14 in 14: Florida
Florida is in a strong position as a program, but a few cracks are evident.
By: Bossman Slim
Welcome to the first of our weekly offseason series, 14-in-14. As we mentioned in the 14-in-14 East and West kickoffs, we’ll do a deep dive into all 14 SEC programs each Tuesday for the next 14 weeks. This week got a little backed up due to the B&S crew dealing with the winter storm in Texas, which knocked out power and water for much of the week. No power, no wifi to upload blogs and tweet dank memes. But we’re still getting the job done, just a little tardy - next week we’ll resume our Tuesday schedule.
This 14-in-14 series will serve as a “State of the Program” much like the “State of the Union,” except you’ll actually want to pay attention to this instead of falling asleep mid-speech. In each 14-in-14, we’ll rank each program’s current state out of a dozen biscuits. Here’s how the rating system will work:
1 biscuit: Vanderbilt; so damn dry it falls apart like you were a soldier in the Civil War eating hardtack, and it tastes like the dirt in grandma’s compost pile.
2 biscuits: It cannot get much worse; like a biscuit from a restaurant in the northeast, a true fraud.
3 biscuits: perennial bottom tier; burned nearly beyond recognition and better used as a hockey puck, sorrey!
4 biscuits: There’s not many worse than us...we’ve got a long way to go; Your third cousin sent some mix in the mail and you bake them, eat half of one, and throw it out.
5 biscuits: pretty dang burnt, but you can cut the top off and eat it like a silver lining. There’s a little hope.
6 biscuits: Right in the middle, there’s some hope, but it’s mostly bland; They look right, but they don’t taste like much.
7 biscuits: Ascending...the program has hope and momentum and has a shot to take a step up; There’s not much fast food around, so Burger King will have to do. It strives for the best, and with a few tweaks, it can be competing with the best.
8 biscuits: Nipping at the heels of the elite; McDonald’s did a damn good job this morning.
9 biscuits: Dark horse to win the conference; Pillsbury Golden Flaky layers. Very good, and with a few more layers would be elite.
10 biscuits: Top tier and feeling good. It won’t take much to take an SEC division title or the whole conference. This is Chick-Fil-A, it’s Saturday, and the minis are poppin’.
11 biscuits: Elite. Flip between one and two in your division each year and you aren’t going anywhere. You’re here to stay, like Hardee’s biscuits. Or Popeye’s. Or Bojangles.
12 biscuits: It doesn’t get any better than this...you’re a perennial power occupying rare air; It’s Christmas morning and Grandma just made her 100-year-old family recipe, and there are bacon and eggs, butter and jam. Choose your fighter.
Now, some other outlier factors could knock your team down a biscuit, as we’ll see in today’s 14-in-14. Make sense? We may tweak it, but that’s the system we’re working with.
With that...let’s dig into our first program: Dan Mullen’s Florida Gators.
State of the Program is...Strong (with some slight cracks): 10/12 biscuits
Photo: Randy Sartin, USA TODAY Sports
When you look at the overall health of the Florida program, it’s not hard to see that the Gators are in a great spot, among the elite. Dan Mullen has the Gators back and rolling after the quick and surprising decline during the Jim McElwain era. Recruiting is strong (particularly when you account for the Gators pillaging of the transfer portal), they’re coming off their first SEC East title since 2016, and just had a Heisman finalist who placed 3rd. While the Gators are losing a ton of offensive production as Kyle Trask, Kyle Pitts, and Kadarius Toney all head to the NFL, the roster is still loaded with talent. Florida is well-positioned to repeat as SEC East champs, but they’ll need to keep down a Georgia Bulldogs team that will be right back in the hunt in 2021. The defense needs a big rebound after a very disappointing year - the porous unit probably kept them out of the playoffs. We’ll get into more on the defense below.
The Gators also got dinged a biscuit because of the wobbly job status of Dan Mullen. Little has been said publicly about it after Mullen was reportedly shopping his name for NFL jobs, but the ice seems to be getting thinner for him in Gainesville. The Florida administration prides itself on academics and stellar athletics mixed with upstanding character. So, when Dan Mullen was hit with a show-cause penalty and the program was placed on probation for recruiting violations, that surely did not make the administration to happy. This was added to the fact that Mullen’s antics during the season were viewed by some as excessive and eccentric. If the Mullen tenure stabilizes in 2021, the Gators will easily earn that 11th biscuit, even if they don’t win the SEC East.
What went right in 2020
So, what was the secret sauce to the Gators getting back their mojo? For anyone who watched a Gators game, it was pretty easy to see: Kyle Trask, Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney. Kyle Trask was a Heisman finalist and made big plays all year, Kyle Pitts emerged as the nation’s top tight end, and Kadarius Toney made defenses look foolish nearly every week. And those three nuclear weapons had Dan Mullen at the helm, who is a master of getting the best matchups and calling plays. It was a field day on offense all year, not counting the fluke Cotton Bowl.
