10 realistic predictions for Florida football
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At Florida's annual media day Aug. 5, one of the first things Florida head coach Jim McElwain mentioned was Florida having "15 opportunities to play the game."
"We've got 15 opportunities," McElwain exclaimed. "Let's take advantage of them now to make the 15 a reality."
Obviously, that would entail Florida playing well enough this season to make the SEC championship game and then winning a College Football Playoff game to reach the national championship game. Although the optimistic approach is admirable, that would seem like a long shot for a Gators team in the rebuilding phase.
Florida's secondary is elite, the defensive line is young but very talented, and the unit of linebackers is certainly solid. While there are some exciting prospects at both running back and tight end, the Gators have too many question marks at quarterback, wide receiver and offensive line to instill an enormous amount of confidence into those who aren't die-hard Florida fans heading into the 2015 season.
Still, there are plenty of positive steps Florida can take this year as it flushes out the Will Muschamp era and kicks off McElwain's first season at the helm. Now, Inside the Gators makes 10 reasonable predictions for Florida's upcoming 2015 season.
1. Florida will finish outside of the bottom fourth of the country's 128 FBS teams in total offense.
In the total offense category, Florida was 96th in 2014, 115th in 2013, 104th in 2012 and 105th in 2011. Even with some uncertainty along the offensive line and an unsettled quarterback situation, the Gators could very well finish with a better standing than any of those four seasons thanks to McElwain's offensive acumen and overall better direction on that side of the ball. Finishing in the 70-80 range in that category is a very real possibility if (at least) most of the pieces come together.
2. Junior cornerback Vernon Hargreaves will be a unanimous first-team All-American by season's end.
Last season, Sporting News, ESPN.com and CBSSports.com pegged Hargreaves as a first-team All-American, but the Associated Press, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated and Walter Camp had him as a second-teamer while Phil Steele had him on his third-team defense. Now, Hargreaves looks poised for another strong junior season as once again the anchor of Florida's secondary. McElwain plans to feature Hargreaves on punt returns, and in an interview with Sports Illustrated revealed that he has some offensive packages designed for Hargreaves. McElwain has mentioned doing this to increase Hargreaves' brand -- and that's good news for the Gators.
3. UF's rushing offense will finish in the nation's top half.
Last year's group had Matt Jones, Kelvin Taylor and Mack Brown, finishing 43rd in the nation with 187.67 yards per contest on the ground. The Gators' offensive line doesn't project to be as good this year as it was in 2014, but UF returns Taylor and brings in two very talented freshmen tailbacks in Jordan Scarlett and Jordan Cronkrite. There shouldn't be much of a drop-off in 2015, if really any at all.
4. The Gators' defense will total more sacks this season than it did in any year of the Muschamp era.
For those keeping count, Florida logged 30 in 2014, 19 in 2013, 30 in 2013 and 28 in 2011. Never did the Gators rank in the nation's top fourth in sacks recorded. With a defensive coordinator in Geoff Collins who likes the bring the pressure with an array of exotic blitzes, Florida could see its sack total increase in the pass rush. Although a player like Dante Fowler Jr. who needs to be accounted for on every down is irreplaceable, Florida has options on the edges like Jonathan Bullard, Bryan Cox Jr., Alex McCalister, CeCe Jefferson, Jordan Sherit and Justus Reed who could serve well in this capacity. Anywhere from 32-35 sacks for Florida this year is certainly within the realm of possibility.
5. In his junior season, wide receiver Demarcus Robinson will record at least 1,000 receiving yards and more than the seven touchdowns he notched as a sophomore in 2014.
Despite sometimes-horrendous quarterback play in 2014, Robinson still managed 833 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 58 catches (although 580 of those yards came in four games). With a coach like McElwain that'll look to get Robinson the ball as much as possible, it would be hard to imagine Robinson not having a stronger year statistically than he had in 2014 even with question marks along the O-line and at quarterback.
6. Senior inside linebacker Antonio Morrison will once again lead the Gators in tackles.
Morrison will be active for the season-opener after making a swift return from a serious knee injury he suffered in Florida's bowl game in January. In fall camp, he looked quicker, more mobile and more agile than you'd expect somebody coming back from that type of knee injury would appear. Last season, Morrison logged 101 tackles, a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and three quarterback hurries. If he stays healthy, it would be fair to expect a similar season from the senior.
7. Florida's quarterbacks completed 52.2% of their passes last season. Treon Harris, Will Grier and Co. will log in a better combined percentage than that in 2015.
Jeff Driskel and Harris combined for 2,159 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season, with Harris starting the final six games after Driskel was benched twice. Whoever comes out victorious in the battle is unknown at this point, but the best bet would be to predict that both Harris and Grier by the end of the year combine for a number of yards that falls within that range or eclipses it -- but not by a whole lot more.
8. Florida tight ends Jake McGee, C'yontai Lewis, DeAndre Goolsby and the rest of the players at the position will combine for at least 650 yards.
This group should fare much better than converted defensive ends Clay Burton and Tevin Westbrook did last season when they combined for 237 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. Florida hasn't had a true natural talent available at tight end since Jordan Reed in 2012, and now McGee looks poised to lead the group. McGee, a Virginia transfer, hasn't had more than 400 receiving yards in a single season but could eclipse that in his sixth season of college football. Lewis, a promising redshirt freshman, can also help stretch the field.
9. The Gators secondary will either match or eclipse its interception (16) and passes defended (78) totals from a year ago.
Florida had plenty of talent last year but showed some inexperience on a few busted coverages and miscommunication. Overall, things got better as the year progressed, and now this secondary projects to be one of the strongest in the nation. With Vernon Hargreaves, Brian Poole, Quincy Wilson, Jalen Tabor, Keanu Neal, Marcus Maye and Duke Dawson as its top options, and with Nick Washington, Deiondre Porter and Marcell Harris providing depth, the Gators have a load of ballhawks looking to make big plays on the backend.
10. Florida will win 7-8 games in 2015.
Eight wins would be highly encouraging for a young Florida team heading into a new era, but seven victories seems like the most popular pick. Barring a shocker, Florida should win games against New Mexico State, East Carolina, Vanderbilt and FAU and should also have the edge over Kentucky. The toughest games on the schedule include No. 25 Tennessee, No. 17 Ole Miss, No. 24 Missouri, No. 14 LSU, No. 9 Georgia, South Carolina and No. 10 Florida State. Coming out with two wins out of those seven contests seems like the best pick to go with. If the Gators can come out of September with a 4-0 record, then that would definitely bode well for their prospects this season. If UF drops a contest to either or both Kentucky or Tennessee, then things could get troubling as a Florida with a possibly damaged confidence heads into a difficult October stretch.