I could name a bunch, but I will sit back and let you fellas list them. Feel free to state why? By significantly, I do not mean to imply the team needs them to play, but their talent will get them on the field for certain plays. As a matter of reference, LJ McCray will probably play the most. I expect DJ Lagway will play in certain packages in every game, but not as much as McCray.
Difference between expectations and pleasant surprise. It would be nice to have a couple of the latter.
Oh Doc....You're the epitome of optimism for a 2024 turnaround, then you go ahead and say there are a "bunch" freshmen that will "significantly" contribute. We have 38 upperclassmen and a sophomore class that holds the key to a REAL turnaround. If we have to rely on a "bunch" of freshmen this season, we're toast.
Ha, I didn't say rely! I do expect to see a good deal of LJ McCray, though. Obviously, DJ Lagway will see limited action, but he will play! C'mon you guys are intelligent and witty! So, who else will play some? I would not be surprised to see Mr. Graham and Chiles play some. And how do you keep Abrams and Tank out of the game? The fun starts in the fall, but we can have some right now!
You said "significant"...now you're saying the LB's will play "some"....Yeah, that changes your post. Anyways, I would be surprised if more than 5 freshmen played enough to not redshirt. I just don't see many opportunities for snaps beyond that.
I agree with Doc on players he mentioned. I would be surprised if we do not see RB Jaden Baugh, 6'.075/237, who would likely transfer if not played. We seem stacked at S but Greg Smith, 6'.325/209 is the kind of physical presence that may emerge. This should take nothing away from Josiah Davis, 6'.05/196, who adds great speed with physicality. On DL, LJ, 6'6/274 does not move like a true freshman but neither does D'antre Robinson,6'3/302. Michael Boireau 6'.475/382 is very quick for his size but some changes in his body are likely necessary before we see any meaningful PT. OL, we have some impressive recruits coming in but I only see Fletcher Westphal, 6'8/325, as having a chance to play enough not to receive redshirt. I am hopeful that our existing OT's keep him in a redshirt. Really like both LB's in Myles Graham, 6'.075/222 and Aaron Chiles, 6'3/227, who we have yet to see but seems like a Pup Howard clone. Speed kills and we need emerging WR's. Parenthetically, we should look heavily at Jerrae Hawkins, 5'.95/170(10.3) and Tawaski "Tank" Abrams, 5'10/197 (10.6). Failure to employ these weapons early likely guarantees their departure. Even relative unknowns like CB Teddy Foster, 6'075/178, who played both ways and was rated 3 stars, is a diamond in the rough but I do not want his redshirt burned and hope that does not happen. Accordingly, I see nine (9) redshirts burned in order to avoid transfers. Go Gators!
A defensive back could play one snap in each game and get three interceptions on the season, I would call that significant while only playing some. Are you always this fun? Keep up the good work @doctorg8r on keeping the boards alive in the off season!
I think this year we will have more all SEC freshman than we had last year. And by the way, we had four freshman Gators make that list last year. Here they are below in the link. 2023 SEC All-Freshman Football Team Announced - Southeastern Conference
Thanks for reminding us of the 2023 freshmen that played. I wondered if Knijeah Harris should have been on that list?
You may be correct about the numbers, but who do you think could play in every game? Do we play Hawkins? Abrams? Baugh? Others?
I’d put significant back in as there was no reason to remove it. There will be freshman that make a significant contribution whether or not their time on the field is significant. I fully expect Jaden Baugh to grab a couple of TDs this season. He was balling out in the spring game and Etienne left the perfect hole in the RB rotation to be filled.
