When it comes to coaching “alpha dogs," Dan Mullen is certainly familiar with handling those types of personalities.

In fact, Dak Prescott, Tim Tebow, Major Wright, as well as the Pouncey Brothers, are just some of the ones Mullen had plenty of experience with in previous years.

Leadership in the locker room has been an issue at Florida since the end of former head coach Jim McElwain tenure, and now, Mullen says he is waiting for someone to take the reigns.

“We have a bunch who really could—we potentially have some,” said Mullen about players stepping up. “None that are at the level of being, the ones; we don’t have a Fletcher Cox or a Dak Prescott or Pouncey brothers.”

Mullen also expressed that he can tell the difference between the real and fake leaders.

“Phony guys are hard…if we’re all phony, the problem when you have phony alpha dog type people, eventually you’re gonna get exposed,” explained Mullen. “The difference goes to guys that are trying and then guys that are phony and trying to sort those two, which, that can be a very fine line that you’re looking at like right (hands together) there, like I’m trying yes but that was kinda phony. That’s the fine line that you always have to manage.”

The one player that every team looks at as the leader of the team is the quarterback, and Gators redshirt junior Feleipe Franks is one leader that will have the ability to show his alpha dog status during his second season in Dan Mullen’s offense.

Without having much leadership at the position since the Tim Tebow era, Florida is longing for the Tebow’s, Spikes, and Jarrad Davis type of leaders to come to fruition.

“I think we got a bunch of people who are alpha dogs,” explains Franks about leadership on the roster. “I think you can’t narrow it down to just one. Like I said, there are different types of alpha dogs. There are people who talk and they go out there. And there’s lots of people who just do it with their actions.

"Like maybe Josh [Hammond]; he’s not very talkative, but he shows you with his actions. He does everything right. But there’s also more vocal guys like Freddie [Swain]. Just different people on the team have different types of leadership. And you can be an alpha dog in different kinds of ways."

To Franks, there are many aspects that stand out as that type of leader. When asked about the defensive side of the ball, C.J. Henderson’s name was brought up as an alpha dog due to his ability on the field, even though he is not known as a vocal person, but also noted that there are a lot of vocal players along the defense that could help provide a boost.

For the Gators, with players leading by example and vocally, there’s at least a recipe for finding the right person to lead the team. One word that sticks out when describing a leader is dedication, and Franks believes that is a main component in having the leadership that is needed in a locker room.

“You’re doing things right. You’re dependable and accountable to your teammates. Somebody that when something is not up to speed or how the Gator Standard should be, you get it back on that pace,” says Franks about leading like an alpha dog. “When somebody’s goofing off and not helping us to get better, you go tell them ‘you need to straighten up right here.’

"It’s not very hard to distinguish those kinds of guys. You’ll see them out there. When something’s not going right they get it back on track. I think that’s what it means when he says alpha dog. Not just someone that talks about it and says get it right and then goes and does it wrong themselves. You have to do it right all the time as well, in the classroom, football all those kinds of things. I think that’s what it means to be a leader in general. An alpha dog.”

Stay tuned to GatorsTerritory.