Despite a lackluster defense, the formidable offense, which finished 3rd in the SEC in total offense, was good enough to go 8-2 in regular-season SEC play and get the Gators to the SEC Championship and a Cotton Bowl berth. Florida also benefitted from Kirby Smart’s delayed change at QB, allowing the Gators to tee off on Stetson Bennett instead of dealing with JT Daniels. At 44-28, the Gators very well might win even with Daniels on the field, but it certainly was a distinct advantage when it was Trask vs. Bennett.
What went wrong in 2020
In a word: defense. This defense did not live up to Florida standards. Florida is used to sitting at the top of the conference in total defense along with the likes of Alabama, LSU, and Georgia. This year was a different, ugly story. The Gators finished 9th in total defense in the SEC...even Tennessee (2-8), Mizzou (5-5), and Auburn (6-4) were better on defense in 2020 than Florida. Yikes. The ineptitude of the defense wore on Dan Mullen, resulting in a thorough dressing down of defensive coordinator Todd Grantham during the Kentucky game to discuss “Christmas lights.” Many expected Grantham to be let go at the end of the season, but he was retained. It was the rest of the defensive staff that was gutted.
We mentioned Dan Mullen’s show-cause penalty, NCAA sanctions, and antics at the outset. This was another problem and distraction during 2020. The show-cause and NCAA sanctions aren’t great, but in the long run, they won’t hurt Florida too much (as long as Mullen stays in Gainesville). If we’re honest, we love the Mullen antics at B&S. The guy keeps the game spicy, and you never know what he’s going to say at a press conference. The SEC needs guys like that, and it’s pretty dang fun to watch him fly off the handle after a chippy play or questionable call, then dress up as Darth Gator to distract from said antics. Mullen just needs to win a few more games and all would be well with his antics.
Finally, finishing 8-4 overall did not live up to the promise of this team. The offense was too good to not beat LSU and be a verge playoff team. Texas A&M turned out to be an understandable loss, but this team should have been 10-2 with their only losses coming to A&M and Alabama. It’s unfortunate that so many players opted out of the Cotton Bowl, because this Florida team was also good enough to beat Oklahoma, and instead became the butt of too many jokes, right after they were the butt of the “cleat yeet” memes. Ouch.
What the Gators need in 2021
Photo: Kelly Chase, UAA Communications
2021 is a new year, and the Gators will have a much different look. In order to repeat as East champs, contend for a playoff spot, and earn that 11th biscuit, Florida will need a few things. First, replacing Kyle Trask is paramount. That duty falls to Emory Jones, a highly recruited dual-threat QB in the 2018 class out of Georgia. He’s gotten snaps in his three years at Florida, most notably in this year’s Cotton Bowl when he came in for a struggling Trask. Jones is a much different QB than Trask, as he can use his legs at a much higher level to gain yards and keep the defense on its toes. He can also spin the rock, but that part of his game is much more in question. I’m excited to see more of his passing ability on display in 2021.
The Gators also need seamless transitions from a few skill-position players to replace the production of Kyle Pitts. TE Arik Gilbert, a transfer from LSU and former 5-star recruit, along with RB Demarckus Bowman, a former 5-star himself who transferred from Clemson, will be asked to step up right away to help Jones. Florida’s RB room is loaded behind Bowman as well, including Lorenzo Lingard, another former 5-star. TE Keon Zipperer, who had two touchdowns in 2020, will also be asked to take on a larger role. Look for other names to emerge as targets for Jones, such as sophomore WR Xzavier Henderson, sophomore WR Ja’Quavion Fraziars, and junior WR Jacob Copeland.
The Gators also need their defense to rebound in the worst way. Grantham does not have much leash, and it’s time to put up or shut up. Florida loses S Shawn Davis, DT Kyree Campbell, and CB Marco Wilson, so much of the starting defense will be back, including leading tackler LB Ventrel Miller. The Gators also got help in the 2021 recruiting class in the form of 5-star CB Jason Marshall, who is expected to contribute right away. Recruiting at safety and linebacker was also solid. The defensive line needs more help, and 4-star DEs Jeremiah Williams and Tyreak Sapp should help bolster the roster there. The talent and experience are there for Florida to rebound on defense. It’s up to Grantham.
How they can earn some extra biscuits
Win the East again, contend for a playoff birth, shore up Mullen’s status as the head coach at Florida, and get recruiting back into the top 10. It’s that simple - but much easier said than done. Georgia is going to be formidable this year, with some already chirping that the Dawgs should be preseason #1. Mullen seems to have some warm water below his feet. He needs a good year and the chatter about any departure to quiet down before we feel comfortable adding that 11th biscuit. And who knows - make the playoffs and you might see that
Did we get it right? Completely wrong? What’d we miss? Chirp us on Twitter @biscuitsandsec.
Next up:
Mississippi State