Montrell Johnson Is 'What the Doctor Ordered' For Gators Ground Game
Photo: Montrell Johnson; Credit: Alex Shepherd
In the early stages of the new regime’s reign in Gainesville, new faces have flashed the potential to be the lifeblood of the program, particularly offensively.
Within the run oriented system that head coach Billy Napier will operate during his tenure at UF, especially in year one, the presence of a durable, productive ball carrier is paramount to Florida's sustained success.
Seeing the top two rushers from last season in Dameon Pierce — who excelled despite a well documented lack of volume — and Malik Davis depart from the program, arguably the most important offensive skill position was riddled with a lack of depth and inexperience behind rotational ball carrier Nay'Quan Wright.
As a result, Napier elected to pluck a familiar face — or two if you include right guard O'Cyrus Torrence, arguably the most impressive player not named Anthony Richardson in the spring game — via the transfer portal from his former role at the University of Lousiana-Lafayette to supplement the offensive attack immediately. Montrell Johnson, the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in 2021, maximized his opportunity to jump to the SEC so far this spring. He came away as a big winner from the practice sessions and spring game period.
"Montrell’s extremely bright, picks things up quickly," Napier said about the running back on Thursday. "He certainly was a very productive back for us last year. I think he's 5'11.5" and weighs 217 pounds. He hit 21.5 mph last year in a game on his GPS. He’s got a big lower half. He’s got contact balance. He can protect. He can catch.
"He belongs out there."
Compiling 838 yards and 12 touchdowns on 162 carries in his first collegiate season, Johnson provided a spark during the Ragin’ Cajuns first conference title in Napier’s three championship game attempts.
He looks to continue that success in the SEC to show he rightfully belongs in arguably the highest level of college football.
“I felt like I was very under-recruited in high school,” Johnson said. “It was a huge chip on my shoulder. I wanted to come in and show what I can do.
How does he do that? By continuing to do what he did at UL: Produce.
“I just gotta put numbers up. Numbers don’t lie. Just put numbers up and keep being humble.”
Thus far, especially after a strong spring game performance, Johnson feels his adjustment smooth. He equates that transition to his even-keeled attitude that football is football, no matter what stage he plays on.
The confidence in his ability has carried him into the next chapter of his career.
Equipped with the strengths of power and patience, Johnson has proved his worth as a between-the-tackles back who can churn out yards in short yardage and goal line situations.
“I wait to see when the hole is going to open up,” he said.
However, Johnson still sees room for improvement.
As he is likely to realize an increased role next year, his main goal is to work on his stamina to remain to maintain the workload.
In addition, despite already posting elite top-end speed numbers as mentioned above, Johnson is also looking to grow more consistent in that area this offseason.
Due to his immediate impact as a freshman at the Group of 5 level, Johnson’s improbable climb up the ladder of gives Napier confidence for how Florida’s offense will function in year one.
"Montrell is what the doctor ordered,” Napier said regarding the running back position. “He’s certainly going to provide depth and production for our team.”
His presence spans beyond the white lines and into the meeting rooms, as his veteran presence will be relied upon heavily as many players are attempting to grasp a new system before the 2022 season kicks off September 3 against Utah.
That acceleration of the process for other Gators players is surely a beneficiary for Napier’s decision to bring Johnson over from UL. That’s especially evident now given the lack of depth as a whole, as it forces the immediate insertion of any ready-now talent into the lineup on both sides of the football.
“Yeah, I help all those guys out trying to learn the playbook,” Johnson said. “It’s a new playbook for them. I just try to help those guys try to learn it and get on the field as fast as possible.”
The expectations for Johnson following the spring game are that he will take over the lead role in a backfield that will utilize heavy rotation.
He currently sits alongside Wright, Lorenzo Lingard and Demarkcus Bowman heading into the summer.
Understanding and trusting that his fair share will come in the system, he enters 2022 confident in the staff’s ability to utilize the position room.
"Napier does a great job of using everyone's skills to the best of their ability and be able to, you know, get everyone incorporated in the offense,” he said. “I think he does a great job of that, and I think we'll do a lot of that during the season."
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