How Will Leadership Be Decided for Florida Gators in 2021?

The Florida Gators are set to enter a season with plenty of young talent, but who needs to step up as leaders as they continue the journey?

From top to bottom, the Florida Gators have always leaned on its veterans to carry itself through a season.

In 2018, Florida's roster was loaded with them, whether it was David Reese and Vosean Joseph at linebacker, Jordan Scarlett at running back or Van Jefferson at wide receiver. There were always players that young up-and-comers could look to.

2019 included Reese, Jefferson and other key veterans such as receivers Josh Hammond, Freddie Swain and Tyrie Cleveland, along with running back Lamical Perine. 2020 showcased a breakup campaign for veteran Kyle Trask. Leadership has always been abundant in Gainesville under head coach Dan Mullen.

This year, Florida has much more youth that will be expected to become key contributors and others that are expected to become leaders sooner rather than later. But, who are those that will already have their place among the leaders in Florida and which ones need to rise to the challenge sooner rather than later?

Mullen looks at it by position group more so than the overall team. During his final press briefing with the media during spring camp, he broke down just that, position by position more or less of who the leaders of the groups are.

"So you’re looking at, hey [defensive end] Zach Carter, the guys up front, the whole defensive front, you gotta take control of that ... Kaiir [Elam] in the secondary, you have to make sure those guys are communicating and getting the work in donig what they’re supposed to do," said Mullen. 

"Ventrell Miller at linebacker. You’re looking at guys like Big Stew (Stewart Reese) and Ethan White, Richard Gouraige on the offensive line of making sure they’re getting the work in they need to get in."

While it appears at first glance the Gators will be loaded with leadership on offense, White has never taken full-time snaps on the offensive line, starting out last year with an injury and playing sparingly during his freshmen season. Gouraige is in a similar boat, never really holding the full-time starting job at tackle.

Experience isn't necessary when leadership is concerned, but it does put it in perspective of who and how young the team's leaders will be this season.

Similar to Trask last season, Emory Jones is also expected to take a major leadership jump this season. A redshirt junior, Jones has been given the keys to the car for the first time since he stepped foot on campus. His job will be the most demanding.

"Emory and [quarterback] Anthony [Richardson] have to get the tight ends and receivers and all that, they got to work on the same page. So it’s kind of the veteran guy at their position group pulling all the other guys along, saying, this is the work we need to do.

"When I was talking about how to prepare, how to learn, how to develop, it’s the older guys saying, this is how you do it. Kyle Trask last year getting everybody on the same page to do it. Emory watched how he did it, so now it’s his turn for him to go show those guys how to do it, and then Anthony learns and then shows them how to do it."

The Florida leadership will be done through groups, not one or two players who stand up in front of the team demanding excellence. It will be a challenge this year, but it appears the team's work ethic is in an upwards trajectory, able to withstand what comes in their way. 

While Mullen feels the team's work ethic is "great," he says that now it's about whether or not the players can take it upon themselves to get things done. That will be the critical next step in their development.

"If I went in the locker room real quick and said, ‘Hey, let’s go out scrimmage tomorrow. OK, let’s go coach. What do you want us to do?’ But now I’m not here, it’s on you. How are you taking the onus on yourself to do it," Mullen asked.

"That’s the critical part of the improvement.”