Florida's win over LIU was a mostly stress-free day for Gator fans, but it wasn't 100% flawless. One of the main sticking points to emerge from the game was the fact that Florida took 11 tackles for a loss on offense. Only once last year did Florida take more than 11 TFLs (overtime against Tennessee).
At the center of the TFLs was the day Bryce Lovett had at right tackle, but Billy Napier claims he isn't ready to pull the plug just yet.
Billy Napier sticks with Bryce Lovett
During his weekly teleconference, Napier was asked about the day Lovett had. The right tackle gave up four QB pressures and was noticeably beaten inside on several rushing attempts.
Napier noted his struggles but believes Lovett can bounce back:
"Yeah, some good, some bad, like a lot of our players in the opener. You know, I think, had a lot of great plays in the game, and then I think he had a few where he could play with a little bit more balance, body control, a little bit more detail in his technique, with his feet and hands.
But he played really hard, he plays with effort. He's tough, you know, it's one of the things I respect about Bryce is he's competitive, he's tough, he plays really hard, it's important to him. And he'll only continue to improve as he goes forward here.
And then we got a chance to see some of the other players as well, right? It was great to see Caden Jones. He did some good things in the game, so, overall, much like you would expect for a guy who is making one of his first starts of his career."
Deja Vu
One of the massive subplots to the start of the 2024 season was how Napier had backed the wrong horse at right tackle. The Kamryn Waites experiment went so poorly that he earned a litteraly 0.0 in pass blocking from Pro Football Focus and was relegated to being a rotational guard after the Samford game.
Mind you, this followed the 2023 season when Damieon George Jr. was also beaten like a drum at right tackle and was shifted inside for 2024.
Unlike last year, there weren't rumblings about any issues with the offensive line heading into the season. In fact, some publications thought Florida could have a top ten unit up front.
Lovett himself spent most of 2024 as a rotational guard, but did start at right tackle against Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl and played well in that game.
So maybe it's an anomaly, and maybe Lovett will be just fine. But for the third year in a row, the right tackle spot has opened up with some major question marks behind it.