Florida Gators Football: 2023 spring game schedule, storylines to follow

Year 2 of the Billy Napier experience gets an official kickoff of sorts on Thursday as the Florida Gators wrap up spring football practice with its spring football game.

Thursday night's game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium gives fans a more up-close look at how Napier and his coaches have been forging the Gators' roster.

Florida signed a top-15 recruiting class nationally this offseason, part of a major overhaul on the team that included the addition of over 30 new players, with almost two dozen freshmen and 10 transfer portal pickups for the Gators to build from and improve from Napier's disappointing 6-7 debut last season.

What should you be watching for as Florida takes the field this spring?

How to watch the 2023 Florida Gators spring football game

When: Thurs., April 13

Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern

Where: SEC Network +

Florida Spring Football Game Storylines

1. Re-tooling the offensive line: Florida lost four of its five starters on the front line this offseason, including stud guard O'Cyrus Torrence, a likely first-round draft pick. OL was a position of relative strength for the Gators a year ago, but just returns its starting center in Kingsley Eguakun.

Transfer names to watch include tackle Damieon George (from Alabama), tackle Kiyaunta Goodwin (from Kentucky), and Micah Mazzccua, who turned heads when he tweeted (and then deleted) his intention to transfer out. The guard is still listed on the UF roster and has earned rave reviews from coaches. His presence could be stabilizing for a unit that needs to develop continuity.

2. Getting aggressive on defense: Florida needs to get tougher in the front seven when it comes to generating pressure on the quarterback and limiting conversions. Austin Armstrong steps in as co-coordinator alongside Sean Spencer with a solid track record at Southern Miss in both of those crucial phases.

The Gators posted the SEC's worst third-down defense last season and was one of three teams in the conference to allow over 400 yards per game. Armstrong's defenses allowed under 38 percent third-down conversions the last two seasons and they blitzed the quarterback almost 40 percent of the time and was top-five in sacks per game.

3. Making the choice at QB: With the departure of Anthony Richardson to the NFL, the Gators are in the market for a replacement, with the choice falling between two transfers: Graham Mertz from Wisconsin and second-year Jack Miller from Ohio State. Miller started the 30-3 bowl game loss while Mertz brings by far the most experience, if also some stats that don't jump off the page.

He has over 5,000 career passing yards to go with 38 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. Florida hopes that by giving him more athletic options at receiver and a better line to work behind that Mertz will finally show off his potential. Whoever is under center, the Gators need to see some decisive play at quarterback.