Decoster Breaks Down Gators' Tackle Depth, Trust in Current Players

The Florida Gators believe it has its deepest and most talented offensive line unit since Billy Napier arrived as the head coach.

Bryce Lovett has been the favorite throughout spring camp to be the Florida Gators' starting right tackle. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Heading into the 2025 season, the Florida Gators did something for the first time of the Billy Napier era: The team did not add an instant starter on the offensive line through the transfer portal.

After adding guards in O'Cyrus Torrence and Micah Mazzccua in 2022 and 2023 along with tackle Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson in 2024, Florida did not add a single offensive lineman through the portal this offseason, and the decision was obvious despite having a void at right tackle.

"You have to realize when you bring a guy in, he better come in and blow everyone else out the water or its going to ruin the culture in the room," assistant offensive line coach Jon Decoster said Wednesday. "And we have a great culture in the room right now. We feel good about our guys."

Florida returns four of its five starters from 2024 after Crenshaw-Dickson's departure, and despite an easy opportunity to add a play-now veteran to take his place, the Gators are ready to rely on a group of youngsters to step up in elevated roles either as a starter or an immediate depth piece.

Part of that reason comes to keeping ahold of the culture, Decoster explained.

"We're not a big portal operation," he said. "We do the portal like old JUCO recruitment. We fill holes in the roster. I think if you do a good job in high school recruitment and developing guys, you keep that portal to a minimum and keep your culture intact."

With Austin Barber at left tackle, Knijeah Harris at left guard, Jake Slaughter at center and Damieon George Jr. and right guard, the Gators are currently working multiple players at right tackle. The favorite from the start of spring camp, and the one with in-game experience from last season, is Bryce Lovett.

"The sky's the limit for him, he has what we can’t coach, the footspeed, the athleticism. Too many coaches take credit for what the good lord made," he said. "You can do drills all you want to, you know, footspeed and reactive athleticism, the ability to react to a D-end rushing inside, you can do drills for that but at the end of the day you either have it or you don’t, so the sky's the limit for Bryce."

However, Decoster made it clear the job isn't entirely won. Redshirt sophomore Caden Jones, despite only having four appearances over the last two seasons, has pushed Lovett.

"Don't sleep on Caden Jones now," he said. "I know Bryce is having a great spring, but Caden's come along quite well."

On the other side, Florida has an established veteran in Austin Barber and a capable backup in Devon Manuel, but with only one year left, the Gators are hoping the other backups in the room can become the future of the position.

Namely, Fletcher Westphal has been the one to keep an eye on. At 6-foot-8 and 336 pounds, he has the size to be a force at tackle, but the staff is still working on developing the redshirt freshman to be a consistent contributor on the line.

"We always talk about how he got baptized quite a bit last spring, growing up, but those reps are invaluable. It’s huge for him to keep on growing, progressing, especially in protection," Decoster said. "The hardest jump from High school kid to College kid to NFL is protection. The technique you use in high school doesn’t usually work in college and then the technique you use in college, if not coached correctly, doesn’t work in the NFL. So, right now, Fletcher is in the position to win, now he has to buy in. He was a puppy last year, now he has to bite at the point of contact and win in those 1 on 1 battles in the run game and protection.”

Beyond that, Florida has a pair of early enrollee tackles in Jahari Medlock, who Decoster said has "really quick twitch," and TJ Dice, who has the ability to also play guard.

"You can tell he was really coached well in high school, more well-polished technique wise than some of the other freshmen that come in mid-year," Decoster said of Dice.

The depth may have quickly become evident, especially after notable depth issues over the last three seasons, but it's the culmination of an extensive evaluation and development process the staff trusts. Sometimes, it even comes down to taking a chance on a lower-ranked prospect with a higher ceiling over a top-ranked recruit with a lower ceiling.

"If look at the recruitment services five years ago, and you see who's the top o-linemen, and you look who's in the NFL, who got drafted and who's doing well, it's not a direct correlation," Decoster said. "So it's a position where you have to project some. You have to look at the things that you can't coach. You can't coach arm length. You can't coach footspeed. And, it's a mental makeup, too. Okay, you could be a five-star, four-star, top prospect in the country, but if you don't have that same hunger you had in high school in college, you're not going to succeed. The physical attributes matter, but the tangibles, they're non-negotiable."

As the only position group on the team that's fully healthy, Florida's boosted offensive line room will have its first chance to flex its depth on April 12 for the spring game. Kickoff inside The Swamp is at 1 p.m.

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