Five under-the-radar players for Florida Football who helped salvage the 2024 season

George Gumbs has been the one I knew least about but who has played such a prominent role in the D. Hearing the capricious manner of how he ended up here is cool. He clearly feels grateful for where he has landed.

 

Was the link supposed to be about recruiting? I was hoping to read about the 5 under the radar players.

 

He put a bad link to a different story. I had to look around but I found it.

 

Thanks for pointing it out. I fixed it for everyone. That happens to me almost every time I try to post a SI link.

 

You're a better man than me. I prefer to sit and shout at the darkness. You lit a candle.

 

Interesting read, thanks for sharing!

 

Yes, George Gumbs played his tail off and probably has an NFL future. If he continues to develop, which I am expecting, he will definitely have a Sunday job. Next year is his year to excel! Go Gators!

 

Chimere Dike should definitely get some love, as he exceeded expectations on receiving and returning punts. He was a very solid contributer and will be sorely missed. Replacing him will be very tough to replicate! Badger proved the hype on him was legitimate, as was DJL. For the most part, we could add Graham and Robinson at LB, and Aaron Gates was really coming on at STAR.

 

The thing that troubles me about this article are the players who performed well but were afterthoughts for the coaches. It jumped out at me in the article. Not trying to bash, but I don't like the pattern.

 

I kind of see what you mean, but I'm not sure if it was that the players were "overlooked" or if it was the fact the defense finally "got it" and everybody started playing better. In other words, maybe the starters that got injured would have started playing well too (when things changed), and they would have still been better than the "afterthoughts". We'll probably never really know; I'm just happy we have lots of players playing well!

 

DJ Lagway and the defensive adjustments saved Billy and got UF to a bowl game.

Just like Sellars and the D helped get SC a 9 win season and got Beamer coach of the year.

It’s amazing what a good defense and a great QB can do for a team.

Hell of a comeback story for you guys.

 

Kinda glad we didn't play ya'll this year... although if we did, we would have just subbed you out for another ranked team, so it would have been a wash anyway!

 

Sapp’s emergence was another big factor in my mind. He was dominant for the last 2/3 of the season.

 

You make a very good point! Interestingly, Hail Florida Hail pointed out that many non-starters were on the field for 30+ snaps earlier in the year (which, most definitely, is a head scratcher). Essentially, BN seemed to be digging his own grave. Oh well, he has another year, and it remains to be seen if anything changes.

 

I'd add Caleb Banks to the list. He had 14 total QB pressures in the LSU and Ole Miss victories.

 

BCD, should have been the guy from the jump. The fact Waites started the season is a joke.

Gumbs, Pyburn, Bridges, Dijon, Dike/Badger would be my list.