Five under-the-radar players for Florida Football who helped salvage the 2024 season

The 2024 regular season for Florida Football has come to a close and the Gators managed to close out with three straight wins to end the year 7-5.

We all know who the headliners were for the Gators in 2024, but we wanted to take a moment to highlight some guys who were a bit under the radar but still played a key role in keeping the ship afloat this year.

Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson

Go back to the preseason and the rumblings that the offensive line was a mess. Those fears were realized against Miami and the Hurricanes ran right over the Gators in The Swamp.

One of the backdrops to the offensive line being a mess was that Billy Napier and Rob Sale had seemingly little feel for who their best unit actually was. At the core of the mess was the decision to start Kamryn Waites at right tackle over transfer Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson.

The unit wasn't perfect by the end of the year as DJ Lagway played a big role in avoiding a number of sacks, but it was at least serviceable, and Crenshaw-Dickson wound up settling in as the full-time right tackle to stabilize the unit.

He allowed more pressures than one would like, but in 337 pass-blocking snaps, he only gave up one sack on the season.

Ja'Kobi Jackson

Coming into the season, Ja'Kobi Jackson was mired as the fourth-string running back. The former JUCO running back redshirted in 2023 without taking a snap for Florida and most assumed we would only see on the field against Samford at best.

However, as injuries piled up at running back, Jackson was called into action with regularity, starting in the Tennessee game, and had double-digit carries against Georgia, Texas, and FSU.

He finished the year with 83 carries for 443 yards, 290 of which came after contact. Jackson wound up with seven touchdowns on the season.

While Montrell Johnson departs after this season, the running back room for Florida is going to be crowded in 2025 with Treyaun Webb, Jadan Baugh, and Jackson to go along with former top prospect KD Daniels.

Trikweze Bridges

Trikweze Bridges was treated as an afterthought during the front half of the year while Florida's defense was getting gashed by anyone and everyone. But one thing that stood out about Bridges, even during his limited playing time to start the year, was that he felt like the most willing tackler among the safeties for the Gators.

Like others, injuries eventually forced Florida's hand, and Bridges got 40+ snaps every game since the Tennessee game.

But part of the value that Bridges brought in 2024 was his ability to move over to corner mid-season. The thing is, Bridges more than held his own even when moved over.

In the last three games, Bridges was targeted 12 times but only gave up six receptions for a total of 55 yards. He also had four pass breakups over the last three games.

Dijon Johnson

Another member of the secondary who had to take an increased role due to injuries, Dijon Johnson quietly took 495 snaps in 2024.

He flies under the radar because, for the most part, he wasn't targeted, so there wasn't always a ton for him to do.

He struggled against LSU, but against Ole Miss, he was targeted seven times and only gave up one reception. Against FSU, he was targeted three times and gave up just one reception.

In fact, of the 271 cornerbacks who were in pass coverage for at least 250 snaps in 2024, the 12 receptions Johnson gave up were the least in the country. His reception rate against of 48% (25 targets for 12 receptions) is 51st best in the country among that same group.

Trey Smack

Of everyone on this list, Trey Smack is probably the most recognizable to the common fan. But his efforts during the back half of the season played as big a role as anyone's in propelling Florida to three straight wins.

Since missing a field goal in overtime against Tennessee, Smack closed out the season with nine straight makes. Three of his makes were from beyond 50 yards, far from a gimmie in college football.

His 49-yard and 55-yard field goals against LSU was a huge backdrop in Florida pulling off the upset. Without those two makes, Florida would have been trailing deep into the fourth quarter. If he doesn't make his 53-yard attempt against Ole Miss, it would have been a similar story in that game.