ESPN: Pair of Gators Linemen Among Top at Their Position for 2023 NFL Draft

The Florida Gators will have a number of players enter the 2023 NFL Draft, with a pair of offensive linemen slated to be selected.

Photo: O'Cyrus Torrence; Credit: Zach Goodall 

Though the obvious suspect for the Florida Gators' 2023 NFL Draft hopes is obviously quarterback Anthony Richardson, a redshirt sophomore entering his first year starting with the program, some national outlets still view other players on the team highly, including a pair of offensive linemen in guard O'Cyrus Torrence and center Kingsley Eguakun.

ESPN's Mel Kiper recently released an early look at where he views players that are draft-eligible next year rank when it comes to the NFL Draft. Richardson was listed as the No. 4 quarterback, earning a place among the top players in general.

Both Torrence and Eguakun were among those listed, too, though, with Torrence coming in as the No. 5 guard behind Layden Robinson (Texas A&M), Christian Mahogany (Boston College), Andrew Vorhees (USC) and Braeden Daniels (Utah).

Torrence transferred into Florida this year after spending the past three seasons at Louisiana, playing for Florida head coach Billy Napier. Now, Torrence has a chance to seriously boost his draft stock while playing in the most competitive conference in the country, the SEC.

Torrence, listed at 6-foot-5, 335 pounds, has quickly become one of the team's leaders on the offensive line, even while the program has yet to kick off fall camp. That's because he has, in part, a learned experience of the team's offense, having been in the system already.

The senior guard also has plenty of experience on the field, in general, having started 35 games in his career, entering as a true freshman in 2019 and starting in 13 out of the team's 14 games. He was named First Team All-Sun Belt Conference just last season.

Torrence, even while playing in a lower conference tier, is also among many draftniks and college football analysts' "big board" so far as offensive linemen. His talent will likely allow him to skyrocket in the draft, and his ranking on Kiper's list is not surprising.

Another player that won't surprise many who have paid attention to Florida in the last 365 days is Eguakun, who earned a starting gig last season, playing and starting in all 13 games at center. He is a rising redshirt junior, appearing in 12 games in 2020, while appearing in just two games as a freshman in 2019.

Though it's unlikely Eguakun enters next year's draft, barring a high-mark evaluation from the college football NFL Draft board, his standing on Kiper's ranking isn't that surprising.

Coming in as the No. 9 center on Kiper's list, Eguakun is behind John Michael Schmitz (Minnesota), Jarrett Patterson (Notre Dame), Sedrick Van Pran (Georgia), Olusegun Oluwatimi (Michigan), Alex Forsyth (Oregon), Joe Tippmann (Wisconsin), Ricky Stromberg (Arkansas) and Brett Neilon (USC).

Despite starting only one season in his career thus far, Eguakun was one of the top offensive linemen at Florida last year, paving the way for a formidable rushing attack, even while the team struggled offensively as a whole throughout the year. Taking over for Brett Heggie, the team's center in 2020, was seamless.

That same progression has already been seen this year throughout the spring with defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator Sean Spencer offering praise for the young center earlier this year.

"I really like Kingsley, I like the center," Spencer said when asked his impression of the offensive line in April. "He's feisty. He gives it to my guys every day. But I like him. I like him. I watched those guys in the league and he's got that common demeanor."

Don't be surprised to see the Florida offensive line much improved this year, even with a bit of a re-shuffle as tackle Jean Delance took his talents to the NFL this spring while guard Stewart Reese ran out of eligibility. The team has a formidable group and much of that is and will be thanks to players like Torrence and Eguakun.

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