B&S preview series: Gator Resurgence
Can the Gators get back in the SEC East mix after the failed Dan Mullen experiment?
By: The Waco Kid
Photo via Stadium Journey
For months now, the Swamp has been a tranquil environment filled with undisturbed gators and the haunting symphony of crickets that lull this Gainesville staple, and all creatures around it, into a nightly, deep sleep filled with dreams of Dawg beatdowns and National Championships. Well that all ends Saturday when a hurricane from Utah makes its way East and awakens this sleeping giant of a town. The hellhounds will be released to torment any who are not adorned with the orange and blue that the citizens so proudly wear. Tail Gators will be roaming the Swamp, shaking up beers and any trouble they may be able to find with travelers from the West.
The Swamp will no longer echo the chimes of the crickets throughout the night, but rather the thunderous claps of the Gator Chomp mixed in with the lyrical genius of Gainesville’s number one son, Tom Petty. The city will come alive and once again be invigorated by the debauchery and rowdiness they are so proudly known for. Football has returned to the swamplands and this year may just be the year the winds of luck blow South of Athens and make a pit stop in Northern Florida. Only time will tell what this team can truly accomplish, but rest assured, Billy Napier will have this University’s faithful on their worst behavior every time an opposing team steps foot into the Swamp.
Last season, the blue and orange were led by a less than energetic and less than impressive Dan Mullen. I mean his wife was more enthusiastic kissing the players before games than he was coaching (actually that might have something to do with it). This was reflected in their overall record when the Gators ended the season at 6-7, losing to the likes of UCF, Mizzou, South Carolina, and Kentucky. And those were just the teams that they probably should have beaten. The main problem last year was the indecisiveness at quarterback, not by the players but by the coaching staff to actually pick a starter. Mullen knew he was on the hot seat and had pretty much checked out midseason, unfortunately that hurt the team more than it did their disgruntled coach and left them with a mediocre season and a lot of wasted talent.
Naturally, Dan Mullen was asked politely to not return for the 2022 season. Thus began the search for the new leader of the Florida Gators. Many high profile names were thrown out like Bob Stoops, Lane Kiffin, Bill O’Brien. Hell, I think I even heard Lou Holtz throw his own name into the discussion. It was a list of who’s who of coaches but one name stuck out most to AD Scott Stricklin, Billy Napier. Napier was a younger head coach who had led an underwhelming, underperforming Louisiana Lafayette team from national joke to a team that could play with the best of the FBS. When he arrived they were a 5 win team and by the time he left they were winning 10+ games a season.
From one swamp to another, Napier was announced as the next Florida Head Coach on November 28, 2021. Billy the kid immediately walked on to campus with that BDE. He has already conquered the Louisiana swamps; now it is his turn in the big leagues to make the Florida Swamp his own. Word on the street is he has already called the students and alumni to be as obnoxious as humanly possible when they take on the #7 Utah Utes this weekend. There seems to be a culture shift on the Southeastern Coast and it revolves around a coach that has finally brought some swagger back to a team that lost their way for a few years.
This year Florida will thrive or dive by Anthony Richardson’s play on a weekly basis. Richardson is a big bodied quarterback, coming in at 6’4”, 231 lbs. Now that is a guy that can easily see over the line and that some defensive backs would think twice about trying to bring down. To put that in perspective he is being compared to Cam Newton at Auburn; possibly one of the most feared SEC QBs to ever do it. His size paired with the athletic ability is what makes Anthony a possible titan among men. Add on top of that the fact that this is not his first go around in the SEC, as he got plenty of reps last year, and we may be looking at the next great Gator field colonel. Last year he split time with Emory Jones, but with Jones transferring to Arizona State, the starting position is Richardson’s to lose. However, to reach his full potential he will need to work on not turning the ball over quite as much as last year. In his defense, he was only a Freshman.
The offense returns their second (Justin Shorter) and fourth (Xzavier Henderson) leading receivers from 2021, and added junior transfer Ricky Pearsall who led ASU in receiving last year. This should be a well rounded group of targets for Richardson to rely on throughout the season. Justin Shorter and Xzavier Henderson will be great red zone threats that can use their 6’4” and 6’3” frames to go up and retrieve the high ball in the endzone as well as stretch the defense with long, downfield routes. Ricky Pearsall will bring quickness underneath to help move the chains in short yardage situations as well as blaze past backers down the middle of the field. As far as running backs go, the Gators return a good one in Nay’Quan Wright who rushed for over 300 yards as a freshman back up last season. The offense has the talent to be explosive this year, they just need to exploit the weakness of their opponents and keep their foot on the pedal. All gas, no brakes.
The SEC is known for two things: pounding the rock on offense and DEFENSE. Florida has struggled the past two years breaking into the top 50 of defenses in the nation. For an SEC team, this is way below standard and inexcusable. With new Defensive Coordinator Patrick Toney, the Gators will switch to a 4-2-5 defense, used to confuse the quarterback with extra defensive backs and fewer linebackers. The thought is that four down lineman can put pressure on the quarterback to make a split decision while five defensive backs hide their coverage, bait misread throws, and make them into turnovers. The coverage schemes may open the door for the power run but should shut down some of the passing attacks deployed by Utah, Tennessee, LSU and Texas A&M. Florida is returning the 3rd ranked SEC player in QB pressures with Bradenton Cox Jr. They also return a trio of backers who are both athletic and highly intelligent. This group will need to step up the most if the defense wants to crack the top 50 in the nation. In the defensive back field, the Gators return a couple of starters and welcome a highly touted recruit Kamari Wilson. The good thing about the 4-2-5 is that you are almost dealing in quality rather than quantity so if you can get 3-4 good DBs back there, the passing defense should be much improved from 2021.
Florida is back on the rise and while some may say it is a rebuilding year for Napier and crew, and they may have a few years before becoming relevant again, but I just do not see it. I think the Blue and Orange have a shot at the East title in 2022, take the conference by surprise with a new coach, new defense, new mentality, new toughness, and new found belief. This may be a Trojan horse in Gator disguise. Saying that, we all know the road to the SEC Championship must go through Athens, Georgia. But if UF can pull off an upset in Jacksonville, there could be hope for a December matchup with Alabama or possibly a rematch with Texas A&M.
Florida 2022 Schedule
Sept 3: Utah
Sept 10: Kentucky
Sept 17: South Florida
Sept 24: @ Tennessee
Oct 1: Eastern Washington
Oct 8: Mizzou
Oct 15: LSU
Oct 29: Georgia
Nov 5: @ Texas A&M
Nov 12: South Carolina
Nov 19: @ Vanderbilt
Nov 25: @ Florida State
To be realistic, UGA is returning a decent amount of players and could be just as unstoppable in the East as they were last year, but that does not take away from the fact that Florida could have a 10 win season. Napier was hired to breathe life into a team that Dan Mullen had all but suffocated. I can see a loss to Georgia and Texas A&M but outside of those two opponents the Gators are more than capable of winning every other game.
The challenge begins with Utah on Saturday. Utah will not cover the spread of -2.5 because they will take their first loss in Gainesville and all of the gameday analysts will have been wrong about their playoff predictions in Week 1. Utah will have a hard time containing Anthony Richardson and the run game, while the Florida defense will come ready to eat and that nasty D-Line will make their presence known early and often. It’s time for the Gators to send a message to the East and this is the statement game to do so. This game will serve as the Resurgence to the Swamp, the (Cam) Rising of the Blue and Orange, and the Crowning of King Napier. The Utes will travel back to Salt Lake City with ruined Natty chances and a horrible case of Swamp ass. Florida 38, Utah 17.