Can the Gators get off the field defensively in 2024?

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning:

Forget the Florida State game that ended Florida’s 2023 football season. Neither the Gators nor the Seminoles were playing with starting quarterbacks so both the offensive and defensive numbers are a bit out of whack. Focus instead on the five previous games in which the Gators were outscored 203-163, an average score of 40.6 by the bad guys, 32.6 by the Gators.

The numbers don’t lie. The Aggies were the only team in the SEC that averaged 32 or more points that failed to win at least 10 games, so the offense really wasn’t the problem. Certainly, it could have been better, but the Gators played well enough and scored enough points to have finished 8-4 instead of 5-7.

If you saw the Orange and Blue Game, then you’re well aware that Billy Napier has surrounded quarterbacks Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway with serious weapons. Even slight improvement on the offensive line should mean Florida lights up a lot of scoreboards.

The problem that has to be solved is on the defensive side of the ball. Three new coaches – Ron Roberts, Gerald Chatman and Will Harris – were brought in to bring about the kind of change that has to happen if the Gators are to avoid a fourth straight losing season. Roberts is the catalyst for improvement. At Auburn last season, he improved the defense by seven points and four first downs per game. Can he do that at UF this year?

What we saw Saturday in the Orange and Blue Game is not a real indicator of what coaches have been talking about all spring. The Orange and Blue Game was as vanilla as it gets. In the fall we'll see what happens when the Gators can blitz and throw some exotic coverages at people.

Here are a few basic observations:

D-Line: The players who made the biggest strides in the spring were nose tackle Cam Jackson and tackle Caleb Banks. Kelby Collins was moved inside after playing on the EDGE last year. Joey Slackman couldn’t move Banks out at tackle, which says more about Banks’ improvement than it does about Slackman. Jamari Lyons will be in the rotation. Will Desmond Watson ever get his weight below 400? It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Gators go after a transfer here.

EDGE/Linebackers: Injuries to Shemar James and freshman Myles Graham led to increased snaps for South Carolina transfer Grayson “Pup” Howard and Mannie Nunnery. Howard is going to be a beast. Nunnery has plenty of speed and had an interception in the Orange and Blue game. He’s much improved. Justus Boone is still recovering from injury, but there are a lot of people who can get after a QB starting with TJ Searcy, Northern Illinois transfer George Gumbs, Kamran James, juco transfer Brien Taylor and freshman stud TJ McCray. The tackling was better all spring. Based on what we saw, the starting linebackers to be Howard and James with Gumbs and Searcy the starters of the edge.

Secondary: The three corners who got the most praise and who seem at the head of the rotation are Jason Marshall Jr., Devin Moore and Ja’Keem Jackson. Aaron Gates had a good spring to emerge as the starter at STAR. The three transfers at safety – DJ Douglas, Asa Turner and Trikweze Bridges – are real players who understand the concept of keeping receivers in front of them. Shareef Denson and Jordan Casteel are going to play. There is much more experience, especially at safety. The entire unit will be much improved.  

SEC FOOTBALL: Transfer portal already heating up

Arkansas

Outgoing: TE Francis Sherman (6-3, 237, SR); RB Isaiah Augustave (6-2, 208, RFR); OT Andrew Chamblee (6-6, 304, FR); QB Jacolby Criswell (6-1, 230, JR)

Georgia

Outgoing: RB Andrew Paul (5-11, 218, FR)

Kentucky

Outgoing: RB LaVell Wright (5-11, 202, JR); WR Darius Cannon (5-9, 175, FR)

LSU

Incoming: DL Gio Paez (6-3, 310, SR) from Wisconsin

Outgoing: EDGE Jaxon Howard (6-4, 240, FR)

Mississippi State

Incoming: RB Rashad Amos (6-2, 224, SR) from South Carolina

Missouri

Incoming: QB Drew Pyne (6-0, 190, SO) from Arizona State

Oklahoma

Outgoing: QB Jacob Switzer (6-2, 192, SO)

Ole Miss

Outgoing: DL Joshua Harris (6-4, 325, SR)

South Carolina

Outgoing: OL Jaxon Hughes (6-6, 297, SR); EDGE Terrell Dawkins (6-4, 251, SR)

Tennessee

Outgoing: LB Elijah Herring (6-3, 238, SO)

Texas

Outgoing: LB S’maje Burrell (6-0, 219, FR); EDGE Billy Walton III (6-3, 225, FR); OL Payton Kirkland (6-6, 350, FR)

Texas A&M

Incoming: EDGE Josh Celiscar (6-4, 265, SR) from UCF

SEC BASKETBALL: Busy Monday in the portal

A name for Florida fans to watch closely is Alabama freshman Sam Walters (6-10, 198), who entered the portal on Monday. Walters, who played high school ball at The Villages Charter, is a long lefty with serious 3-point range. He was a 3-point specialist for the Crimson Tide, averaging 5.4 points per game while hitting 39.4 percent of his shots beyond the arc. Mike White and the Gators weren’t involved in his recruitment out of high school and by the time Todd Golden took over at UF, Walters was already committed to Alabama. The Gators are expected to be a major factor in his relocation now that he’s leaving Alabama.

