Two Gators Assistants Regarded as 'Rising Stars' by Anonymous Coaches

Many will point to Dan Mullen as the key to the Florida Gators success, however the assistant coaches have begun to receive similar praise for their work.

Although Gators head coach Dan Mullen deserves plenty of praise for the success the gators have had over the past two seasons, the team's assistant coaches are certainly entitled to similar acclaim.

In an article written by AL.com's Matt Zenitz, the Alabama writer surveyed more than 20 coaches and "high-ranking" officials around college football, which included five head coaches in an effort to find the rising-star assistant coaches in the SEC who are under 40 years of age.

For the Gators, two assistant coaches were brought up by enough of their peers to earn consideration as a rising star.

The two coaches included Gators linebackers coach Christian Robinson and quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson, two coaches who are highly regarded by not only Gators fans, but plenty around the nation as they've risen through the ranks at young ages.

Robinson certainly deserves the praise. As a recruiter and a coach, he has risen the bar for Florida linebackers over the years, including several rising stars such as James Houston IV - who backed up now-Carolina Panthers linebacker David Reese II last season at middle linebacker -, Ventrell Miller, Amari Burney, Mohamoud Diabate, who plays multiple positions on the Gators' defense, including linebacker.

"Robinson came up a lot throughout the course of gathering feedback for this project," Al.com's Matt Zenitz writes. "A former starting linebacker for Georgia, the 30-year-old Robinson played for Todd Grantham with the Bulldogs, served as a graduate assistant with Grantham at Mississippi State in 2017 and was then hired as the linebackers coach at Florida in 2018 after Grantham became the Gators’ defensive coordinator."

Over the past two recruiting classes, Robinson has landed commitments from several high-profile players including four-star linebackers Derek Wingo (2020), Jahari Rogers (2020), Ty'Ron Hopper (2019), Diwun Black (JUCO, 2021) and Jaquavion Fraziars (2020). The Gators are also in pursuit of other high-profile linebackers from this year's recruiting class, including top prospects Smael Mondon and Xavian Sorey.

As for Johnson, he began his collegiate career in 2004 as a backup quarterback to former Utah quarterback Alex Smith, who eventually would go No. 1 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. The Gators quarterbacks coach spent only one season at Utah with Dan Mullen, however, he would eventually be hired by Mullen following his playing career, joining head coach at Mississippi State as the team's quarterback coach.

"The former Utah starting quarterback has continued to build a reputation as one of the top young offensive coaches and quarterback developers in the country," Zenitz writes. "The 33-year old Johnson, who has been an offensive coordinator at Utah and Houston, coached Dak Prescott at Mississippi State and deserves credit for some of his latest work with current Florida starter Kyle Trask."

credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Johnson has been one of the most important coaches for the Gators over the past two seasons, helping develop not only Trask but also redshirt sophomore quarterback Emory Jones. Last season, Trask was thrust into the team's starting lineup after an injury at the position early into the season. Trask had not started a game since his freshman year in high school at the time.

Nevertheless, Johnson and Mullen were able to help Trask become more than prepared as the then-redshirt junior quarterback threw for 2,775 yards and 25 touchdowns, leading the Gators to a second-straight New Years Six Bowl game victory. 

Johnson is now in charge of preparing 2020 freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson, who looks to eventually become the team's starting quarterback down the line.

Private quarterbacks coach Denny Thompson recently spoke highly of Johnson in a phone interview with Sports Illustrated - AllGators, noting that his work with Richardson will be of the utmost importance over the next four years. 

"Brian Johnson doesn't get enough credit," said Thompson."Dan Mullen gets a lot of credit, and rightfully so ... Brian Johnson is an elite developer of quarterbacks. So having him for four years and having early enrolled, I can't wait to see what they do together."

Having such an elite developer at the team's most important position will pay dividends for the Gators moving forward.

For the Gators moving forward, having two of the most-promising assistant coaches on their roster comes with positives and negatives. For the coaches, they'll continue to develop the players in a way that will pay dividends for the on-field talent, however as they grow in popularity and success, their chances of being retained will likely be lessened.