It is a good time for the Gators to get everybody healthy once again

(Photo by Chris Spears)

Now would be a really good time for the Florida Gators to get healthy. These next three weeks, starting with Saturday afternoon at The Swamp with South Florida (4:15 p.m., SEC Network), the next five games are a tougher gauntlet than any team in the country will have to face. Healthy bodies are a must.

DJ Lagway is well enough to play, but is he well? How close is he to 100 percent, both with his shoulder and a calf that was serious enough for him to miss all live snaps in August until the Gators began game prep for the season opener with lightweight Long Island University? Against LIU, Lagway spent most of the game looking like someone whose timing was way off due to missing all of spring practice and most of August.

Now, no one denies that Lagway is an extraordinary talent, but even talented guys need reps. South Florida’s defense is an enormous step up from the one Lagway saw against LIU but the Bulls are lightweights compared to the defenses of No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Miami, No. 1 Texas and No. 19 Texas A&M. Against South Florida, the Gators need Lagway to look the part of a top ten quarterback, which is what he’s ranked by every credible analyst. Healthy, he is capable of ripping and shredding every one of those defenses the Gators will face.

But how healthy is he?

Others who have been fighting through injuries are wide receivers Dallas Wilson and Kahleil Jackson and offensive linemen Fletcher Westphal, Enoch Wagoy and Noel Portnjagin. Jackson is coming back from an ACL, but he’s made good progress and could be ready to return soon. Additionally, running back Treyaun Webb is fighting his way back to health after fracturing his ankle last year.

Over on the defensive side of the ball, the walking wounded include defensive tackle Caleb Banks, EDGE LJ McCray and corners Jamroc Grimsley and Ben Hanks III to get back to full speed. Of that group, Banks is the most critical concern.  Banks was so disruptive in the final stretch of the regular season last year. In the wins over LSU and Ole Miss, he had 3.5 sacks, 4.0 quarterback hurries, a pass batted away at the line of scrimmage and two forced fumbles.

At 6-6, 330, Banks has intimidating size to go with quickness and outstanding lateral mobility. There are very few offensive linemen anywhere in college football capable of handling him one-on-one. Banks has the power and strength to rip through the constant double teams to disrupt, and because he has to be doubled every play, it does free up someone else to make a play.

Getting Banks back at full speed is a necessity, particularly once the SEC portion of the schedule begins against LSU next week, but getting game reps against a decent opponent will be good not only for Banks for the Florida defense. The Gators have to deal with South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown, who, when healthy, is an outstanding dual threat. Against Boise State last week, Brown played turnover-free football while throwing for 210 yards on 24 pass attempts and scoring on runs of 23 and 15 yards.

Wednesday evening after practice, Florida coach Billy Napier addressed the situation with Banks.

“Caleb’s doing good,” Napier said. “He’s doing really well. He’s kind of hitting the next step so he’s really close. So, we’ll see where he is this weekend and next week as well.”

That’s not exactly a promise that Banks will be ready to go this weekend or next, but at least it’s an update.

Even missing Banks and the other injured players, the Gators allowed only 86 yards and two first downs the entire game against Long Island. With Banks out, the Gators started Jamari Lyons at tackle, Michai Boireau at the nose and Tyreak Sapp end. Baylor transfer Brendan Bett, Brien Taylor Jr. and freshmen Jeremiah McCloud and Joseph Mbatchou were also part of the rotation on the interior with George Gumbs Jr. and Kofi Asare working outside. Bett, who had three tackles in his Gator debut, plays both the nose and tackle positions.

Controlling the line of scrimmage will be critical against the Bulls. Their 378 yards of offense against Boise obscure the fact they were only able to run 53 snaps because the defense was in a bend-but-don’t-break mode the entire game. South Florida averaged an impressive 7.02 yards per play (Florida averaged only 6.09). The Bulls ran for 117 yards (4.18 per carry) with Brown accounting for 43 on 14 carries. Take away the sack numbers and Brown actually had 43 yards on 10 rushing attempts.

Long Island only threw the ball 11 times, completing four for 49 yards, so the Florida secondary wasn’t tested. South Florida will pose a more serious passing threat so it’s imperative that the Gators get everyone in the secondary healthy again.

A healthy Florida team is capable of competing with and beating any team on the schedule, but it’s the kind of schedule that will require depth that is thin at the moment. Having Lagway and Banks back to 100 percent will fill help enormously.

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Florida’s offensive line may be in for change on the right side where Bryce Lovett under-performed against Long Island. Lovett, who got most of his snaps at guard last year, graded out at 38.8 percent (25.7 percent pass blocking, 43.6 percent run blocking). Third-year sophomore Caden Jones (6-8, 333) graded much better (75.7 percent, 71.5 percent run blocking) when inserted into the game at right tackle, so he’s an option to start against South Florida. Also available for South Florida will be Devon Manuel (6-7, 307).

The starting O-line could look like this: LT Austin Barber, LG Knijeah Harris, C Jake Slaughter, RG Damieon George Jr., RT Bryce Lovett or Caden Jones.

Napier hasn’t given up totally on Lovett although he needs the third-year sophomore to play better.

“He had a lot of great plays in the game, and then I think he had a few where he could play with a little bit more balance, body control, a little bit more detail in his technique, with his feet and hands,” Napier said Wednesday evening, adding, “We got a chance to see some of the other players as well. It was great to see Caden Jones. He did some good things in the game.”

Florida shuffled four guards in the game – starters Knijeah Harris and Damieon George Jr., backups Rod Kearney and Kam Waites. Jason Zandamela backed up at center, but also plays guard.

Kearney played 54 snaps, most of his career, against LIU. Could he be in for a start against South Florida along with Jones?

“Yeah, we have a ton of confidence in both [Jones and Kearney], Kam Waites as well,” Napier said. “Look, I think we've got a good two-deep there, you know. I have a lot of confidence in Caden, Kam, Rod, even Jason Zandemela, so we feel good about three tackles, four guards, two centers, you know, and then I think, as we get healthy, we could even have more," Napier said, "so yeah, we've got a lot of confidence in those guys."