With the first day of Fall camp at the forefront, there are still a plethora of questions surrounding the team that new head coach Jim McElwain hopes to have answered before the season kicks off on Sept. 5. Well, like you, I’m not a fan of waiting. So with that said, here are my answers to five burning questions that have yet to be answered from this team.
1.) Will Grier will be the starting quarterback.
This one’s a no-brainer for me. Grier, the redshirt freshman, is the better quarterback. That’s it. His main competition, sophomore Treon Harris, may have six starts under his belt, but his statline (49.5-percent completion, 1,019 yards in 111 passing attempts) is far from anything that will guarantee him the starting job. Plus, Grier outperformed Harris in Spring camp (Note: Harris missed time early in camp due to the death of his cousin, but the fact still stands). Right now, the quarterback position is Grier’s to lose.
2.) Jake McGee will be Florida’s most reliable pass catcher.
Regardless of which quarterback takes the first snap, he is going to need a safety blanket. That is going to be McGee, the sixth-year tight end. While McGee did not take part in contact drills during Spring while rehabbing from a broken leg, the Virginia transfer can still be argued as one of Florida’s best pass-catchers down the middle of the field. He’ll be there for check-down passes, quick outs, and third-and-short situations.
Remember, he led Virginia in receptions the year before transferring to UF. McGee knows how to get the ball in his hands, and Grier or Harris (well, Grier, if No. 1 works out) will make sure to target him.
3.) Kelvin Taylor will not lead UF running backs in rushing yards or touchdowns.
With the depth the Gators have at running back, McElwain would be a fool not to use a by-committee approach. With that said, Kelvin Taylor — a junior and presumably the starter heading into camp — and Scarlett, the four-star freshman, are likely to receive the bulk of the carries with Adam Lane taking on goal-line and short-yardage situations.
And if last year showed anything with the running backs, it was that Taylor excelled against Georgia and was just, well, there during the rest of the season.
If history were to repeat itself, Scarlett and Lane will get their opportunities early.
4.) Once again, Ahmad Fulwood will fail to break out.
When Fulwood arrived at UF two years ago, fans looked at him as a potential star.
Two years later, they’re still waiting.
In 24 career games, the Jacksonville native has just 326 receiving yards. More than a quarter of them were on an 86-yard catch-and-run in the Birmingham Bowl, a play that would not have happened if not for a stellar block by Rod Johnson.
Fulwood has had his chances to execute.
He hasn’t.
And with names such as Demarcus Robinson, Brandon Powell and Antonio Callaway lining up at receiver, Fulwood will find himself near the bottom of the totem pole if he doesn’t perform well early.
5.) Antonio Morrison will produce, but he won’t be the same.
There’s no doubt that Morrison is a fighter. He led the Gators last season with 101 tackles and had at least 10 in six games.
But since suffering a knee injury in the Birmingham Bowl on Jan. 3 — seven months and two surgeries ago — he has yet to take the field for any sort of practice.
If Morrison is able to play at all this season, which is still up in the air, he won't be himself.
Expect the combination of Alex Anzalone and Jarrad Davis to pick up a lot of the grunt work this year and Matt Rolin, Jeremi Powell and Daniel McMillian to see more playing time.
Antonio Morrison attempts a tackle during Florida's 38-20 win against Georgia on Nov. 1, 2014.
