Yep, some say he’s a guy that needs to be developed more but I’d take him right now. He has some good experience and you cannot teach that size. True tackles are so rare you grab one when you get the chance. Kid could be really good down the line and is used to SEC play.
So, Ritchie Leonard has portalized. Florida starting OL announces move to transfer portal (saturdaydownsouth.com) "“I would like to thank the University of Florida for my time there. Glad I can say I am an alumnus of this great institution,” said Leonard. “With that being said I am entering my name in the transfer portal as a grad transfer.”
Im thinking if UF gets the 2nd OT, we could see Barber move inside where he projects better for the NFL. Just a guess on my part but im thinking UF could have a very good OL when all is said and done.
I would prefer Doctor Slaughter. If you grew up around Ocala in the 70's you would know what I mean. With the news of today it might be a good idea to revisit your early opinion.
George needs to go inside before Barber IMO. All of a sudden we are better at tackle than inside which I didn't expect
Already working on it but UF may not be done so I will hit the breaks for now. I fully expe t at tbis point to see Barber and Waites inside.O my.
He very well may have the most upside in the OL room. Really looking forward to seeing how he plays this spring. Last spring, as a HS Sr (earlly enrollee), he looked like he belonged of the field. Super impressive.
The spring and fall camp can really change the impression of who can contribute, so we likely don't have a great idea yet who our top 5 will be.
Spot on... This is why I keep harping on how significant it is the ENTIRE OL room will be on campus tomorrow. I think Slaughter has OC locked up. Lot of options at OT and OG, though. Especially at OG. We have the Top three at OT, with others also competeing. At OG, I think Harris will be one of the starters. The other one is gonna be intersting. I count six legit guys competing for the other starting OG. Could be seven if you go by Marcinko's article that if the top three OTs (Barber, BCD and Manuel) are also three of the top five linemen, then Barber could flex to OG to put the five best linemen on the field. It's gonna be a fun spring in Hogtown!
Glad you said that about Slaughter….. all the kids did was get better every game last year and still people sometimes want to discount him. He is our center. I cannot guarantee you 100% but I would give you a 90% guarantee that Billy and staff had a talk with Kingsley and said… Love you, but moving forward Jake our guy.
Kingsley was a real liability playing this year. He really needed to heal this year and have another year of eligibility. Slaughter or just about anybody was a better option. Hopefully Slaughter keeps coming on. Really the only guy with size that could have challenged Slaughter for the job was Harris, but he was too green and will have to try for a starting guard spot next year. I expect them to do well side by side, but spring and fall camp is a long time and other options could develop. There is a nice size increase with the loss of Eguakun and Leonard and the replacement by Slaughter and Harris.
Unfortunately size isn't everything in an OL. We had one of the largest units in the SEC in '23 and it didn't fare well. Let's hope that they can put 5 on the field in 2024 that can play well as a unit and be effective
True. I understand that the coaching staff believes that the extra reach of a 6'9" guy has some advantage in pass rush, but I think that doesn't matter if the person isn't mobile or can't pick up assignments or can't anticipate the pass rush and adjust and pass off rushers. We have some time to work on that now and hopefully the cream will rise to the top.
