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3 Florida Gators with Big Opportunities against Samford

The Florida Gators are looking for answers in 2024. Which opens up opportunities for players to prove themselves in the time of uncertainty.

Kyle Lander

Florida Gators wide receiver Aidan Mizell has a big opportunity ahead of him.
Florida Gators wide receiver Aidan Mizell has a big opportunity ahead of him. / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Where there are injuries, there is also opportunity. 

Unfortunately for the Florida Gators, they saw several key pieces go down with injuries between last weekend and now that would keep them out against Samford. 

Florida will obviously want those guys back as soon as possible, but it also is the perfect time for other players lower on the depth chart to audition themselves for larger roles moving forward. 

In a game that should allow almost every player to see action, certain ones will be hoping that they impress head coach Billy Napier enough to earn more reps as the season progresses. 

But which players will that be? Obviously freshman quarterback DJ Lagway could 'Wally Pipp' senior Graham Mertz today. However, here are my other-top three for who can take advantage of the situation in front of them. 

Aidan Mizell

Everyone always prays for a clean season and no serious injuries. Sadly, for the Gators, they weren’t as lucky this year. Upon the release of the Week 2 depth chart for the Gators, there was one notable omission: Khaleil Jackson. 

Jackson will be sidelined for the rest of 2024 with an ACL injury. So, this means that the Gators will have to look to the next man up in the group and one player that could be is redshirt freshman Aidan Mizell. Mizell is a receiver that has top-end speed and can be a threat all over the field no matter where you put him at. 

Additionally, this wide receiver unit really struggled a weekend ago and will now be looking for the third starter to fill in for Jackson. This seems like a perfect time for Mizell to establish himself in the receiver rotation and become more of a contributor for the Gators offense in 2024. 

Aaron Gates

Aaron Gates is another player looking to use an injury situation to boost his standing on the depth chart. The depth chart for this week listed Gates as the starter in the STAR position after last week’s starter Sharif Denson went down with an undisclosed injury. 

The defensive back did play 28 snaps in the loss to Miami and may even see the same amount this week, but a good showing against Samford could give Napier a headache having to choose between him and Sharif Denson. 

Bryce Lovett

The last of the three is Bryce Lovett. Lovett was given 15 snaps last weekend and showed promising potential as a left guard. According to PFF’s offensive grades, he finished with a 79.9 pass blocking grade. That number put him at fourth overall on the team. 

However, his run blocking wasn’t as great. He finished with a grade of 56.4 in that department, per PFF. Now, that was only on six snaps, but it will be something he needs to improve upon if he wants to become a starter for the Gators. 

Luckily for him, almost everyone along the offensive line had a poor showing against Miami, and there could be multiple spots up for grab, including that left guard spot. 

In the end, this game against Samford might not tell much to the outside world, but it could be the platform these three need to become more of a mainstay for the Florida Gators in 2024.

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Kyle Lander

KYLE LANDER