Gators Territory is breaking down the Florida Gators depth chart heading into 2021 spring football camp. Today we turn our attention to the running backs. Florida used a rotation of three backs in 2020 who all return in 2021. The Gators also added a former five-star recruit in Demarckus Bowman through the transfer portal.

Past Depth Chart breakdowns

Quarterbacks

Jr* —Dameon Pierce

R-Jr* — Malik Davis

R-So. — Lorenzo Lingard

R-Fr* — Nay’Quan Wright

Fr* — Demacrkus Bowman

Pierce emerged as the Gators starter and go-to guy in 2020. The Georgia native played in all 12 games and made 10 starts. He led the Gators in carries, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns. However, and Florida's offense leaned more and more pass-heavy, Pierce's usage went down. Florida is expected to be more of a rushing focused team in 2021. Pierce is far and away the most experienced of the running backs but he's going to have to fend off four other guys to earn his reps this season.

Davis is in an intriguing position. He was the leading pass catcher in the running back room last year and he should see that production and usage continue to evolve. Davis has shown how much a threat he can be as a receiver, maybe he's a guy that Florida can look to use more in the passing game, in the slot? The running back room is loaded, but Davis has already shown to have a hand up in the passing game.

Lingard came to Florida from Miami but struggled to get a footing as the fourth running back on the depth chart. Lingard dealt with an injury early on after getting to Florida, which set him behind in terms of getting reps and learning the offense. He never really made an impact in a game but is another really talented back in Florida's stable.

The redshirt freshman made the most of his limited opportunities in 2020. Wright scored his first career touchdown on a pass in the season opener and his first rushing touchdown against Texas A&M. Wright shows really good instincts when running the ball and he's also a guy that can catch passes out of the backfield as well. Wright might be the complete version of Pierce and Davis, a more well-rounded back that could vie for the starting role in 2021.

Easily the most anticipated player on the roster, Bowman was one of the most coveted recruits in the 2020 class. Florida had a shot but Bowman elected to go to Clemson. Bowman told Tiger Net that after his grandfather passed away in 2020 he felt the need to move closer to home. That led Bowman to transfer to Florida, where he joins a deep running back room.

Bowman wasn't utilized much for Clemson but his reputation at Lakeland precedes him. Bowman rushed for 5,081 yards and 71 touchdowns in three years as the Dreadnaught's starter.

As the new guy in the room Bowman will likely start behind the other four backs but he will be given every opportunity to earn his reps when spring camp starts. Florida seriously lacked a breakaway kind of runner in 2020 and Bowman could bring that to the roster in 2021.