GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Dan Mullen described Saturday's spring game as a 'festival' of sorts.

"A lot of fun things just around the game itself with the Gator Walk, the food trucks, a cookoff contest going on out there, the band’s playing, so a lot of fun activities," said Mullen. "I know baseball is playing, tennis, lacrosse, so a lot of great fun activities.

"The game is part of the festivities more than there's festivities that surround the game" added Mullen. "The game is part of all the festivities. We try to have some fun with it too. Guess what? We're going to win."

Florida football will not be in danger of losing this weekend, however, it will have the opportunity to win a few inner battles.

The game is the last chance for Gator Nation to see Mullen's side suited up and competing until the fall. It will be the fans' first chance to: see the team in live scrimmage action; see some of the position battles first hand; and to see how the younger athletes have developed.

“Just to see if we’re taking the things from the meeting room and executing them on the practice field," cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray said about the expectations for Saturday. "It’s been a long Spring with a lot of young guys. There’s some guys who may not have played as much, so we’re trying to get them to play the technique, play fast, physical and aggressive, the way we want them, and play to their level, and push them a little bit above that. So I just want to see if they can continue to grasp what we want them to do, and execute.”

Several Florida players, like the early enrollees, have never played in a crowd or an environment quite like the Swamp.

"At the end of the day, games like this are kind of like preseason games from the standpoint of you’ve really got to look at the individual play of guys and how they play," Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. "Because the way you mix and match things it may not be the guys you’re necessarily going to go into the game with all the time, but here are the pieces. And then once we come together, we’re going to put the pieces together. So the biggest thing to me is guys are giving effort, guys are showing improvement. And really play to your ability and showcase your talents to allow us to evaluate you and to find out what kind of role you can have on our team.”

Evaluate.

Florida will be evaluating as the staff look to answer a few key questions about their team on Saturday.

Here are our five things to watch:

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1. The offensive line

This is a no brainer. The offensive line has had the most turnover this offseason and it will be the group under the microscope on Saturday. The big question with the unit will surround the second team.

The first team, although still lacking the game experience from last season, still has a few players that have seen the field. However, there is a potential drop off between the first and second team line and there lies the problem. One or two injuries on the line can hurt the Florida offense if the second team line does not bridge that gap.

2. Quarterback Progression

Dan Mullen is known for developing quarterbacks. So although there is no quarterback controversy or even question in Gainesville, allowing Feleipe Franks, Emory Jones, Kyle Trask and Jalon Jones to experience live game action is huge.

We have seen the progress already from Franks, but it will be nice to see Emory Jones in a more pressure environment. This is the Peach State's native second season, spring and he could very well cement himself as the No. 2 guy behind Franks this year.

3. New (ish) Kids on the Block

As mentioned above, this is an opportunity to see not only the early enrollees in action for the first time but also some of the younger Gators, who could very well have bigger roles this season or have simply done enough to factor in more into the rotation.

It will be a glimpse into the future.

Names to watch on offense: OL Michael Tarquin, OL Chris Bleich, OL Richard Gouraige, Center Kingsley Eguakun, OL William Harrod, WR Rick Wells, and TE Kemore Gamble

Names to watch on defense: CB Chris Steele, DE Zach Carter, DE Andrew Chatfield, LB Ventrell Miller, DB John Huggins, and DE Mohamoud Diabate

4. Replacing Jachai Polite and CeCe Jefferson

11 sacks.

Florida is trying to replace a player that amassed 11 sacks in 2018, while also replacing a leader in Jefferson. The good news is the Gators have a lot of talent on that defensive line.

They have a wealth of experience in both Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga. Zuniga is expected to line up on the edge, while Greenard will be an edge usher.

Meanwhile, UF has some young talented athletes waiting to make their contributions. During the offseason, the Gators added early enrollee Mohamoud Diabate and moved the young David Reese to Buck. But the likes of Andrew Chatfield and Zach Carter could very well be on the verge of contributing more this season. Both defensive linemen have had a productive few weeks and have each received praise from the staff.

5. The Versatile Athletes

Mullen and company love recruiting versatile athletes and on Saturday, they will be able to showcase a few of those athletes to Gator Nation.

On defense, Carter has seen time at the end and at three-tech, while Amari Burney has moved to linebacker for the foreseeable future, while both Trey Dean and John Huggins are now 1,2 respectively at STAR.

Offensively, Kyle Pitts is the mismatch nightmare the staff will love to use more this year. Pitts, who was recruited as a tight end, has split his time at both receiver and tight end and will be one playmaker to watch this weekend.