Florida football: Gators August and September report card

Offensive Line

When Dan Mullen was hired as Florida football head coach in December 2017, one of the biggest areas of emphasis he made during his introductory press conference was Florida’s strength and conditioning program.

The program was in such chaos that Florida’s newly hired strength and conditioning coordinator Nick Savage left Mississippi State prior to the team’s bowl game just because Florida’s program was way behind the rest of the league.

The evidence of this was shown primarily on the offensive line. During Jim McElwain’s tenure as head coach, Florida’s offensive line gave up 110 sacks during that three-year period. In 2017, the Gators gave up 36 sacks in just 11 games, ranking 118th in the nation.

Mullen, Savage and offensive line coach John Hevesy quickly improved the Gators offensive line in 2018. The Gators offensive line helped produce a rushing attack that ranked 22nd in the nation and allowed only 18 sacks in 13 games played. This would be the lowest sack total for the Gators since 2014.

While the Gators are looking to improve in year two under Mullen after going 10-3 in 2018, the biggest question marks for the team center around the offensive line. Redshirt-senior Nick Buchanan, who started 12 games at center in 2018, is the only returning starter on the offensive line for the 2019 season.

Redshirt-juniors Brett Heggie and Stone Forsythe have appeared in a combined 32 games for the Gators. Heggie, who has battled injuries throughout his collegiate career, played in nine games during the 2018 season and last started in 2017. Forsythe played in all 13 games in 2018, including one start at right tackle in Florida’s season opener against Charleston Southern.

Redshirt-junior Jean DeLance and redshirt-freshman Christopher Bleich each appeared in four games for Florida in 2018 but were primarily used in reserved roles.

Florida’s inexperienced line would get its first major test of the season against Miami. The Hurricanes in 2018 allowed only 152 yards per game and led the nation in sacks with 44.

The offensive line would struggle to open any running lanes for its rushers, as the team was only able to churn 50 yards on the ground in 28 rush attempts. While Franks at times felt pressure from the Canes pass rush, the line would only surrender one sack on 28 pass plays.

After an early bye week, the offensive line would face a less-intimidating pass rush from Tennessee Martin. This would be the offensive line’s best game of the season thus far, helping the Gators rack up 543 total yards of offense, including 231 yards on the ground.

In its first two SEC games of the season, the offensive line would show its lack of in-game experience. Against Kentucky and Tennessee, the Gators averaged a slim 136 rushing yards per game and converted just 45 percent on third downs against two defenses that through week 5 rank outside the top half of the SEC in total defense.

Usually, when a team’s starting quarterback gets injured, the offensive line would be the first set of suspects at fault for a lack of pass protection. However, the injury to Franks against Kentucky was based on his willingness to make a play as he attempted to convert a 4th and 1 late in the third quarter.

While Florida would put up 38 points in a shutout victory against Towson, the inconsistencies still appeared for this unit against a lesser skilled defensive line.

The Gators would rush for 160 yards against the Tigers. However, when you look at it from a microscopic level by taking away Pierce’s 37-yard touchdown rush and a 29-yard scramble by Emory Jones in the fourth quarter, the offensive line only produced 94 rushing yards on 30 rush attempts.

In the passing game, the line showed some strength by allowing Trask to complete 90 percent of his passes, which also led the Gators to go 6-9 on third-down attempts. However, the Gators also surrendered a season-high three sacks in this game.

Overall Florida’s pass protection has been decent through five weeks, as the offensive line has surrendered just eight sacks. However, the rushing attack has been non-existent against power 5 defenses this season. In fact, the Gators as a team have rushed for more than 160 yards in a game only once this season and no Florida running back has yet eclipsed 100 yards rushing in a single game.

Florida’s next two conference opponents (Auburn and LSU) each rank in the top 40 in rush defense and team sacks. Coaches Mullen and Hevesy will need the offensive line to be more aggressive in the ground attack and maintain its average of allowing just under two sacks per game against some of the nation’s best pass rushers.

Grade: C-