 yards and 10 touchdowns. How does he look and can he earn a starting job in camp?
Chiles and Jackson are only freshmen and they enrolled later than most of their class but both players are talented. I’m eager to see what they look like on the field and how they acclimate to the college game.
Chiles is listed as an inside linebacker and has already been impressive in the weight room . Napier raved about Chiles when he signed. The Gators have a young but talented linebacker room with Shemar James , Myles Graham , and Pup Howard . Not to mention veteran Derek Wingo . How does Chiles fit in?
How does the offensive line look?
Last season the Gators’ offensive line struggled to stay healthy, constantly having to rotate players and starting lineups. That certainly was a factor in their play. Florida’s line allowed 126 pressures, 85 quarterback hurries, and 33 sacks.
This offseason, the coaching staff has consistently praised the line and spoken about their belief in the group.
“They are a hungry group. They are a group that wants to come to work every day. There’s no egos in there. They are a pleasure to coach. It really is, it’s a new year, a new group,” offensive line coach Rob Sale said during spring camp. “These young two groups that we recruited, two classes are now older and bigger and stronger. I think we hit on all those guys, they have the intangibles we’re looking for they are big guys that can bend and move and I do like the two guys we got in the portal, Devon (Manuel) and Brandon (Crenshaw-Dickson) they got really character they are really good people and they are really good players, too.”
That sounds good but I want to see how they line up and how they look this fall before I buy in.
New look defense
Billy Napier clearly identified the Gators’ defense as an issue in 2023. Florida allowed 31.7 points per game against Power 5 opponents last season and 33.6 against conference opponents. In their last five SEC contests, the Gators gave up an average of 528.2 yards and 41.2 points including the most yards allowed in program history (701) at LSU.
Napier made immediate staff changes on that side of the ball and the Gators added 13 new players on defense this offseason, including several players who will either start or play key roles.
What will the changes look like and how quickly can they turn the defense in Gainesville around?
Do they understand the importance of the Miami game?
Mario Cristobal and Billy Napier are tied together. The two were hired at their current jobs in the same offseason. They both enter year three under .500. They’re selling hope to their fanbases. Hope that the trajectory of their programs is headed in the right direction. That their patience will pay off. The loser of this game will have a hard time continuing to sell that the rest of the way.
I think that’s even more magnified for Florida being that the game is in the Swamp. You have a built-in excuse if you’re Miami. It’s game one, a bunch of new transfers and new players, a tough road environment. You don’t have that excuse if you’re Florida.
It’s also critical for Florida because that first stretch of games is more manageable than the back half.
Internally, Florida has built a lot of belief and confidence throughout the offseason. With staff changes and a new strength and conditioning program, the Gators believe they will surprise a lot of people this fall. Does that belief or confidence take a hit with a loss to Miami to start the year? Losing at home to a rival in the season opener and maybe you start to question if that offseason belief was unfounded.
It might not be a conference game, but the Miami game is one of the biggest on the schedule for the Gators.
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