By: Nick Marcinko -- February 27, 2025 The Florida Gators rank 18th in the country in returning production and 4th in the SEC, according to a recent ESPN article. Florida’s offense in particular returns the 36th most production in all of college football, largely thanks to the offensive line. Four of Florida’s five starting offensive lineman opted to return to Gainesville in 2025, three of which were NFL Draft eligible. The Gators were able to hold on to their NFL talents in Austin Barber and Jake Slaughter for their 5th and final season. My biggest takeaway from recent college football playoff success stories is dominant offensive line play. While great quarterback play, explosive wide receivers, and dynamic running backs are important, it all starts in the trenches. With Florida returning 5,390 career snaps from their four returning starters alone, the Gators could be in position to have the best offensive line they’ve had under Billy Napier. While most of the offensive line positions are seemingly filled, there are still questions that need to be answered during spring camp. Most importantly, who’s going to start at right tackle for the Gators in 2025? They haven’t addressed the need through the portal, which means they’ll likely rely on the development of younger talent, unless they add someone during the spring transfer portal window. Florida can also use spring camp to identify the first group of reserves as depth is crucial in the SEC. You want at least eight offensive lineman you are comfortable starting on any given Saturday. Gator Country provides you our offensive line preview ahead of spring camp. Spring camp preview: Breaking down Florida’s offensive line | GatorCountry.com
The sky's the limit for this group. I don't know other teams OLs so I don't know how many OLs compare to UFs. IMO, UFs goal is to have the best OL in the nation.
Yeah, it was reported Jones missed some time with injuries. Never knew how much time. There were reports of him being in a boot, but that was all that was reported. Like I mentioned in another thread, he'll compete this spring and we'll know his situation after the spring game. How much football did Wagnoy play for his club in Manchester?
My friend put together an interesting consensus pre-spring depth chart from five sources including Marcinko’s article: LT: Barber, Westphal or Jones, Medlock LG: Harris, Portnjagin, Mascoll OC: Slaughter, Kearney, Zandamela RG: George, Waites, P Louis RT: Lovett or Manuel, Wangoy, Dice A few things standout to me; Jones at LT, Portnjagin at LG and Zandamela at OC. Jones has always been a RT at UF- 2024 spring game, 2024 season and bowl game. Having sources put Zandamela at OC and Portnjagin at LG gives us a first look at their projected positions.
Practice starts the end of next week. The spring game is April 12th. We should have some solid info in three to four weeks.
I don't think he did. I was just bringing up the mindset and pressure of playing or practicing against adults in the sports he played who are doing something for a living already who don't want you stealing food from their babies' mouths. It's a lot more cutthroat and every day competition to perfect the skills and tactics.
