Florida Gators Running Game To Look a Lot Different in 2021

The Florida Gators are in need of a reset. Following three-straight losses to end its season, the program went from having its most successful season in years - and to some, it still was - to a disappointment rather quickly.

While there was certainly plenty to admire about the Gators' offense this year, there was still something missing: A run game.

Throughout the season, Gators head coach Dan Mullen and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson simply downplayed the team's lack of running game. Basically, if the passing game is having so much success, why bother running?

"We'll find a way to run the ball and go do it, you know. Probably slow the game down, ball control, grind it out. But that doesn't really fit the strength of our team right now when we have success throwing it and can matchups all over the field that cause problems for people," Mullen said following the team's victory over Tennessee this season.

"So I think it's a lot about what we want to do. It'd be one thing if ... I didn't look at the numbers, I don't think we were run efficient. That was disappointing."

In the team's 31-19 victory over the Volunteers, the Gators ran the football 17 times for a disappointing 19 rushing yards per game, the lowest total the team posted all season. In five of the team's 12 games this season, the Gators rushed for 100 or less yards.

The highest total would come against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl, a whopping 250 yards.

While the team's loss against the Sooners was one of the worst in its history, particularly in a bowl game, it did illustrate just how well the team can run the football, granted it has the right personnel in play.

Throughout the year, the Gators used redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Trask as its starting quarterback. The returns for that decision were plentiful, to say the least. On the year, Trask threw for an FBS-lead 4,283 yards, 43 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Simply put, the Gators' passing game excelled and Trask was one of the best quarterbacks in the nation.

In the team's contest against the Sooners, however, Trask played poorly on the onset, and didn't play much throughout the contest with the game essentially put away. That would lead to backup quarterback Emory Jones entering the game. With Jones in the game, Florida's running game wold return too.

Jones would go on to run 10 times for 60 yards and a touchdown, while running back Dameon Pierce would equal his total with his own 10 carries for 60 yards on the day. Other Florida running backs such as Malik Davis and Nay'Quan Wright would add to the total, rushing for 31 and 44 yards, respectively.

Behind Jones, freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson, was able to add three runs for 42 yards on the day. Mullen says both quarterbacks allow the team to run the offense much differently than they did with Trask behind center.

"Both Emory and Anthony are very different style quarterbacks than Kyle, which I think, as everybody knows, we always play to the strengths of our players. So we'll run," Mullen said following the game against the Sooners. "There will be a lot of similarities and a lot of differences in our offense next year, but we're going to build around the strengths of those guys."

Building the offense around the signal callers shouldn't come as a surprise, but it should vault the team's offense to potentially new heights next year without some of its playmakers at receiver. The combination will allow the Gators to operate much more efficiently rather than relying on one aspect of the offense.

At tailback, the Gators could look differently too. Former Clemson five-star running back Demarkcus Bowman has reportedly already enrolled at the university and should be granted immediate eligibility to suit up in 2021. He will bring an added element to the Florida backfield to go along with Pierce and Wright as the immediate backups.

With the added element of the run via its quarterback in Jones and more firepower at the running back position, expect the Gators offense to look much different next season, and its running game to be a major part of why it will.