10 storylines to follow as Gators kick off spring practices

Published Mar 9, 2016

Fernando Juncadella

Intern

With Florida set to begin its spring practices today, Inside the Gators takes a look at 10 storylines worth following this spring as Jim McElwain enters his second season as UF's head coach.

1. Which quarterback will hold the edge in the race by the end of the spring?

Like 2015, the Gators have a quarterback battle that will ensue in the spring. This year, the race is going to be much wider. Early on, the odd on favorite to take reps with the first-team offense is Luke Del Rio. Del Rio, Now in his third school of his collegiate career after playing at Alabama in 2013 and Oregon State in 2014, Del Rio wasn't eligible to play for the Gators last year per NCAA transfer rules but is the most experienced under McElwain’s system. All three of his competitors are in their first year with the Gators: Purdue graduate transfer Austin Appleby and freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask.

2. Which wide receivers will step up this spring with Antonio Callaway and Treon Harris suspended and Brandon Powell (offseason foot surgery) sidelined?

Missing Callaway will hurt the progression of the offense in the spring, but it gives the younger receivers a chance to shine - and a chance for some of UF's veteran wideouts in Ahmad Fulwood, Chris Thompson, C.J. Worton and Alvin Bailey to prove their worth after disappointing up to this point in their respective college careers. Three new faces will display their talents this spring in Freddie Swain, Josh Hammond, and Dre Massey, and the trio will be counted on plenty early.

3. How much will UF's 12 early enrollees progress this spring?

Plenty of Florida fans hoped for a stronger finish by their team on National Signing Day last month, but there is no denying that McElwain has one of the best crops of 2016 early enrollees in the nation. The big names have been tossed around a good amount for the past two months, such as quarterback Feleipe Franks, kicker Eddy Pineiro and cornerback Chauncey Gardner. Some guys that have not been talked about as much could make an impact as well, including running back Mark Thompson, wide receiver Dre Massey and linebacker David Reese.

4. How will the running back competition play out?

With Kelvin Taylor heading to the NFL, a big offensive void needs to be filled after Taylor rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 2015. The pair of Jordans - Jordan Scarlett and Jordan Cronkrite - will be competing for the most carries with the first team this spring. Still, they need to keep an eye out for Thompson, the highly touted junior college transfer out of Dodge City (Kansas) Community College.

5. Will the Gators' pass rush hold up despite a few key losses?

Losing Jonathan Bullard and Alex McCalister to the draft doesn’t help the Gators’ pass rush one bit. Luckily for Florida, CeCe Jefferson proved what he could do in several games last year, and he is trending up as he enters his sophomore year. Guys like Caleb Brantley, Joey Ivie, Bryan Cox Jr. and Jordan Sherit return and will play key roles in 2016. How defensive ends Keivonnis Davis, Jabari Zuniga and Justus Reed progress will certainly be worth watching.

6. Does Florida have its answer at kicker in Pineiro?

Pineiro is the kicker the Gators hope will cure all their special teams blunders. Based on his Twitter and Snapchat videos, the junior college transfer looks like he is going to be kicking it way over the armpits of his opponents - something Austin Hardin notoriously struggled with a year ago. Still, Pineiro enters the collegiate level without much live-game experience. The closest simulation to a live game won’t come until team scrimmages and the Spring Game in April. He'll have plenty of opportunities to prove himself though, with Neil MacInnes (torn ACL) and Jorge Powell (knee) among those sidelined this spring.

7. Will the offensive line considerably improve in 2016?

McElwain admitted Tuesday that he's pleased with UF's numbers at the position - although he's looking for improvement out of the group after its shaky 2015 season. Florida enters the spring with 13 healthy scholarship linemen - Martez Ivey (shoulder) will miss the spring after undergoing offseason surgery - but that's considerably more available linemen than the six on scholarship UF had at its disposal just a year ago.

8. Can linebacker Alex Anzalone, who will participate this spring in a non-contact capacity, stay healthy this year?

In 2013, Alex Anzalone managed to play in 10 games on special teams and as a backup linebacker will several injuries. He played in all 12 games in 2014 as part of the linebacker rotation and became a starter in 2015. Anzalone looked to be a force to be reckoned with in the 2015 opener but then suffering his season-ending shoulder injury in the second game against East Carolina. It helps the Gators for getting Jarrad Davis back for one more year, but for the defense to be elite it needs Anzalone to perform at a high level. His progress will be worth monitoring this spring.

9. Can Florida's secondary maintain "DBU" status?

Pretty much everybody expected that Vernon Hargreaves III would declare early for the NFL Draft after his junior year, but not many anticipated that Jalen Tabor would outperform his All-American counterpart over the course of the 2015 season. In 2016, Tabor and Marcus Maye look to continue the "DBU" tradition along with Quincy Wilson, Duke Dawson, Nick Washington, Marcell Harris and newcomer Chauncey Gardner, among others. How Florida defensive backs coach Torrian Gray meshes with the group will surely be interesting to follow.

10. Can the Florida defense stay elite?

The numbers currently aren't the most ideal at linebacker and in the secondary, but if Florida's defense can stay for the most part healthy this offseason and in 2016, the Gators should field an elite defense once again this year. Having Maye and Jarrad Davis return for their senior years helps a ton. Some of the younger talents who answered the bell last year, like Jefferson, Tabor and Brantley, will now have much bigger roles on the team this year. If some of the freshmen like Gardner and Reese adjust well and play to their potential, great things are in this unit’s future.

Inside the Gators senior writer Landon Watnick contributed to this report.

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