Trautwein Working Through the Puzzle of Gators' Starter-less OL Room: 'We Need Guys to Step Up'

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Phil Trautwein made one thing clear last week when discussing the Florida Gators' offensive line room: he does not know who the starting offensive line will be

"I don't know who the starting five are. I don't know who it is," he said. "I promise you I don't, and I'm not gonna say it even if I did. But I don't."

18 years since he starred for the Gators as a tackle, winning two BCS titles from 2004-08, Trautwein is back to rebuild an inconsistent Florida offensive line. While Florida returns some experience, has transfers familiar with the coaching and the offensive system and plenty of young talent providing depth, Trautwein wants to see more before he figures out the depth chart.

So much so that he said there are not any starters right now. In fact, there is not even a rotation.

"If I only could play give guys, I'm only playing five. If I could play six, I'll play six, on and on and on. If I could play all 20, I will -- if they're all ready," he said. "But that's going to be up to them and me and coaching them and making sure that they're preparing the right way, they're doing the right things off the field, so that they're ready to go. It’s going to be a competition."

That's not to say that Florida is lacking depth or does not have options.

Guard Knijeah Harris returns for his senior season as the most senior member of the room, starting every game at left guard over the last two seasons. Tackle Caden Jones, who emerged on the right-side last year, is back and working at left tackle. Bryce Lovett, Florida's right tackle before being replaced by Jones, has moved inside the guard.

Then, there's the returning depth of Jason Zandamela-Popa at center, Roderick Kearney at guard and TJ Dice Jr. and Fletcher Westphal, once healthy, at tackle to go with transfers TJ Shanahan Jr. at guard, Eagan Boyer at tackle, Harrison Moore at center and Emeka Ugorji, whom Trautwein praised for his maturity and drive after a tough freshman season at Stanford.

#Gators newcomers TJ Shanahan Jr. and Harrison Moore pic.twitter.com/ksqj3WsI85
— Cam Parker (@camparker25) March 10, 2026

It also helps that a bulk of the group is cross-training at other positions to help build depth and give Trautwein options. Jones, as stated, has experience at right tackle but has been working on the left side. Lovett, Trautwein said, still needs to be able to be the team's third or fourth tackle. Harris, meanwhile, takes snaps at center every day, while Moore may experiment at guard sometime down the line.

So, the puzzle pieces are there. Now it's time to put them in the right spots.

Trautwein said one of his main focuses during the first half of spring camp is to get everybody as many reps as possible with each other to build chemistry while also figuring out his best lineup possible.

"I love puzzles, so it's always trying to make the best puzzle piece and make sure, again, I have the best five," he explained. "So if it was practice and someone took all right guard but also know he needs to play some left guard or he was next to somebody the whole game or the whole practice at right tackle, like they were next to each other, the right guard, right tackle, I'll move a new right tackle next to them because the teams don't really matter."

While the team is far from ready to play a game, Trautwein said a few have begun to stand out.

Zandamela-Popa, a former five-star who transferred to Florida in 2024, is standing out at center and "has the ability to play in the NFL one day." Dice Jr., despite not playing a single snap last season and his smaller stature at 6-foot-3 and 292 pounds, is emerging at right tackle due to his "athleticism and length."

#Gators OL Jason Zandamela-Popa pic.twitter.com/PTrlUNDDOI
— Cam Parker (@camparker25) March 10, 2026

Jones, while getting comfortable at left tackle, and Harris are taking the opportunity to emerge as leaders after learning behind Jake Slaughter and Austin Barber over the last three years.

"Being a leader on the offensive line was kind of helping me step out of my comfort zone," Jones said. "... just being more vocal, telling the guys that we’ve got to pick it up in practice and stuff like that, I feel like that’s a big change for me because I’ve never really had to do that."

Florida may have its deepest offensive line room in years. With the last two weeks of spring camp coming up, it is time for guys to take another step up.

"We need guys to step up. Just because they were a starter last year does not mean they're a starter this year. That's kind of my mindset," Trautwein said. "I'm gonna do everything I can for the University of Florida and to build this offensive line."