3 Things You Need to Know About the Florida Gators
It is officially football time in the Sunshine State once again. The Miami Hurricanes football season gets started with a Afternoon EST kickoff against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffen Stadium. It’ll be a warm one by the afternoon, but we’ve experienced the beginnings of a crisp fall morning air recently to signal the return of football. Now, the pads go on and it is finally time to hit somebody. Expectations are high, excitement is boiling over, and even beer will be flowing inside the stadium.
At this point, I am tired of talking. It has been a long offseason and there is only so much you can break down heading into Week One. The Florida Gators have been covered thoroughly all week long here at the dot com. Per usual, Trinton Breeze has released his detailed scouting report of this week’s opponent. Along with has outlined Miami’s goals for the game. You won’t want to reach kickoff without consuming those three great pieces of content.
However, once you’ve done that homework, let’s dive into four things you need to know about the Florida Gators.
Gators Feature a strong downhill running game
Florida head coach Billy Napier is known as an offensive mind entering year number three in Gainsville, Coach Napier has been known to have his teams ground and pound on the run game. The Gators averaged 149.5 rushing yards per game last year under coach Billy Napier, that was enough for being the 77th team in college football of last season.
Napier wants to play bully ball on offense. The Gators have two full-time offensive line coaches and a deep tailback room. Florida wants to establish the run. Napier’s team has shown a commitment to getting the ground game rolling early last season so the Hurricanes have to make sure that don’t happen this season.
Expect a heavy run percentage from Florida today.
Gators offensive line is a hit or miss
The Florida Gators offensive line still has some question marks on the team and this could go in Miami’s favour today if they Hurricanes punish the offensive line which the Canes defensive front is one of the best in the country.
Their best returning starter is Jake Slaughter, but Slaughter hardly performed like a first-year starter in 12 appearances (eight starts). The 6-foot-5, 295-pound lineman was ranked No. 14 among FBS centers with a 75.9 Pro Football Focus grade across 622 total snaps, a performance that landed him in the No. 8 spot on PFF analyst Max Chadwick’s top 10 list of interior offensive linemen returning to college football in 2024.
Besides Slaughter there really is not no one that stands out to me that would be a big threat to Miami’s defenseive line, but, you got Knijeah Harris that started in all 12 games last season, Harris was a surprise throughout the 2023 preseason, emerging as a college-ready guard who could contribute as a first-year player, which he did as he went on to appear in all 12 of Florida’s games.
They will have some younger guys at the guard position as I said above and the Hurricanes will have veterans at the line today so the Hurricanes need to punish them and punish them quick.
Scary secondary
Jason Marshall Jr. returns for Florida at safety after recording 24.2 yards per reception and five touchdowns, both were team highs amongst players with 120+ snaps. He is expected to be one of the top cornerbacks in college football. Ja’Keem Jackson and Dijon Johnson is also another two big time players that will play a huge role in the Florida’s defense.
However, there will be some new pieces surrounding Marshall and Ja’Keem along with Johnson. Teddy Foster a three-star recruit coming out of high school, the 247Sports rankings ranked Foster as the No. 63 cornerback and No. 803 prospect nationwide in the class of 2024.
Colorado transfer Cormani McClain will open the season as the cornerback, but he had a hard time finding a role with the Buffalos. At the other cornerback position, Devin Moore, Moore allowed just five receptions for 30 yards on 12 targets while playing in eight games (194 snaps).
Trinton is the owner of CanesToday. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, he is a freshman in high school and wants to graduate from the University of Miami