Kentucky dominated the portal news Monday as Aaron Bradshaw committed to Ohio State, Zvonimir Ivisic committed to Arkansas and point guard D.J. Wagner put his name in the portal. Wagner is expected to commit to Arkansas.  It was a good day for Ole Miss, which landed Belmont transfer Malik Dia, one of the top big man prospects in the portal. Dia is a sophomore who spent his freshman season at Vanderbilt.

Texas got a pair of transfers from NIT runner-up Indiana State, small forward Jayson Kent and point guard Julian Larry. Tennessee got a scoring guard from Hofstra in Darlinstone Dubar, who will be expected to pick up the scoring load left behind by Dalton Knecht.

Alabama

Outgoing: SF Kris Parker (6-8, 195, RFR); SG Rylan Griffen (6-5, 185, SO); SG Davin Cosby (6-5, 205, FR); Sam Walters (6-10, 198, FR)

Incoming: PG Houston Mallette (6-5, 180, JR) from Pepperdine; SG Chris Youngblood (6-4, 212, SR) from South Florida

Arkansas

Outgoing: PG Keon Menifield (6-1, 150, SO); F Denijay Harris (6-7, 200, SR); WG Joseph Pinion (6-6, 195, SO) to Arkansas State; C Baye Fall (6-10, 200, FR); SG Tramon Mark (6-5, 180, JR) to Texas

Incoming: C Zvonimir Ivisic (7-2, 234, FR) from Kentucky

Auburn

Outgoing: CG KD Johnson (6-0, 190, SR); PG Tre Donaldson (6-2, 190, SO); PG Aden Holloway (6-1, 178, FR)

INCOMING: PG JP Pegues (6-1, 165, JR) from Furman

FLORIDA

Outgoing: SG Riley Kugel (6-5, 206, SO) to Kansas; PF Aleks Szymczyk (6-10, 250, RFR)

Incoming: Sam Alexis (6-9, 240, SO) from Chattanooga

Georgia

Outgoing: SF Matthew-Alexander Moncrief (6-7, 220, SR); PG Justin Hill (6-0, 185, SR); C Jalen Deloach (6-9, 215, JR); SG Mari Jordan (6-8, 185, RFR); WF Jabri Abdur-Rahim (6-7, 214, SR) to Providence

Kentucky

Outgoing: SG Adou Thiero (6-6, 200, SO); SG Joey Hart (6-5, 203, FR); C Aaron Bradshaw (7-0, 220, FR) to Ohio State; C Zvonimir Ivisic (7-2, 234, FR) to Arkansas;  PG DJ Wagner (6-3, 175, FR)

LSU

Outgoing: SF Mwani Wilkerson (6-5, 205, SO); SG Carlos Stewart (6-1, 185, JR) to Santa Clara

Incoming: PG Cam Carter (6-3, 195, JR) from Kansas State; PG Jordan Sears (5-11, 175, JR) from UT-Martin

Mississippi State

Outgoing: PG Andrew Taylor (6-3, 190, SR); SG Trey Fort III (6-4, 195, JR); PF Jaquan Scott (6-8, 230, JR); SG Shakeel Moore (6-1, 180, SR); PF Keshawn Murphy (6-10, 245, SO)

Incoming: PG Kanye Clary (5-11, 192, SO) from Penn State

Missouri

Outgoing: SG Curt Lewis (6-5, 215, JR); PF Jesus Carralero (6-8, 210, SR); SG John Tonje (6-5, 222, SR)

Incoming: PF Jacob Crews (6-8, 210, JR) from UT-Martin; SG Tony Perkins (6-4, 210, SR) from Iowa

Oklahoma

Outgoing: CG Otega Oweh (6-5, 210, SO); PF John Hugley (6-9, 240, JR); PG Javian McCollum (6-1, 170, JR) to Georgia Tech; PG Milos Uzan (6-4, 183, SO) to Houston

Ole Miss

Outgoing: PF Rashaud Marshall (6-9, 220, FR) to Arkansas State; C Malique Ewin (6-10, 240); Jacob Gazzo (6-8, 215, FR); PF Cameron Barnes (6-9, 195, FR)

Incoming: PF Mikeal Brown-Jones (6-8, 210, SR) from UNC-Greensboro; C Malik Dia (6-9, 240, SO) from Belmont

South Carolina

Outgoing: PG Meechie Johnson (6-2, 184, JR) to Ohio State; CG Ebrima Dibba (6-5, 214, SR)

