On Tuesday night, we saw another Gator announce his departure from the program as Florida redshirt junior center Cameron Dillard tweeted that he would be leaving the Florida football program to pursue a graduate transfer.
In Dillard, the Gators lose a serviceable, experienced member of the offensive line who has started 19 games in the past two years. Although the 6-foot-4, 313-pound Dillard wasn’t the most athletic or strong center during his time at Florida, he was an effective communicator who did a good job of handling his assignments.
Paired with the departure of junior left tackle David Sharpe to the draft, Florida’s O-line now has lost two of its most experienced contributors heading into the 2017 season.
However, Florida should be fine at the center position moving forward without Dillard.
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After suffering a knee injury at Arkansas, Dillard was sidelined for the final five games of the year while redshirt freshman T.J. McCoy took over as the starting center. As a first-stringer, McCoy pieced together some impressive performances and gave Florida a nice boost up front in the run game.
Now, Dillard’s transfer opens up an opportunity for McCoy to serve as Florida’s starting center throughout offseason workouts and practices while gaining some valuable reps with the 1’s.
Although Tyler Jordan is expected to see most of his reps at one of the guard spots entering his junior season, he has proven capable of serving in a backup role at center for the Gators.
Dillard’s departure creates an opportunity for 2016 signee Brett Heggie to see more playing time. The Florida coaching staff is high on what Heggie, who redshirted in 2016, could bring to the table - and there’s a chance he could crack the rotation next season as a backup at center.
With Dillard gone, Florida will need some of its other offensive linemen on the roster to step into leadership roles. A couple of good upperclassman candidates? Antonio Riles and a quartet of third-year Gators: Martez Ivey, Jordan, Fred Johnson and McCoy.
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