How The Absence Of Spring Practice Affects Florida's OL Depth
With coronavirus sweeping through the nation, all spring NCAA events have been either suspended or canceled for the 2020 spring semester, including spring football practices.
For many younger players, spring practice is a way to move up the depth chart, but with the loss of those practices, many things will change for programs nationwide. Luckily for the Gators, they don't have to introduce any new coordinators, so this will not affect Florida as much as it will other programs, such as top SEC programs Georgia and LSU.
But with that being said, players across Florida's roster will be drastically affected, for better or for worse. One position group that deserves to be highlighted amidst the chaos is Florida's offensive line, after a down season from the unit in 2019.
An inverse of this time last year, returning four starters compared to losing four, spring was supposed to provide offensive line coach John Hevesy a chance to further develop his incumbent starters, while allowing young prospects to fight for playing time and starting spots.
So, what now?
Brent Heggie's move to center could be accelerated
Many believe the redshirt senior will make the move from guard to center this offseason, and now Heggie will have to learn a whole new position on the offensive line strictly in summer and fall practice. Now, Heggie enrolled at Florida as a center, though he has spent his time at both guard spots since.
There was serious progress made by Kingsley Eguakun to play center through last year's fall camp, but Heggie has valuable experience playing in the SEC, as Eguakun does not.
Dan Mullen tends to roll with guys who have that experience, which is why Heggie should be taking the starting spot at center next season. Heggie has appeared in 29 games for Florida, including a career-high of 12 last year.
Freshmen reps are halted, leaving two players a bit behind
With the 2020 Florida class bringing in four offensive line signees - Issiah Walker, Joshua Braun, Gerald Mincey, and Richie Leonard IV - the ones on campus will have less of a chance to prove themselves heading into next season. Braun and Leonard were already with the team prior to the cancellations and they participated in the early team workouts, giving them an advantage over Walker and Mincey.
Now, the latter two will have to wait until the summer to get their first reps on the field, which will make the competition even greater. That isn't to say Braun and Leonard have an entire camp under their belt in comparison, but they certainly are a step ahead.
Walker, who also enrolled in spring but didn't take part in Orange Bowl practices, and Mincey will also compete for a starting tackle spot in the summer and fall, as they will try to replace incumbent starters Jean Delance or Stone Forsythe.
Will Ethan White and Richard Gouriage still crack the starting lineup?
Both Ethan White and Richard Gouriage found some starting reps toward the end of last season, and both should find their way into full-time starting roles given how lackluster the offensive line was last season.
White is well known to have lost about 60 lbs. after enrolling at Florida as a three-star lineman weighing nearly 400 lbs. Given his work ethic and ability to learn on the fly, White found playing time given injuries and a lack of depth against Vanderbilt last season, and played well enough to warrant hype entering the spring.
Both could move into a guard spot to replace Heggie and Chris Bleich, who transferred near the end of the season, but Gouriage was productive at tackle last season as well. Regardless of what position he plays at, Gouriage has arguably more momentum than any young lineman at Florida entering the 2020 season, fresh off of 562 offensive snaps in 2019.
