Just wanted to have a conversation about the passing game and receiver room. The good *Mertz to Tre- can take the top off the d. Open up running lanes * battle for #2 - I’m confident in a few guys to step up and take pressure off Tre. Mizell, Jackson,Dike Burke, maybe Abrams and Hawkins can all do some things well and if Boardigham can take the next step or a RB can catch a few then it’ll be tough to double Tre * we went deep quite a bit more The bad Still not crazy about the bunch sets or route tree The naked boot play action as the our bread and butter —- woof Where is Andy Jean? Are he and Fraziars gonna transfer? Saw way too much Spierto… when you got a receiver wearing #38 catching balls over your 4-star sophomore … cannot be good lol Tempo? We went tempo twice by my calculation and both times we had success. Including the 2 play drive that ended with the bomb to Tre. In going back the last couple years- when we go tempo we have so much success. Vs Tennessee a couple years ago, Scar, Mizzou and LSU last year. It created a sense of urgency and fluidity and gets the players playing loose. We just don’t do it very often I know this isn’t Billy’s identity and all that but I want to see if anyone else has an opinion on any of this and if we see more urgency in the offense this year.
Agree on most of your thoughts but, I think Spierto may have a legitimate role in our offense. Good hands and seems to find a way to get open. I too am curious about Andy Jean. Hope he’s going to stick with us but one has to wonder what’s going on with him.
We are not loaded with talent at the wide receiver spot, if a player can't make it into this rotation, then where is he going to go? I don't believe Andy is going any where.
Short of having a Heisman winner we are about as good as we could hope to be at QB. Lagway is lucky to have a mentor with as much experience as Mertz. He knows about dealing with inflated expectations. We will have a fine receiver room barring some injuries. All of Jean, Frasiars and Burke have had some injuries over the past season and have more to show. Burke looked like a bust but has come around and could be a real player. EW3 is EW3, meaning potential All SEC. Dike is a good veteran receiver with some speed. Mizell is coming around and has elite speed. All of the above 3 could alternate at any position. We will have to see if Tank Hawkins can take some snaps early like EW3 did. I don't see him as the complete package like EW3, but he has speed and quickness for short dumpoffs, and we want EW3 downfield getting chunk plays with run after catches. Jackson is a wild card: had a super catch and mostly solid catches but had some routine pass drops, while claiming elite speed but not showing it on the field to this point. Also Abrams as a freshman has an SEC ready body. I'm not saying I wouldn't like an elite player out of the portal. I've never see BG have a receiver room for over a year and it not be a good one. We should be solid.
Mertz looked solid and in control. If he stays healthy, we will see a lot of production out of the passing game. DJ looks special for a kid that should still be in high school. He will be next level when he gets his chance to start, but will have packages of plays, just for him, next year.
Wilson is a difference maker and Jackson looks slimmer to me. I really think he is ready to break out. Dike should be solid at least and we should have a few others contribute.Burke looked good as.well. Boardingham is likely to take the next step and is pretty much a tall receiver. Add another solid tight end stepping up in Zip or Livingston and maybe a surprise from Amir Jackson. I have a lot of faith in Mertz to command the offense and know where to put the ball. The line MUST be solid. Lagway getting some productive time will take pressure off and add some juice.
The bunch set is like using a blunt object which which to preform surgery. Unless we outclass the defense, and/or have some tricky blocking assignments I rather we use it for DECEPTION... A naked bootleg around the end or a bootleg pass from that bunch set seems to almost always fool the defense.
Napier gonna be Napier. Some of us would have hoped he sought council from someone available who knows a bit about passing offenses or that someone newly named Co OC would have input. OTOH, why show too much new in our Spring game, even if what we saw is Napier's base offense. Watch though, ever time there's a bunch formation, defender moves at snap to the FDM and one of our WRs meets him there.
Very nice post! We are good at RB and may be okay at OL (although some podcasters are not sure the Gators have enough experience at OL). The wide receiver room is the only question mark for me. WR may likely determine the success of our season. I am hoping that Burke and Mizell continue to develop into the second receiver group. There are a lot of rumors about Andy Jean going to the TP and, hopefully, it's false. I'd like to see him fill out the second group of three WR's. I was really hoping Fraziars would make a leap this year. I can only surmise that he is the one standing in the way of his own potential. Mertz has to have a bevy of receiver's to make the offense flourish! Sure, we have a talented WR corp, but it lacks experience!
Does anyone believe we don't have enough talent for our WRs to get open if the routes and play calling are solid? I find it hard to believe we don't have 3 good WRs that can make some things happen if the plays make it happen.
Our quarterback play is good enough to get guys open and be productive, but we need some of these guys to develop into "dudes" that can be game changers.
We have the talent at WR, and we should have the experience. But, we do not have much real game experience outside of Dike, Wilson, and Jackson. As you know, WR's have to know how to run good routes to get open, break free from being jammed at the line, as well as be excellent blockers. Even Fraziars and Burke have not been regulars, and lack big, game-time, experience. Yes, they have some experience, they just have never emerged. Burke appears to be coming on, but we say that every Spring! We are young at the receiver group, yet extremely talented at backups. If Burke and Mizell are really stepping up their game, then who else will emerge? Outside of Fraziars, the others are freshman. I think it could be Andy Jean, but he can't seem to remain healthy. And, he does not have a ton of experience! If Jean stays with the program, he could eventually be one of our best WR's. Clearly, his issue is staying healthy. I borrowed this least from SI a few months ago: Early 2024 Gators WR Depth Chart Projection Outside: Chimere Dike (Sr.), Kahleil Jackson (r-Jr.) Outside backups: Ja'Quavion Fraziars (Sr.), Andy Jean (r-Fr.), Aidan Mizell (r-Fr.), TJ Abrams (Fr.), Marcus Burke (r-Jr.) Slot: Eugene Wilson III (So.) Slot backup: Tank Hawkins (Fr.)
I would love if Tank could be 2/3 of what EW3 was last year in the slot to free up EW3 to get the targets Pearsal got last year. If so, I would see our offense as more explosive than last year at receiver regardless of losing an elite receiver. Dike is an upgrade at possession receiver from what we saw last year, and both Mizell and Burke looked much better. That shoestring catch with run after was athletic and high difficulty for Burke.
