Could Stewart Reese be the Gators' Next Jonathan Greenard?
Less than two weeks removed from losing freshman offensive tackle Issiah Walker to the transfer portal, the Gators have seemingly erased the short term implications of Walker's move in obtaining the services of former Mississippi State lineman Stewart Reese.
Reese, a graduate transfer, is a versatile three-year starter who has seen time at both right tackle and right guard. The 6-5, 345 lb. Fort Pierce (Fla.) native has previous experience under Gators' head coach Dan Mullen and offensive line coach John Hevesy, having been recruited to Mississippi State by Florida's current staff and playing under Hevesy for two years.
The odds are, Reese has a good shot at stepping into a starting role whenever football kicks off, given the coronavirus. Two-year starting center Nick Buchanan graduated following the 2019 season, and there is room for improvement across the remainder of the line.
Although Florida will miss the long-term potential that Walker had to offer, Reese can serve as the offensive line's version of BUCK rush end Jonathan Greenard, in a sense.
Given his familiarity of Mullen and Hevesy's system, Reese should have little issue picking up the playbook regardless of which position he plays. Reese enrolled at guard before moving outside for 26 games, then making a transition back to guard in 2019.
Greenard offered the Gators similar experience having played under defensive coordinator Todd Grantham for two years at Louisville. Of course, after transferring as a graduate student last year, Greenard went on to lead the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss with 10 and 16, respectively.
It is obviously yet to be seen if Reese can offer the same type of impact, but he's shown promise. He allowed a career-best eight quarterback pressures across 222 pass-blocking snaps as a redshirt junior, according to Pro Football Focus, equating to a pressure rate of 3.6%.
That stands ahead of the majority of Florida's starting offensive linemen in 2019, according to PFF. For reference, Reese finishes in front of Richard Gouraige at 3.72%, Stone Forsythe (3.75%), Brett Heggie (4.29%), and Jean Delance (6.02%).
True freshman Ethan White led the pack at 2.52% across 119 pass-blocking snaps. However, the addition of Reese gives Hevesy the option to continue developing White as the sixth offensive lineman until he can cement himself into a starting role in 2021 if he so chooses.
Should Reese continue to find success in pass protection, that should mesh well with the offense Florida ran in 2019 that went through its passing game and quarterback Kyle Trask. Florida's pass protection was solid in 2019, allowing 26 sacks, but there's room for improvement, and Reese can offer that at right guard.
Reese's addition also allows incoming freshmen Joshua Braun, Gerald Mincey, and Richie Leonard IV the chance to develop at a slower pace rather than potentially rush into action. The three, and others such as Michael Tarquin and Kingsley Eguakun, could see occasional playing time but not forced into consistent game pressure this early in their careers.
That much could be seen by Greenard's impact. In the 2019 signing class, Florida obtained the 247Sports Composite's No. 3 weak-side defensive end Khris Bogle and No. 6 outside linebacker Mohamoud Diabate, and neither were forced into bigger roles given Greenard's production, among other veteran pass rushers. The two went onto contribute as they grew accustomed to the speed of the game.
Reese gives Florida multiple options going forward to improve its offensive line play, perhaps best utilized at the right guard position he played in 2019. One avenue the Gators could take would be to move Gouraige outside to left tackle full-time and swing Forsythe to the right side, plug White at left guard, and move Heggie to center as the team's most experienced in-house piece. Reese could also compete with Delance at right tackle head-on.
Either way, Florida appears to have truly rejuvenated its passing game after years of suboptimal play. Reese can help Florida's offense take the next step in that direction while aiding the development of the future of the offensive line.
The situations aren't completely similar as Greenard replaced an NFL-bound pass rusher at the BUCK rush end position, while Reese isn't directly filling in for Walker. But in hindsight, Florida is probably happy that Greenard filled in for Jachai Polite on the defensive line.
It will be fair to ask if they will feel the same way about, essentially, trading Walker for Reese via transfer portal transactions.
