McElwain discusses numerous position changes heading into spring football

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As the Gators saw a number of players graduate or turn pro after the season, especially on the defensive side of the ball, they will head into spring with some faces seeing time at new positions.

Among the most notable Jim McElwain announced Thursday? Senior defensive back Duke Dawson will move full-time to cornerback, while to not much surprise junior offensive guard Martez Ivey will slide outside to offensive tackle.

To add depth to two key positions on defense, redshirt sophomore Richerd Desir-Jones will move from offensive guard to the defensive line and junior Camrin Knight will switch from tight end to linebacker.

Florida enters the 2017 offseason looking to address its depth at cornerback, offensive tackle, defensive tackle and linebacker - after losing cornerbacks Jalen Tabor and Quincy Wilson, offensive tackle David Sharpe, defensive tackle Caleb Brantley, and linebacker Alex Anzalone to the draft, and defensive tackle Joey Ivie and linebacker Jarrad Davis to graduation - so the moves definitely make sense from a numbers standpoint.

Dawson spent much of his first two seasons as a Gator at safety, before receiving the majority of his snaps at nickelback this past season. As a junior, Dawson finished with an interception, a forced fumble and a team-best seven pass breakups. He and safety Marcell Harris announced their intentions this offseason to return to school for their final season.

"I think Duke and Marcell both, man, that's huge for us," McElwain said. "As it was a year ago kind of with Marcus (Maye), you know. It has as much to do with their investment and showing the young guys, this is how we go about it here and this is part of your being part of this legacy. What is their legacy going to be handed down to these young guys. And I think that's really good.

"Obviously his ability to play nickel is only something that is not only going to help us but help him in the future as it did Brian Poole. I think his ability to be able to show all that stuff is going to do nothing more than strengthen our depth, help the Gators get better and help him personally."

Meanwhile, Florida plans to play sophomore defensive back Chauncey Gardner at multiple spots this spring, including cornerback, nickel and safety.

"We'll be able to rotate some things both corner, safety, nickel so we can create some depth in there," McElwain said. "You know, missing in the secondary, just talking about that in general, obviously missing Jeawon Taylor and Quincy (Lenton) hurts. And yet it's an opportunity for some other guys to get a lot of reps so those guys are going to have to have great summers because we're going to count on them as well in that rotation in the back end."

With Sharpe, Ivey will presumably see snaps at left tackle while Jawaan Taylor holds down the right side. McElwain also mentioned Florida needing Fred Johnson and Stone Forsythe to be able to contribute at both tackle spots this spring to build depth there. McElwain added that he expects redshirt freshman Brett Heggie to see time at both center and guard this spring.

Meanwhile, freshman early enrollee Kadeem Telfort could end up contributing in the tackle rotation as well. McElwain said Thursday that Florida plans to start Telfort, a Rivals250 talent, off at offensive tackle.

"We need to develop even more depth at that point. And he's a guy who's obviously very talented," McElwain said. "Now going through Swamp Life, that was the first time he's ever done anything like that as all these guys you mentioned. They come into a program at mid year when they should be running track or whatever. But I'll be interested to see, I think he's a guy that loves to compete and I can see that in the drills that we do this offseason. It'll be fun to see him get in there and battle."

Desir-Jones, who redshirted in 2015 and appeared in just two games as an offensive guard last season, played at defensive tackle for much of his high school career at St. Thomas Aquinas and will help out Florida's numbers at that spot. McElwain added that sophomore Jachai Polite will be capable of contributing at tackle, as well as at defensive end, this season.

“You know, I think he has the ability to do both," McElwain said of Polite. "Obviously we’re a little thin body-type wise. I’m excited Kyree (Campbell) is here, obviously, to help in there. You know, I thin Khairi (Clark) and Taven (Bryan) have really had good offseasons. I’m excited to see where their development is as well as Luke Ancrum inside. But we’ll also continue to use him in some offensive packages as well because of his versatility of being able to play that tight end spot.”

At linebacker, Florida will be extremely thin this spring, especially with David Reese (wrist) out and freshman early enrollee James Houston (torn ACL) non-contact. The Gators, however, add three 2017 signees this summer: Nick Smith, Ventrell Miller and Lacedrick Brunson.

Adding Knight at linebacker - who appeared in 12 games over two seasons primarily on special teams and as a reserve tight end, and who didn't log a catch in two seasons - will be an interesting experiment. If he can grow comfortable at the position, it would certainly help out Florida's numbers down the road at linebacker.

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