I believe we led the country (or very close to it) in freshmen played last season, and still only 9 burned their redshirt. If you look at the snap count reports for last season, the freshmen played a lot more when we were heavy favorites...So that's likely going to happen in 2024 and beyond. But, of course, that's for development. During the core games, they played much less....and that's that we NEEDED the freshmen last season. I just don't see more than 5 burning their redshirt, barring injuries of course. And, needless to say, I could be wrong ....none of us here are at practice. To answer your question, here is more: QB - Lagway of course RB - We know MJ and Webb will play, but no one here knows if Carroll and Jackson are legit SEC backs, so hard to project a freshmen RB burning their RS....But let's say Baugh as a possibility. OL - We have 1 SR, 5 Jr's, and 5 underclassmen OL....I just don't see a true freshman burning their RS on the OL. Like I've said elsewhere, we NEED a few surprises across the entire team to take a big leap in 2024, so I hope a freshman emerges here and there. WR: - If Mizell and Jean didn't burn their RS last season, then I'd say Hawkins and Abrams doing it this season is unlikely...But I can see one doing so. TE: - Unlikely we burn a RS here. DT: - We have a lot of numbers here, so I'd say it's deeply unlikely we burn RS's here. DE: - I know we love McCray, but we're deep here too. I can see him playing of course, but taking relevant snaps from 4th year players is rare. LB: - I can see both taking snaps here, actually. CB - I don't see the CB's jumping over 7 players on the depth chart for snaps, but of course CB is a position where this is not uncommon. S - We have 3 SR transfers, and 2 returning sophomore starters. Going to be hard to burn a RS here, too.
Which ones Rick? We finally have some upperclassmen (18 SR and 20 JR's), and a very promising sophomore class, so not projecting a ton of freshmen impact on my end.
D.J Lagway (QB2) will see the field a ton and he will get a chance to toss it around in games. I don't know exactly what Napier's plan development wise is, but you know he will let D.J. play meaningful minutes as a freshman. Tank Hawkins (WR) is too fast not to see the field some... maybe even at receiver. He and T.J. Abrams (WR) are too fast not to see some action in games. I also see Jadan Baugh (RB) getting a chance to see what he can do at running back. He looked ready to play in the O&B game, and he's a big back that can take the punishment that SEC running backs need to be able handle. The other offensive player I can see playing in games is Amir Jackson (TE) from Portal, Georgia. He might even be a hidden gem in this class. He's a highly rated tight end, and we need help at that position. Then comes the defensive players that we signed. I'm really happy about of defensive haul. L.J. McCray (DL) will see the field for sure.. there's no way he's not playing SOME if he's healthy. Myles Graham (LB) when he gets healthy will see some meaningful playing time. Now I am not saying these freshman will start, but they will see the field in their freshman year. And some might even play important minutes for the Gators. Gregory Smith III (S) is a huge dude that might see the playing field in some capacity (special teams?) maybe even as safety. D'Antre Robinson (DL) is massive and talented... he could see the field on some plays, especially early in the season. Jameer Grimsley (CB) He's true freshman that is only a transfer becasue Bama wanted to take credit for his recruitment and would not release him from his LOI. He's big and fast and should see some game time play as a true freshman. Aaron Chiles (LB) from Maryland is one of the best players from the state of Maryland... he should see the field early too. I think he's one of our more underrated recruits. I look for good things to happen from this kid in the future. These are just a few players that should contribute next year as true freshman. There are others too, if I think of them I will mention them later in this thread.
We also signed some good transfer portal players too that will either play lot... or might even start for us this coming year. In no particular order: Caleb Rillos (TE) Asa Turner (S) D.J. Douglass (S) George Gumbs Jr. (edge) Grayson Howard (LB) Chimire Dike (WR) Joey Slackman (DL) Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (OT) Most of these players above are likely to see significant time on the field this coming season. I am really excited about the new infusion of talent we added this off season, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
I could see the season happening as you outlined. Really nice job of laying it out with solid reasoning. Clearly, last year was a bit of an enigma; hence, playing a lot of freshmen. I don't think the RB room would suffer at all, if the EE players redshirted. Baugh, as you indicate could be the exception. Carroll, if able to contribute, should be the big bruiser for us, though. Jackson looked awesome in the Spring game. If he's really that good, I could see us going with those four. And I expect in certain games, it may be just two backs see the field, with Montrell Johnson getting the lions share of the carries. And, I expect Johnson will go over 1,000 yards this fall. The WR group do not seem as sound as the RB's. We should not have to use a freshman at WR, unless a WR stands out like Trey. There appear to be a few freshmen at other positions vying for playing time, but unsure they will be utilized. From what I am hearing, LJ McCray could be the exception. Some are predicting that he's too good to sit on the bench, and that he could be an eventual starter midyear. With that said, I could see Hawkins used for kickoffs. It was totally amazing that Knijeah Harris started as a true freshman. Probably, we don't have to this year. Generally, I don't think that's in the best interest of a freshman OL. Again, great stuff and thanks for sharing!
