I have to admit I’m probably rating the Florida Gators this high simply because they’re the Gators, and in the SEC. And I really can’t go against the SEC too often can I? UF ALWAYS has loads of talent in numerous recruiting classes at every position. Or at least enough to compensate for all the question marks the team is facing this year.
They have to replace 7 starters on defense, learn a new system on both sides of the ball, and get acclimated to a new Head Coach Will Muschamp, offensive coordinator Charlie “front butt” Weis and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
2010 was: very Ron Zook like. Seriously, other than the Zooker era do you see 8-5, 4-4 in conference at Florida? They did beat Penn State pretty well in their bowl game however. They’re passing game was a very un-Gators like 88th in the nation. John Brantley struggled so much last season, you would almost forget this is the school that made the “Fun ‘n’ Gun” offense popular. Tyler Murphy or Jeff Driskell could take over if Brantley flops again. His performance in the spring game was anything but inspiring.
BMOCs: RB Chris Rainey will be the main attraction in a ground-oriented attack. Track star Jeff Demps will be a home run threat and change of pace back. Converted QB Jordan Reed will be a star at TE, Jelani Jenkins and Ronald Powell are stars in the defensive front-seven
2011 will be fruitful if: the young defense comes together and carries this team, taking the pressure off of Brantley, or whoever else might take the snaps.
2011 will be awful if: a new coach in his first year has a slow learning curve. There’s a lot that needs to come together- and quickly, because life in the SEC East will not be very forgiving.
Bottom Line: An heir to St. Tebow has not been found yet. Since his divinity moved on to the Denver Broncos, the Gators offense has been in purgatory. The receivers are young, the QBs unproven, but if the forever arrogant and extremely egocentric Weis can revolutionize the passing game, there’s enough talent and substance elsewhere on the squad for them to win 8-9 games. The schedule is TOUGH, and certainly does them no favors however.
UF Rankings: #18 Athlon, #20 Lindy’s, #19 Phil Steele
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
He does regular weekly radio spots in Chicago and Cleveland and has appeared on live shows all across the world from Houston to New Zealand. You can follow him on Twitter
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