Tennessee

Outgoing: SG Freddie Dilione (6-5, 185, FR); SG D.J. Jefferson (6-5, 2-7, FR); PF Tobe Awaka (6-8, 250, SO); C Jonas Aidoo (6-11, 230, JR)

Incoming: SG Darlinstone Dubar (6-6, 207, SR) from Hofstra

Texas

Outgoing: SF Alex Anamekwe (6-6, 200, SO); PG Chris Johnson (6-5, 180, FR); PF Dillon Mitchell (6-8, 205, SO); PG Tyrese Hunter (6-0, 170, JR)

Incoming: SG Tramon Mark (6-5, 180, JR) from Arkansas; PF Jayson Kent (6-8, 205, SR) from Indiana State; PG Julian Larry (6-3, 185, SR) from Indiana State

Vanderbilt

Outgoing: PG Paul Lewis (6-2, 170, SO); C Lee Dort (6-10, 245, SO) to California; SG Tyrin Lawrence (6-4, 200, SR); PF Colin Smith (6-8, 220); SG Jason Rivera-Torres (6-6, 180, FR); PF Carter Lang (6-9, 235, FR)

Incoming: PF Jaylen Carey (6-8, 245, FR) from James Madison; SF Tyler Nickel (6-7, 200, SO) from Virginia Tech

UF MEN’S GOLF: Gators move up three spots in latest poll

The Gators, who closed out their regular season with a win in the Calusa Cup, moved up three places to No. 14 in the Bushnell/GolfWeek poll. The Gators are idle until April 24 when they begin play in the SEC Tournament at St. Simon’s Island.

Bushnell/GolfWeek top 25: 1. Auburn; 2. North Carolina; 3. Vanderbilt; 4. Arizona State; 5. Ole Miss; 6. Florida State; 7. Tennessee; 8. Washington; 9. Arizona; 10. Alabama; 11. Texas Tech; 12. Arkansas; 13. Oklahoma; 14. FLORIDA; 15. Virginia; 16. Georgia Tech; 17. Illinois; 18. Texas; 19. New Mexico; 20. East Tennessee State; 21. Georgia; 22. Texas A&M; 23. California; 24. Oregon; 25. Duke

UF WOMEN’S TENNIS: Gailis, Lopez honored by SEC

Rachel Gailis was named SEC Player of the Week and Qavia Lopez SEC Freshman of the Week after the Gators closed out their regular season with a win over South Carolina that stretched their winning streak to 10 games. The Gators will begin play in the SEC Tournament in Athens on Wednesday.

UF LACROSSE: Gators remain No. 9

IWLCA top 25: 1. Northwestern 12-2; 2. Syracuse 12-3; 3. Notre Dame 13-2; 4. Michigan 14-1; 5. Loyola 13-1; 6. (TIE) Virginia 12-3 and Boston College 12-3; 8. Maryland 11-4; 9. FLORIDA 13-2; 10. Yale 11-1; 11. Johns Hopkins 10-5; 12. Denver 11-3; 13. Stony Brook 13-2; 14. Penn 9-3; 15. North Carolina 9-5; 16. James Madison 10-4; 17. Princeton 8-4; 18. Stanford 9-3; 19. Penn State 8-6; 20. Navy 11-3; 21. Colorado 10-4; 22. Southern California 10-4; 23. Fairfield 13-1; 24. Harvard 8-3; 25. Duke 10-6

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Three gripes today, all three about the University of Florida, two for basketball and one for football. It would be so easy to turn these three negatives into positives.

Gripe 1: Why isn’t Neal Walk’s retired UF jersey hanging in the O-Dome? He scored 1,600 points and grabbed 1,181 rebounds in three varsity seasons, which averages out to 20.8 points and 15.3 rebounds per game. He led the nation in rebounding as a junior (19.8) and senior (17.8) and was first team All-SEC. He didn’t make All-America because there was this guy named Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Neal was the second players taken (behind Alcindor) in the NBA Draft, the highest any Gator has ever been drafted.

Gripe 2: Vernon Maxwell scored 2,450 points in his Florida career. He is the real all-time scoring leader at UF, but he’s not the leader in the record books because this silly notion that he alone is responsible for Florida’s basketball probation in the late 1980s. He accepted some money from an agent and got a ticket to a camp paid for by Norm Sloan, all of which is legal now. It’s ridiculous that he’s not in the record books.

Gripe 3: The 1984 Florida football team won the SEC championship on the field only to have Vince Dooley and Georgia convince six SEC presidents to vote to vacate the title because UF went on a harsh, 2-year NCAA probation. Trust me folks, what was going on at UF was Romper Room compared to some of the stuff happening. That 1984 team should at least be brought back for a weekend in the fall for their 40th anniversary.