Florida Football makes one key shakeup along the offensive line ahead of Miami game
![Florida Gators offensive lineman Kamryn Waites (75) walks on the field during Gator Walk before the game during the Florida Gators Orange and Blue Spring Game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, April 13, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]
Ncaa Football Florida Gators Orange Blue Spring Game](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5472,h_3078,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2F213%2F01j6faz615hrbybykjkn.jpg "Florida Gators offensive lineman Kamryn Waites (75) walks on the field during Gator Walk before the game during the Florida Gators Orange and Blue Spring Game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, April 13, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]
Ncaa Football Florida Gators Orange Blue Spring Game")
All offseason, the chatter about the offensive line for Florida Football was that the group was far from set in stone. After a 2024 spring game that did look better than what we saw in 2023 from the unit, most were left to guess and speculate who would comprise the unit ahead of the opener against Miami.
With the opener finally here, Florida's initial depth chart does indicate that at least one key change is being made along the unit following the end of fall camp.
Florida Football: Just You Waites
As we have written about all offseason, the tea leaves for the Gators had
Austin Barber, Knijeah Harris, Jake Slaughter, Damieon George Jr., and Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson as the starting unit, but reports kept trickling out that George Jr. and Crenshaw-Dickson didn't have their spots locked up.
On Florida's initial depth chart, George Jr. is still listed as the starter at right guard, as he is moving inside after playing right tackle last year. But on paper, it's Kamryn Waites who has won the right tackle job over Crenshaw-Dickson.
It's notable for a couple of reasons:
- Florida went out and got Crenshaw-Dickson and Devon Manuel out of the transfer portal, only for both to be listed as backups.
- Waites is a big-bodied right tackle who looks the part at 6'8" and 343 pounds but who has seen minimal time on the field during his college career.
Waites tore his Achilles heel during offseason workouts last year and made some appearances against Vanderbilt, Georgia, Arkansas, and LSU before he was inserted as the starter against Missouri and FSU. Waites didn't have a great game in either start, allowing a sack each game and three pressures each game.
Manuel had 417 snaps last year and allowed eight pressures, four hurries, and four sacks. Crenshaw-Dickson, who granted played in the Mountain West and not the SEC, had 664 snaps with ten pressures, six hurries, and three sacks.
Manuel gave up just one more pressure than Waites despite taking twice as many snaps.
So if Waites is fully healed for 2024 and won this job fair and square because of an uptick in play, that is cause for optimism. If Crenshaw-Dickson and Manuel weren't who Napier and crew thought they would be, and it opened the door for Waites, that is a whole different discussion.
One thing is for sure: Given Miami's defensive ends, Waites will have nowhere to hide on Saturday, so we will get a good look early to see if he is up for the task.
If he is and can give Graham Mertz any kind of time in the pocket, it might just be the deciding factor, given how poor Miami's secondary is on paper.