Florida Gators Offensive Line with Shocking PFF Grade

The Florida Gators retooled offensive line is looking a lot like the poor product the Gators put on the field in 2023.

The Florida Gators offensive line was supposed to be new and improved for 2024. / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

A big talking point from a season ago was how poor the Florida Gators offensive line was. Well, after a Week 1 beatdown from the Miami Hurricanes, the same chatter is back. 

It didn’t take long for anyone watching the game to recognize the underwhelming blocking in both pass and run situations. There rarely were times that the Gators offense looked at ease and like a normal offense on the field last Saturday with the offensive line play being one of the biggest reasons why. 

On passing plays, the offensive line gave up three sacks and could be partially at fault for the interceptions thrown by both Gator quarterbacks. 

Then on runs, it never seemed that there were open lanes to run through. For example, if you negate the 71-yard rushing touchdown by Montrell Johnson Jr., the Gators only ran the ball for 68 yards on 27 carries. That puts them at a solid 2.52 yards per carry. Luckily for the Gators though, you can’t take that run away. 

So, what was the problem then? Was it a whole offensive line issue or are there a few bad apples? Well, It seems like it might have been the group as a whole.

For starters, it wasn’t a pretty game for a certain individual on the right side of the line. According to PFF’s offensive grades from this game, right tackle Kamryn Waites had a 0.0 pass blocking grade and a 39.1 overall offensive grade from this game. That can’t be the output from a starter spot for the Gators if they expect to win games moving forward. 

Going over PFF offensive grades for Florida from yesterday's loss to Miami:

- RT is an issue (Kamryn Waiters got a 0.0 pass blocking grade?)
-Damieon George Jr. was solid at RG
-Graham Mertz gave his worst performance since Week 4 of 2021 pic.twitter.com/369jvrmtB5

— David Rosenberg (@DavidRosenbergg) September 1, 2024

It seems virtually impossible to get a 0.0 grade, kind of like getting a perfect 0 on an SAT, but here we are.

Additionally, in running situations, the Gators offensive line had a rough day. Other than Austin Barber (67.0), Jake Slaughter (62.8) and Roderick Kearney (63.6), no offensive lineman had a 60.0 or higher run grade. And even the grades from those three are barely good enough. 

Now, in certain situations, the Gators line had positive moments. Barber had a 82.4 pass blocking grade, Damieon George Jr. had a 86.3, Slaughter at 84.0 and Bryce Lovett at 79.9 in limited reps. 

But this hot and cold play from this unit led to head coach Billy Napier trying to combat the individual issues from each player with mixing and matching across the line throughout the game. However, Florida could never find the correct formula for a consistent, functioning offensive line against the Hurricanes. 

So, while there were signs of good blocking, there was not a consistent level of blocking to even give the Gators a chance in this game. If the offense is going to move the ball, it can’t be a one or two man show. It needs to be a collective unit. It’s why the Gators and their offensive line unit believe in the “5=1” mantra.