In Dan Mullen’s kitchen, everybody eats.
The Gators’ offense set a new standard last Saturday against Ole Miss, totaling 642 yards and getting the ball into the hands of 11 different receivers and running backs. Despite losing starters at both positions in 2019, UF still boasts a number of weapons for quarterback Kyle Trask.
“Very deep. In my opinion, probably just as deep as last year,” wide receiver Trevon Grimes said of Florida’s offense. “The wide receiver group we had last year was phenomenal, a very amazing group of guys. And this year I think we’ve picked up the pieces and we’re in the same boat.
“Then if you want to go to the running back room, Malik Davis and all those running backs are phenomenal. It’s kind of like, you have to pick your poison. Who do you want to try to double-cover or what do you want to do? Either way, you can’t guard everybody on the field at the same time.”
A lot of the credit for spreading the ball around goes to Trask, who posted career highs in passing yards (416) and passing touchdowns (six) against the Rebels. His position coach and offensive coordinator, Brian Johnson, praised him in training camp for how he manages the offense and understands where to go with his reads.
“The quarterback does a great job of distributing the ball and understanding that coverage dictates who gets it,” Johnson said of Trask. “In our offense we got a lot of guys that can hurt you every time that they touch the ball, so it was good to see us spread the ball around like that.”
Trask added, “We’ve always had this explosive ability, especially with all the weapons we have. If you double one person, you’ll have a mismatch somewhere else on the field. Then it’s up to us on whether or not we can find the mismatch and that’s what we try to focus on, being able to move the ball down the field.
“Our entire receiver unit did a great job in just executing their routes and making the right decisions versus certain coverages. It showed Saturday how successful we can be when the offense is clicking altogether.”
In addition to setting a new school record for total yards against an SEC opponent, the Gators finished with the most passing yards (446) since Tim Tebow’s final game in the Sugar Bowl and scored 50-plus points in a league game for just the second time under Dan Mullen.
Florida’s third-year coach was asked if his offense has a chance to be explosive this season.
“We were on Saturday. We’ll see how we do this Saturday. I don’t know,” Mullen said. “I just want to see us get better from week to week. Do we have components? Yes, because we have explosive players in the offense.
“We have guys that are explosive players, so when you have those guys that can make big plays happen, it gives you the opportunity to have a much more explosive offense. I think it certainly has the potential to be from week to week.”
Tight end Kyle Pitts led the way with a career-high performance in the opener, hauling in eighth receptions for 170 yards and four touchdowns. He’s been the focal point of Florida’s passing game since last season and has caused matchup issues for just about every opponent.
When defenses try to double-team Pitts and take him out of the game, Grimes believes his receiving corps will make them pay.
“It’s a very scary offense,” Grimes said. “We have guys like Kadarius Toney, Jacob Copeland and then the young guys we have. We got a lot of young guys that are phenomenal, phenomenal young guys.
“Xzavier Henderson, [Ja’Quavion] Fraziars, Ja’Markis Weston, we have a very deep wide receiving group. I’m looking forward to this year and what we can do together. There’s more to come. A lot more to come.”
