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GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Dameon Pierce. Lorenzo Lingard.
As Florida football kicks off spring practice next week, many point to these two as natural replacements for Lamical Perine.
Perine was a staple in the backfield for the Gators for four years and it's only natural that Dan Mullen and company will miss his versatility on the field.
“I think one of the things you do is you look and make sure you play to the strengths,” Mullen said about moving on from Perine with the Florida backs currently on the roster. “One of the things that Lamical did an unbelievable job was… I mean he was a great mismatch in the pass game. He was such a dynamic receiver. I think that’s something that as you see him now moving forward that I think a lot of people at the next level in the NFL are so excited about is his versatility as a running back. And his versatility of not just running the ball between the tackles, but his versatility being in the slot or flexed out or creating matchup problems across the board.
“Our guys might not have that type of receiver skill, but then my job is to make sure we put them in a position to do what they can do well.”
Pierce was second behind Perine last season and has rushed for 729 yards and six touchdowns in the last two seasons. Although there is no question that the Georgia native is one to watch in the spring, Mullen is pointing to another running back as a player that could be on the verge of something big.
"I’m excited to see Malik [Davis] and hopefully getting Malik 100% back," said Mullen on Monday. "I think coming off of the injury, the injuries he’s had, I don’t know if he played at 100%. Not that he wasn’t 100% healthy, but 100% even in his mental health with confidence being out there on the field last year. So it will be exciting to get him being confident and if he’s confident being ready to go."
Davis made quite the entry his freshman season, running for for 526 yards and three touchdowns in just seven games - averaging 6.7 yards per carry. His season, however, ended with a knee injury against Georgia.
Then Davis broke his foot during his second year in Gainesville and never found a rhythm in 2019.
"I think he brings something different obviously with Dameon and Iverson [Clement] back that we’ve seen," said Mullen. "We’ll see what Lorenzo can do as a new guy. What we’ve got to do is evaluate all their strengths and make sure we’re putting them in a position to be successful.”
In addition to Pierce, Davis, Lingard and Clement, the Gators will also have Nay'Quan Wright on campus this spring.
“You look at the backs coming back, I’m excited to see we have a couple of new faces that will be in there,” Mullen said. “But the guys that are coming back, you have a decent idea of what their strengths and skill sets are.
