Article: Five Potential Breakout Players On The Gators’ Offense In 2023

Interesting pick on Caleb Douglas, I would have picked one of the freshman WR.

 

He'll have to have a helluva Fr-So leap. He had a chance to step up when all the WR injuries hit last year and was underwhelming. Too many drops.

 

Exactly , hard to fix drops, mental lapses are hard to overcome unlike route running. Just look at the kid that transferred to Maryland, he got all the potential in the world but lacks concentration. I hope he proves me wrong though.

 

Starting the article with the uncertainty at QB and then predicting a breakout season for a WR with the dropsies discredits the article IMHO. Then choosing a freshman RB.....is he also predicting a injury to Montrell and Trevor?

 

Agree on Etienne, can’t see it on Douglas or Mertz. Douglas is more likely to be a transfer candidate sometime before Spring 2024, as the young guys are certainly good enough to take his spot. Mertz just isn’t that guy and will probably be handing the ball off a lot.

 

I would say any of the 3 freshman WR before Webb, just from an opportunity standpoint.

 

Last year's drop's and the O&B game fumble and he's billed as a "sure-fire" break-out kid; that's a huge stretch. Etienne broke out last year, so he's shouldn't be in this discussion.

RE: Mertz: "The Orange vs. Blue game was a little concerning, as Mertz didn’t shine, but nor was he bad. Mertz threw for 244 yards on 18 completions out of 29 attempts." I didn't see the O&B game, but completing 62% for 244 yards while running for his life (as I recall hearing) sounds pretty damn good. If the running game is decent, those numbers will win quite a few games if all he is, is a game-manager (and the D doesn't lose games for us).

 

I hate to pick knits but I kinda thought Etienne broke out last year.

 

I think defensive end Boone and edge rusher Umanmielen will have spectacular year at for us. Our D-line will be much improved overall and we will have far more SEC level depth to plug and play. I predict that our entire defense will be far better than last years defense. They will keep us in several games that last year we would not have the depth to manage other team's offenses.

Every aspect of our team, including the offense should be more dependable/consistent, if we manage to get our O-line to gel. I just hope we get the little things right... blocking tacking, especially in space. If we can add wrinkles to our play-calling and make sure we don't get predictable, that will go a long way. Maybe add some trick plays. I'd like to see us add the Emery and Henry play sets on offense. That will require SOS's help... which I hope Napier seeks.

All in all the one thing we might be missing for a real shot at 10 wins is a proven QB. But I have faith that we will get enough out Mertz or Miller to get some positive improvement/consistency on that side of the ball.

We have to practice uptempo offense to get our QBs thinking fast. It's the only way to get them to improve their skills. Now, just because we practice uptempo doesn't mean we have to play that way, especially all game long. But many team we will play are going to use that up-tempo offense. We may as well get ready for it by practicing it. In the long run that practice will help us when we need to go to a 2 minute offense... anther facet of the game we need to practice/master.

The bottom line is the faster we can practice the more things we can cover and the more reps we can get in the allotted time we have for practice... win, win.

 

I am most excited by Kelby Collins.

Collins has a college-ready frame at a young age and the potential to bully opposing offensive linemen at 6-4, 277 pounds. The highly touted four-star prospect out of Gardendale, Alabama was the No. 50 overall recruit ranked by On3 and recorded 239 total tackles (158 solo) with an average of 7.7 tackles a game.

“Kelby being, I think one of the — you just turn the tape on, one of the more polished, ready to play players in the country. Just fundamentally advanced and really a violent player, plays with effort,” Napier said on Collins.

This staff is very high on Collins. It’ll be interesting to see how often Collins rotates in as he develops and the season progresses.

 

I think Andy Jean will surprise.