Florida Football has an advantage at QB against Texas A&M

Entering the contest against Texas A&M, it's no secret that Florida Football fans have minimal faith the Gators will be successful on Saturday. Vegas favors the Aggies by three points and much of the focus is bound to be on Billy Napier's QB usage throughout the game.

A position by position preview of the two offenses bears out the fact that while Florida probably has the edge at QB, the rest of the operation probably leans towards the Aggies.

Quarterbacks

The backdrop to this game is that both teams have a mystery with their QB position. Florida is going to trot out Graham Mertz as the starter, with DJ Lagway getting snaps at some point.

Texas A&M meanwhile listed Conner Weigman as questionable for the game. Weigman is a former five-star prospect who looked respectable last year before a foot injury knocked him out.

Likewise, Mertz had a decent campaign before he was knocked out with a collarbone injury.

Continuing this theme, both struggled in their season opener.

But while Mertz was still 55% passing with an average depth of target close to 12 yards, Weigman was at 40% passing with an average depth of target of 7.

Combined with the fact we like Florida's backup compared to Texas A&M's backup, we are giving the QB edge to Florida.

Edge - Florida

Wide Receivers

Through two games, Cyrus Allen is the only Aggie receiver to have over 40 yards total. He's a transfer from Louisiana Tech who racked up over 700 yards last season.

Noah Thomas and Jahdae Walker are the other two main receivers for Texas A&M. Walker had six catches against Notre Dame and is coming off a 590-yard season.

We saw glimpses of what Florida's receivers could be last week when given a QB who has the arm strength to get it to them, but one of the mysteries for Florida heading into this game is the health of Tre Wilson.

Elijhah Badger is coming off back-to-back seasons over 700 yards at Arizona State and already has 166 yards in 2024. The struggle in deciding who has the edge is who may or may not be with him.

If Wilson can't go, Tank Hawkins would presumably fill his role as an even faster version of Wilson. Chimere Dike is going to get significant snaps, but through two games, he has just two catches.

Edge - Push

Running Back

After getting injured early in training camp, Montrell Johnson has been able to return to action and has mostly been as advertised. While his main highlight has been the 71-yard touchdown against Miami, Johnson also has an average yards after contact this year of 3.58, which is 42nd in the country of the 111 running backs who have at least 20 carries this season.

Le'Veon Moss has the better recruiting profile and is a former top 100 overall prospect. He had 96 carries last year and averaged five yards a carry. This year, he has 5.3 yards per carry with an average yard after contact of 3.69, which is 39th best in the country.

So in reality, the starters are a push. Where Texas A&M appears to have an advantage is a clear backup to rotate in. Treyaun Webb is the backup on paper for Florida, but he has just seven carries for 15 yards through two games. Meanwhile, Amari Daniels has 17 carries for an average of 5.6 yards per carry.

Edge - Texas A&M

Tight End

Neither team has anyone game-breaking at tight end. Through two games, Florida tight ends have five receptions while Texas A&M's have four.

The difference comes down to pass blocking.

Tre Watson and Theo Melin Ohrstrom are adequate pass blockers for the Aggies, while Hayden Hansen is the same for Florida.

Arlis Boardingham, however, has been a liability in blocking, even dating back to last season.

Edge - Texas A&M

Offensive Line

Kind of like wide receiver, there is the lineup we would put on the field compared to the actual lineup that is going to be out there. The insistence to rotate Austin Barber and Devon Manuel at left tackle makes no sense, considering the hole at right tackle.

Kamryn Waites was an abject disaster against Miami and wasn't exactly invincible against Samford. He's been getting rotated at right tackle with Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, who was marginally better against Miami and was fine against Samford.

The tackles for Texas A&M, Dametrious Crownover and Trey Zuhn, have metrics similar to Florida's tackles.

The difference comes with the guards for Texas A&M. Chase Bisontis and Ar'maj Reed-Adams have done a far better job than Damieon George and Knijeah Harris in the run game.

Edge - Texas A&M