Florida football: Gators spring practice and game schedule 2023
By Will Thomas
As Florida football gets ready for the 2023 season, we look ahead to their spring game and spring practice schedules, as well as what we want to see in both.
Despite some controversy from the fans, the Orange and Blue game will be held on Thursday, April 13th. A lot of fans wanted the game to be on a Saturday, but Napier thinks that having the game on Thursday gives the Gators an advantage.
“A little bit of a recruiting advantage, too. We don’t have to be against a lot of games that day, so we get to corner the market in recruiting…” said Napier.
For the spring practices, those dates are still TBD, but we will update you with that information once it becomes public.
Florida football: What to look for in spring practices
When spring practices do roll around, a lot of eyes in Gainesville will be on quarterback Graham Mertz, and how he looks with the Gators.
There has been a lot of skepticism around Mertz and his ability to run the Gator offense after he lost the starting job at Wisconsin. The good news for Mertz is that Florida won’t be asking him to make many tough throws.
They will be a run-heavy offense, and Mertz will have to just manage the game and limit mistakes.
It will also be interesting to see how all of the other transfers fit in and how prominent their roles will be. OL transfer Kiyaunta Goodiwn and Micah Mazzccua figure to be day-one starters, and LB transfers Deuce Spurlock and Teradja Mitchell will have a chance to make their mark in a thin linebacker room.
Defensively, we hope to see guys in the secondary like Jason Marshall Jr. and Jaydon Hill elevate their play, and Kamari Wilson continue to develop his game and play a big role this season.
This team has plenty of bright spots, and good spring practices could unlock the squad’s true potential.
Keep up with Florida football at Hail Florida Hail.