Florida Gators True Freshmen Tracker: Who's Playing and Making an Impact?
Photo credit: University of Florida athletic association
Six games into the season with the biggest - sorry for being rude, Vanderbilt - cupcake game on the schedule coming up on Saturday, the Florida Gators are in a position to get their entire 2020 recruiting class (or at least, the players that are healthy) onto the field this season at their position.
They're over halfway there. On the season, of the 21 prospects that signed, enrolled, and are with the team, 12 freshmen have seen playing time on offense or defense.
In a game that Florida is currently favored by 31.5 points two days before kickoff, we'd absolutely expect the number of freshmen with playing time to grow.
Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham mentioned on Tuesday that some have been "forced in maybe a little bit sooner than others." such as safety Rashad Torrence II who saw over 60 snaps in week one against Ole Miss. However, Grantham is a happy man if the freshmen across his unit are communicating pre-snap in practice and games, suggesting that displays a player's confidence in their own abilities.
With that, who has shown enough to this staff to earn playing time as a true freshman this season at their actual position (not including special teams), and what kind of impact have they made through six games?
Offense
WR Xzavier Henderson
Five games, 116 offensive snaps
Stats: Five receptions, 94 yards, one touchdown
Henderson stepped into a role in the Gators offense right out of the gate, seeing 35 snaps against Ole Miss in Florida's first game of the season. Perhaps that surprised fans, as the Gators returned ample talent at receiver this season, but it was no surprise to Henderson.
“I feel like that was the expectation at any university I would have went to," Henderson said about early playing time on Tuesday. "Florida did sell me that they had four wide receivers leaving so it was a great opportunity to come in and play or start.”
A 6-foot-4, 191-pound, lengthy prospect with great speed for his size, Henderson offers a similar skill-set to that of older receivers Trevon Grimes and Justin Shorter. His role may not become substantial in terms of touches until next year, but he understands the offense enough and is a big enough matchup threat to play over several upperclassmen.
OL Joshua Braun
Three games, 96 snaps
Stats: No pressures allowed on 47 pass-blocking snaps (per Pro Football Focus)
Braun, a late flip from Georgia in the 2020 class, is someone that we at Sports Illustrated-AllGators have long projected to receive snaps as a true freshmen.
Twice he's played clean-up duty, however, he stepped in against Georgia when starting right guard Stewart Reese exited the game and played admirably against the program he was once pledged to.
His father and former high school coach, Mike, has even put together some highlight reels on his Twitter of Braun's playing time with the Gators.
QB Anthony Richardson
Two games, six snaps
Stats: Four rushes, 19 yards; 0-of-1 passing, one interception
It's been very limited, but we've gotten glimpses of the long-term future of Florida's quarterback room in Anthony Richardson this season - assuming Emory Jones takes the starting role next season.
Richardson has shown plenty of power as a rusher, an intriguing complement to the more elusive Jones. Richardson also threw an interception on his lone passing attempt this season, although offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said on Monday that Richardson getting his first pick out of the way is a good thing.
It's hard to imagine Richardson's role expanding much beyond the playing time he could earn against Vanderbilt. UF doesn't need to rush Richardson's development, and can especially be patient with Kyle Trask being the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy and Jones offering a similar dual-threat dynamic, plus experience.
TE Jonathan Odom
Two games, four snaps
No stats
Odom has seen the fewest snaps of any freshman on Florida's offense this year and has been utilized as a blocker along the way (three run play snaps).
It makes sense, Odom's father Jason was a unanimous All-American offensive tackle for Florida in the 1990s, so blocking is in his blood. However, the 6-foot-5, 238-pound tight end could make a living in the endzone as a contested-catch threat, similarly to how he was used in high school en route to 11 career scores.
Defense
Safety Rashad Torrence II
Six games, 156 snaps
Stats: 23 tackles
As mentioned earlier, Torrence immediately saw the field to begin his UF career as Shawn Davis Jr. was ejected for targeting ten plays into the Ole Miss game. Communication errors across the secondary immediately caused concern, perhaps partially, although not completely, the fault of Torrence's inexperience.
