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Florida football: Diwun Black among Gators hoping for chance against EWU

By Benjamin Henderson

Sep 25, 2021; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators linebacker Diwun Black (30) celebrates with fans as they beat the Tennessee Volunteers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2021; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators linebacker Diwun Black (30) celebrates with fans as they beat the Tennessee Volunteers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Anytime the Florida Gators take on an FCS opponent, there is an expectation that Florida football wins by 40+ points. And when blowouts occur it creates opportunities for players buried on the depth chart a chance to play.

There will be extra motivation for Billy Napier to get the backups in on Sunday against Eastern Washington because Florida football now has one less day of rest leading into next week’s game against Missouri.

Florida football: Diwun Black deserves a shot

After last week’s onside kick recovery against Tennessee, many fans have asked why hasn’t Diwun Black had an opportunity yet for the Florida Gators.

Black originally committed to Florida football in 2018, but due to eligibility issues, he was unable to enroll at Florida. Black instead went the JUCO route and emerged as one of the top JUCO linebackers in the country.

Black appeared in 10 games last year, largely on special teams. It looked like he would get a shot this year to be in the linebacker rotation, but freshmen Shemar James and Scooby Williams have put themselves ahead of Black on the depth chart.

James has played well enough and is continuing to get better. Williams had a disaster of a game against USF when Ventrell Miller was out.

Combined with the up and down play of Amari Burney, Black has at least earned a chance to showcase what he can do at linebacker on Sunday.

Florida football: Others to keep an eye on

Black won’t be the only player for Florida football hoping to see more, or in some cases any, playing time this Sunday:

  • Kamari Wilson – The four-star, top 100 overall prospect will surely get some additional reps at safety this week after the coverage busts that happened against Tennessee. Billy Napier even admitted the busts were a result of “Just one guy.” It’s not a mystery who that guy is.
  • Lorenzo Lingard – After transferring from Miami and being in a mostly special teams role last year, Lingard probably felt he was in line to be a primary back this year. The problem for Lingard is that Montrell Johnson transferred in and freshman Trevor Etienne jumped ahead of him.
  • Jack Miller and/or Jalen Kitna– Since day one we knew the backup QB situation wasn’t going to be great and the cautious mindset Billy Napier had because of it might have cost Florida football against Kentucky. Miller is still trying to recover from thumb surgery and neither QB looked good during Florida’s Spring Game. Whichever QB gets in Sunday needs to have a good showing.

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