The Florida Gators walked into The Swamp on Saturday as 17.5-point favorites against USF and couldn't even manage to score 17 points. A combination of predictable playcalling, untimely penalties, and just some straight-up poor play led Florida to just one touchdown and three field goals.
So, trying to handicap factors such as the offensive scheme itself, here are our report card grades for the 17 players who played at least 10 snaps of offense on Saturday
A
- Jadan Baugh
- Vernell Brown III
These are by far the two best playmakers on offense for the Gators. Baugh had 93 yards on the day, 73 of which came after contact. He had three runs for at least ten yards, and it is a mystery why Billy Napier didn't feed him on the final Florida possession.
Brown III also looks like a stud. He flashes in a way other guys don't, and if Lagway had been accurate, his day could have been even better. The lone TD Florida scored was set up by Brown's long punt return.
B
- Jake Slaughter
- Austin Barber
- Damieon George Jr.
- Bryce Lovett
It's tough to evaluate the offensive line fairly because of the situations their play caller put them in.
When it came to passing plays, the O-line actually kept Lagway upright all game and only allowed two pressures. But they also didn't exactly manhandle USF up front in the run game, which is tough to judge because Florida was also playing tight formations a ton.
Barber is the only one of this group who gave up a pressure, and it was nice to see Lovett recover from his awful showing against LIU.
C
- Kamryn Waites
- Roderick Kearney
- Knijeah Harris
- Caden Jones
- DJ Lagway
- Eugene Wilson III
- Aidan Mizell
- Ja'Kobi Jackson
These four offensive linemen weren't "bad," but there were some notable deficiencies.
Harris got charged with the one sack Florida gave up, and the rest weren't exactly plus blockers in the run game.
The headliner within this group is Lagway, who missed some open throws and looked like a guy who missed the entire offseason.
Wilson III, Mizell, and Jackson were fine, but they weren't game changers. Wilson continues to be hamstrung as a gadget guy, though he did haul in the lone TD for the Gators. Mizell got in for just 18 snaps and had two targets. Jackson is tough to evaluate because he had more yards after contact than actual total yards (26 YCO on 22 total yards).
D
- Hayden Hansen
- Tony Livingston
- J. Michael Sturdivant
The problem, among other things, with Florida's offense is the insistence on keeping using tight ends at the rate they do when they don't have the elite tight ends to justify keeping other guys on the sideline.
Hansen is not a great blocker, and while three catches for 40 yards isn't terrible for a tight end, it also feels like you could plug in a tight end from anywhere to get that same production.
Livingston actually had a decent day blocking, but he had no catches off two targets, including a brutal drop that could have been a touchdown.
Then there is Sturdivant, who we warned all offseason had one of the worst yards per route run in the country in 2024. On Saturday, he had 50 snaps, five targets, and just two catches. Through two games, of the 284 wide receivers around the country who have had at least eight targets, he has a yards per route run of 0.69, which is the 15th lowest in the nation.