First year Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain gave an interesting analogy in reference to freshmen offensive linemen seeing the field right away.
#UF Jim McElwain on message to his young OLinemen. "It's like goin to DisneyWorld. You ain't standing in line. You're in the Fastpass Lane"
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) July 13, 2015
McElwain, who is no stranger to using colloquialisms in interviews (he once told reporters that he could “win with my dog Clarabelle), won’t have much of a choice when it comes to his freshmen O-linemen seeing the field right away.
The Gators nearly doubled their number of scholarship offensive linemen with their 2015 recruiting class, going from seven to 12. They also got a boost post-recruiting with the additions of transfers Mason Halter from Fordham and TJ McCoy from N.C. State.
The biggest concern for the Gator O-line is at tackle, where Roderick Johnson, who was expected to start, was forced to quit football unexpectedly after being diagnosed with congenital cervical stenosis which prevents proper protection of the spinal chord.
David Sharpe, a true sophomore and highly touted recruit in 2014 cycle, is expected to start at one tackle spot.
The other will likely come down to Halter, who was a two-time FCS all-American at Fordham, and Martez Ivey, a five-star recruit and the crowned jewel of the Gators’s 2015 cycle.
Florida’s biggest strength on the O-line is probably at center, where they have the option to start redshirt senior Trip Thurman, redshirt sophomore Cameron Dillard, or true freshman and Under Armour all-American Tyler Jordan.
At guard, the Gators will probably see a mix of guys until one or two can separate themselves from the pack. Antonio Riles and Kavaris Harkless figure to get some looks along with Thurman, and true freshman Brandon Sandifer will potentially be in the mix.
The Gators will undoubtedly mix and match at the beginning of the year until they can find the right combinations, both in practices and in games. And McElwain isn’t kidding around when he says that his young linemen are in the “Fastpass lane.” That isn’t by choice, but it could pay dividends in a year or two when the Florida O-linemen are among the most experienced in the SEC.
As for this year, it’ll likely be tough sledding to start. But to be fair, most of their linemen, although young, were highly recruited players. Don’t put playing at a higher-than-expected level past them. That being said, this O-line is still at the very least a year away from being where it needs to be for Florida to compete.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
