Florida Football: 2-deep roster predictions on offense for Gators
Running Backs
Starters:
- Montrell Johnson
- Treyaun Webb
- Jaden Baugh
Backup:
- Cameron Carroll
Montrell Johnson will for sure get his share of snaps to open the season and should be the primary back for the Gators.
If Napier wants a two-back system like he had last season, then in theory, Treyaun Webb is going to have the inside track for the job. But during the 2022 season, Napier opted for a three-back system for the first half of the season, with Johnson splitting carries with Trevor Ettienne and Nay'quan Wright. Ettienne eventually won out over Wright, and it was a two-back rotation for the second half of the season.
We point this out because it wouldn't be surprising to see Jaden Baugh get some carries against Miami after the strong spring game he had.
Cameron Carroll is coming back from a knee injury last offseason, but if Napier was forced to use a fourth running back we could see him going with the experienced player in an emergency situation.
Wide Receivers
Starters:
- Tre Wilson
- Elijhah Badger
- Chimere Dike
Backups:
- Kahleil Jackson
- Aidan Mizell
- Tank Hawkins
This group is tricky to project once you get past Tre Wilson and new addition Elijhah Badger. Chimere Dike had a solid season in 2022 at Wisconsin, while Mertz was the quarterback. As we have noted on this site throughout the offseason, Dike spent most of that year lined up in the slot. In 2023, Dike was primarily lined up out wide and did not have a great year.
Wilson spent 41% of his snaps in the slot last season and 57% out wide, but with Ricky Pearsall off the NFL it opens more snaps for someone to take in the slot.
Whether or not those are snaps for Dike remains to be seen. Battling to be the third receiver will be several guys fighting for snaps, and even battling just to be the backup could be any combination of guys.
For now we are going to predict Kahleil Jackson stays in the mix after taking close to 500 snaps last season. After his spring game touchdown, Aidan Mizell feels like he is ready for an increased role in 2024 and even though true freshman Tank Hawkins had a quiet spring game, reports indicated he was tearing it up in practice.
Andy Jean and Marcus Burke should at least get a shot at these snaps, but it feels like they could get left behind if they don't impress early during fall camp.