Florida football: Phil Steele ranks Gators high in 7 positions
Notwithstanding the strength of the 2020 recruiting class, the Florida football team already appears to have pieces in the right place for the 2019 season.
If the recent news about the Florida football recruiting class for 2020 doesn’t get you excited, how the team stacks up for this season should.
Noted college football analyst Phil Steele recently released his rankings by position for college football conferences, and the Gators are among the top in seven of those positions.
247Sports had a nice breakdown of Steele’s rankings.
Steele ranked the Florida football receiving corps as the No. 2-ranked position in the Southeastern Conference. The Gators will have Tyrie Cleveland, Josh Hammond and Van Jefferson back for their senior campaigns. Freddie Swain, Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes are also back and should provide a huge boost to the Florida passing game.
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Speaking of the passing game, Feleipe Franks and the Florida quarterbacks ranked No. 4 in the conference. He rated just behind Kellen Mond of Texas A&M, Jake Fromm of Georgia and Tua Tagolvailoa of Alabama. It is expected that Franks could potentially move up that list with another breakout year like last season.
Florida’s running game was rated at No. 3 has senior Lamical Perine comes back for his senior season after Jordan Scarlett left for the NFL. Perine is looking to cross the 1,000-yard mark and looks to be able to hit that mark this season after coming close last year. Sophomores Malik Davis and Dameon Pierce provide very adequate backup to Perine.
The Florida secondary was also rated high, at No. 3 overall in the conference. That secondary is anchored by junior C.J. Henderson and redshirt sophomore Marco Wilson, but sophomore Trey Dean III could really surprise people this season. The Gators also return four safeties to the mix with junior Brad Stewart Jr., senior Jeawon Taylor and juniors Donovan Stiner and Shawn Davis. Florida football ranked behind LSU and Alabama in the secondary category.
On the defensive side of the ball, Steele ranks the Gators at No. 4 for its defensive line. Florida will have three of its four starters from last season back. However, despite the loss of Jachai Polite — who left early for the NFL — Florida football brought in Louisville transfer Jonathan Greenard. The Gators also have a good amount of backup to the starters with Adam Shuler, Kyree Campbell and Jabari Zuniga. The Gators ranked behind Alabama, Auburn and LSU in the category.
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Florida football was just behind Texas A&M, Auburn and Tennessee in special teams at No. 4. Sophomore placekicker Evan McPherson returns for another season and punter Tommy Townsend replaced his brother Johnny Townsend. One question is in the return game where Freddie Swain will return, but the Gators could be looking to bolster that position.