SEC Football Preview: New era for the Gators begins in 2010

story by Chris Rushing, College Sports Matchups (CSM is a content partner with The City Wire)

In 104 years of Florida football, I’m not sure there has been one as different as this one upcoming campaign.

Sure, the 1997 group had to replace a boatload of starters (including the school’s second Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel), but the basic schemes on offense and defense did not undergo a serious transition like the one promised from 2009 to 2010.

This iconic coach, Urban Meyer, supplied his first true recruiting class with business cards upon their enrollment at the University of Florida in August 2006 that showed the number of championships collected by that 1996 group of seniors. Four Southeastern Conference crowns, a national title and a Heisman Trophy all were acquired and used as a foundation of the goals for that extremely talented (and No. 1-ranked) recruiting class.

Tim Tebow won a Heisman as a sophomore, the first ever in his classification to do so. Percy Harvin redefined the role of a wide receiver in spread offenses. Brandon Spikes poked a Georgia running back in the eye, but he also aggravated opposing quarterbacks throughout his four-year career. The class collected two national titles before leaving behind their own legacies.

Meyer had his own breakdown following the SEC Championship loss to Alabama last December, and he briefly retired before opting for a voluntary leave of absence following spring practice and hauling in the country’s top-ranked recruiting group. He now has a handle on his health issues (esophageal spasms) and has been going full-speed since returning to work for fall camp.

Now, it’s time for UF to find some new heroes on the gridiron, starting with the new signal caller: John Brantley.

OFFENSE
Brantley has the pedigree and the opportunity to learn for three years as Tebow wreaked havoc on the Florida record books and stole headlines across all types of media. Now, it’s his turn as the leader of the Florida offense after two years of Meyer stating, “He’d start for 11 other schools in this league.”

No pressure, kid.

Brantley is more of a pure passer than Tebow. That much is undeniable. Guys like Deonte Thompson, Carl Moore and John Demps will be able to make more headlines with spectacular grabs through the air than end-arounds or reverses in the backfield.

The running game, which hasn’t always been prototypical under Meyer’s reign, is full of talent but is there one guy to be the 20-plus carry workhorse a pro-style offense will require? My guess is Emannuel Moody shines with Mack Brown taking up the slack to give Moody and Chris Rainey a breather from toting the ball.

Demps needs to be a wide receiver since not many defensive backs can keep up with his straight-line speed. His hands are superb, and he has a quarterback dedicated to getting him the ball in space. There will be times for the plays out of the backfield for Demps, but his production would be more impressive if he was spread out away from the quarterback instead of behind him in the backfield.

Two of the few seniors left over from that 2006 class remain on the offensive line in Carlton Johnson and Maurice Hurt. They will provide critical key upperclassmen leadership along Brantley’s first line of defense. Hurt was not a first-teamer at the end of spring, but even if he doesn’t start, he offers valuable experience at the drop of a hat for Steve Addazio should anyone struggle or get injured.

Johnson has started at both left guard and tackle in his career, and this year, he will look to resume his status as the team’s best left guard. Xavier Nixon, a sophomore, will start at left tackle, and Marcus Gilbert will be the opposite starter at right tackle. The biggest key to the line, though, is the return of senior Mike Pouncey who will be playing without his twin brother for the first time.

Addazio doubles as the staff’s offensive coordinator, and he finally has the personnel to call more pro-style plays and sets, which works more to his strengths. Where the UF offense struggled at points in 2009, it should be smoother and possibly more effective despite the loss of Tebow.

DEFENSE
For the first time since Meyer’s arrival in 2005, a new coordinator will run things on the defensive side of the ball after Charlie Strong’s long-awaited head coaching opportunity. With Strong at Louisville, Meyer is already on his second coordinator hire for the spot with Teryl Austin taking the position after George Edwards did not even make it a month in Gainesville before joining Chan Gailey’s staff with the Buffalo Bills.

Austin will join forces with long-time UF assistant Chuck Heater in the rebuilt Florida secondary after Joe Haden and Major Wright left for the NFL following their junior seasons in 2009. Janoris Jenkins and Ahmad Black return, though, to give the Gators plenty of experience in the defensive backfield. Will Hill is a former top prep safety and will be pushed hard from 2010’s top prep safety Matt Elam for Wright’s old spot.

Linebacker is the hardest hit position from early departures and graduation, not to mention Strong’s exit. A.J. Jones has the most experience returning and is one of the league’s best at his position. Brandon Hicks will fill the void left by Spikes, while Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins are neck-and-neck for the third starter spot.

The Gators had the nation’s best defensive line recruiting class per Rivals.com, and the fact that guys like Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd and Leon Orr will still be able to learn without being thrown completely into the fire speaks volumes about the depth UF has built along the trenches. Sure, NFL draftees Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap are gone, but Florida will be just fine here with what I think is the SEC’s best defensive line.

Justin Trattou, Duke Lemmens, Jaye Howard, Lawrence Marsh and Terron Sanders are all good enough to start at just about every school in the country at their respective positions. Waiting in the wings is Omar Hunter, my pick to be UF’s breakout player in 2010. The line is a major strength for Florida this season and will be for the foreseeable future in Gainesville.

SCHEDULE
Florida doesn’t play non-conference games outside the Sunshine State, but it always possesses one of the SEC’s toughest overall schedules. This year is no different with both South Florida and Florida State headlining the non-conference docket for the Gators.

A chance for redemption at the lone loss for the 2009 Gators awaits in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 2. This is perhaps the SEC’s biggest regular season contest as many feel both the Tide and Gators are destined to meet in the Georgia Dome for the third-straight December. It’s worth noting that the SEC Championship Game’s participants have not met in the regular season since 2004 when Auburn and Tennessee squared off twice.

The annual tilt with Georgia in Jacksonville Halloween weekend should be for the Eastern Division crown, and South Carolina travels to the Swamp as well as former Meyer protégé Dan Mullen and his MSU Bulldogs. Florida owns a two-game winning streak over LSU and will look to improve that to three-straight when the Bayou Bengals visit Gainesville in October.

In summary, Florida has the potential to once again be very, very good this fall. Meyer hates to lose more than anyone I’ve ever been around, and it will be interesting to see if his perspective following a loss or two is changed after his leave of absence this summer.

If you’re noticing a trend, it’s the fact that Florida has recruited very, very well on the defensive side of the ball for the past decade, and the fresh faces will adjust pretty quickly to keep any downward slides to a minimum in 2010.

• QUICK LOOK: University of Florida 2010
Starters Returning: 6 Offense, 7 Defense, 2 Specialist – 15
Key to the Team: John Brantley, QB
Most likely to breakout: Omar Hunter, DT
Most important game: at Alabama, Oct. 2