Florida Gators Offensive Line Among Top-Five SEC Units Per ESPN
The Florida Gators have needed to address their offensive line over the past few seasons under head coach Dan Mullen.
Last season, the team's rushing numbers were abysmally low, which, as a result, led to the team being a very middling ball-control offense. While the team did a solid job at not turning the ball over, too often drives were cut short due to a lack of run game.
On the year, the Gators ranked 63rd in the nation in time of possession with 30:04 per game, this was good for seventh in the SEC behind Texas A&M, Kentucky, Georgia, Miss State, LSU and Alabama. The team ranked 107th nationally in the run game, a ranking likely caused by the extensive revamp the team underwent due to graduations and struggling play along the offensive line.
This season, however, Florida's offensive line looks to turn the corner. Most recently, ESPN's Cole Cubelic ranked the Gators as the fifth-best offensive line heading into the season behind Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia. Alabama is likely to be one of the best offensive lines in the country, let alone the SEC as they have been in recent history.
The narrative surrounding the Gators offensive line appears to be pointing upwards heading into 2020. This is due to the team's ability to recruit some of the top-tier players in the nation, setting a solid foundation moving forward. Upgrades along the interior of the team's offensive line have continued well into the offseason. Most recently, the Gators signed graduate-transfer offensive lineman Stewart Reese.
The Gators signed Reese just after losing 2020 four-star offensive lineman Issiah Walker to the transfer portal. Walker would go on to sign with the University of Miami.
Including Reese, the Gators are anticipating the development of young players such as true sophomore Ethan White and redshirt sophomore Richard Gouraige. With Reese, White, Gouraige and Brett Heggie all able to play on the interior of the offensive line, the Gators will have serious depth and an interesting decision to make in regards to how they align their starting five.
While both White and Gouraige are still very young, the two held their own and even appeared to excel at times last season. Both Stone Forsythe and Heggie, along with Reese, should allow the Gators to play enough experienced offensive linemen to offset any sophomore slumps.
Overall, the Gators' offensive line looks to play a major role for the Gators this season and should offer substantial improvement under offensive line coach John Hevesy, hoping to create the ideal offensive line.
Gators head coach Dan Mullen spoke about the depth at the offensive line position just prior to what was supposed to be the team's opening spring practice. Mullen explained it is tough to practice without much depth at the offensive line, unable to exercise the appropriate schemes or plays. However, that has soon changed.
"It’s good to have that depth, to be able to practice the right way, get the right repetitions for us," Mullen said in March. "And that’s the important part. If you want to be successful, you’ve got to be successful along both lines of scrimmage, offensive and defensive. To do that, you’ve got to have depth. So it’s good that we’re starting to create depth on the lines of scrimmage.”
The Gators offensive line looks interesting and it wouldn't be surprising if they're the most improved unit on the team in 2020, especially considering the low bar they set for themselves last year still attempting to get used to the new faces among the unit.
