As the Florida Gators get ready to take on LIU to open their 2025 campaign, the biggest talking point among Gator fans will be which players looked like they were ready to start the season and which players were overhyped this offseason. Florida should be LIU by 50+, and so there should be plenty of opportunities for players to shine on Saturday.
And while Billy Napier isn't going to release a formal depth chart, we can make some pretty good assumptions on who is where in the pecking order. We also know based on last year that just because you're getting snaps in the year doesn't mean you will end the year with snaps.
So these are the five players who need a big showing on Saturday against LIU if they want to keep getting significant snaps moving forward.
Aidan Mizell
Aidan Mizell boldly claimed last week, "If you're still sleeping on me, that's on y'all."
But it's not the fans sleeping on Mizell, it's literally his own coaches who have yet to go all in. As we have highlighted several times over the offseason, Mizell looked great every time he touched the ball in 2024.
Yet by season's end, he was losing out on snaps to Marcus Burke.
A touchdown, particularly a deep bomb from DJ Lagway, would go a long way in cementing Mizell's place in the wide receiver rotation, especially with a cache of talent right behind him.
Bryce Lovett
Being the new guy along the offensive line, Bryce Lovett isn't guaranteed the same leesh that some of his more established teammates might get to start the season.
He played well against Tulane to close out 2024, but the game before, when he took 28 snaps against FSU, he struggled.
So dominating an overmatched LIU squad isn't proof Lovett is ready for the SEC, but he can't afford a bad day given that Florida does have some depth along the offensive line.
Jamari Lyons
The last time Jamari Lyons played in a game for the Florida Gators, he got ejected against FSU in 2023. He then injured his ankle during fall camp last year and missed all of 2024.
While camp reports have been positive, he enters 2025 as a presumed starting DT with 226 career snaps over three years in Gainesville.
So if he can't get into the backfield of LIU, there are going to be question marks raised.
Jayden Woods
This year's fall camp All-Star belongs to the true freshman from Kansas. It seemed like every other day something was being hyped up about Jayden Woods and how much of a "freak" he was.
But people who remember last year's camp will remember guys like Joey Slackman getting hyped up and Aaron Chiles being called an alien, only to never really be heard from again in 2024.
So if Woods is the real deal, LIU presents a great opportunity to showcase that he has been worth the hype.
Otherwise, we can expect him to have to wait his turn.
Jordan Castell
If there is one entrenched starter who may need to take a peek over his shoulder, it's Jordan Castell. His play at safety in 2024 just never really evolved, and it was obvious when Trikweze Bridges got into the rotation just how passive Castell was at the position.
He's got two highly touted freshmen behind him, and if Castell gets burned against LIU and/or keeps giving up soft stuff underneath with no real attempt to make a play, calls for the freshmen will grow louder.