He's only gotten more comfortable, however. We'd love to see Torrence make a legitimate impact play such as an interception, and for the entire safety unit to improve its play, but he's started to move more freely across the field and coming downhill to defend shallow routes and play the run. Good signs.
STAR CB Tre'Vez Johnson
Five games, 103 snaps
Stats: Seven tackles, one tackle for loss, one defended pass
Another young defensive back to step up when needed, Johnson's usage exploded against Missouri with 41 snaps while three starting defensive backs were out for undisclosed reasons. Johnson then saw another 66 against Georgia, which tells you everything you need to know about how UF's coaching staff values him.
Don't forget: Head coach Dan Mullen saw this coming, acknowledging on National Signing Day that he believed Johnson was underrated.
DT Gervon Dexter
Six games, 98 snaps
Stats: Five tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception
On Tuesday, Grantham mentioned that Dexter has continued to receive quality snaps and that the team will need him to play and improve "for us to be the kind of team we want to be."
Which was a bit confusing. Before Kyree Campbell returned to the defensive line against Missouri, Dexter averaged 21 snaps per game. In the three games since, Dexter's snaps have gone down to 13, 11, and 11 in that order.
Now, is the needed improvement part true? Yes. Since his interception, off a batted pass, in week one, Dexter has done very little in terms of production.
However, it's crucial to remember that despite his five-star status, Dexter only had two years of football experience before college. He's still raw and learning, and was never going to make the impact of a typical five-star. It's just going to take some time before he could become a game-wrecker.
DE Princely Umanmielen
Three games, 32 snaps
Stats: Two tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss
Across limited snaps that have come late in games, Umanmielen has absolutely flashed as an edge rusher with a quick burst off the line, recording his first career (half) sack against Georgia. Another half-sack came against the Razorbacks. PFF credits Umanmielen with three quarterback pressures, as well.
18 of Umanmielen's 32 snaps came in clean-up duty against Missouri. We're expecting similar, or more, usage against Vandy.
DT Jalen Lee
Two games, 25 snaps
Stats: One tackle, one sack, one forced fumble
Another clean-up duty guy, Lee was one of several freshmen to have earned recognition from Grantham during fall camp, so it's of little surprise to see him on the field in some capacity. Seeing 15 snaps against Missouri and another 10 against Arkansas, he should crack double digits once again this Saturday.
Lee created a strip-sack on the final defensive play against Missouri that the next freshman we'll discuss scooped up. So far, Lee and Umanmielen have looked promising for the future of Florida's pass rush.
CB Kamar Wilcoxson
One game, 15 snaps
Stats: One tackle, one fumble recovery
Wilcoxson stepped in during the Missouri game as well, which is especially impressive given he should be a high school senior right now. Originally a 2021 prospect, Wilcoxson reclassified and enrolled at Florida in August, and took the field as a 17-year-old.
He has a long way to go at his age, physically and mentally, and there were some lapses in coverage against the Tigers that weren't taken advantage of. However, he made everyone forget those issues by calling game with the fumble recovery, a sight to see from such a young prospect. We'll see if UF is ready to put him back on the field on Saturday, though, as he hasn't played since.
LB Derek Wingo
Two games, nine snaps
Stats: One tackle, half a tackle for loss
Wingo is one of the top prospects that Mullen and Co. have signed since taking over, and considering some issues with playing sideline-to-sideline and in coverage at the second-level, Wingo's lack of usage even in garbage time has been puzzling.
Regarded by the staff, both publicly and behind closed doors, as a very bright defensive player, it would be surprising if Wingo is struggling with the playbook. He earned Gatorade's Florida Football Player of the Year in 2019 as an edge rusher, less than two years after making the move to defense from quarterback in high school.
Ventrell Miller has played well at middle linebacker for Florida this year, but it's hard to act as if the remainder of the unit has done anything special or held the weak-side position down consistently. So, why no Wingo?
CB Jahari Rogers
One game, three snaps
No stats
While UF's secondary hasn't lived up to par as a whole this season, the outside cornerbacks have played very well - at least, when the outside cornerbacks are Kaiir Elam and Jaydon Hill.
It comes as no surprise that Rogers has seen so little action - his three snaps came against Missouri. As a converted high school quarterback himself, it will just take time for Rogers to get comfortable.
