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Florida Gators Mailbag 9/13
Each week, GatorMaven will take Florida Gators-related questions from our readers across social media and answer them in article-form. These will typically happen on Monday mornings, but a hectic schedule pushed this mailbag into later in the week.
You can submit your questions every week by tweeting them to the GatorMaven Twitter handle, our Facebook page, or by emailing me at zachgoodallpv@gmail.com
Let's get to the mailbag!
From @itsbcarroll: What player will have the biggest increase in production on the offensive side while wide receiver Kadarius Toney is sidelined?
Answer: I'm a big believer in Jacob Copeland. Dating back to when I first started to cover the team this summer, I saw a receiver with incredible athletic tools and a natural feel for the nuances of the position when I watched Copeland in practice. He's a smooth operator when he breaks into his routes, he's fast and can get from 0 to 100 pretty quickly, and he's got good size for the slot position.
He's even received the occasional handoff, including one against UT-Martin that went for 15 yards. I think Copeland is a good fit for what the Gators wanted to do with Toney, and honestly, his ceiling as a true receiver is higher than Toney's. Assuming he sees an uptick in snaps with Toney sidelined, I wouldn't be shocked to see Toney's usage decline a bit when he returns to full health as Copeland emerges.
From @Demetrius82: With Toney and cornerback C.J. Henderson being out, do you think there will be a significant drop off on offense and defense for the Gators? Is it a concern?
A: As I said above, I'm really excited to see Copeland in a role similar to Toney's, and of course the rest of the receiver corps. is so diversely talented that they should be fine without Toney. He's great to have, but not a necessity to the offense.
Henderson is one of the best cornerbacks in the nation and should be selected in the top half of the 2020 NFL Draft - losing him hurts. Now, Florida's three true freshmen defensive backs were highly productive against UT-Martin, recording nine tackles, an interception, and another pass breakup. They appear comfortable filling in, but hopefully Henderson can return to full strength quickly.
From @Streetshopkid: Typically offensive lines are better at run blocking early in their development and struggle more in pass protection. Why do you think the Gators have the opposite situation so far this season?
A: That's a great question that I don't have the best answer for. OL coach John Hevesy has said that he wants to see his unit execute their assignments better in the run game, but on tape, I haven't noticed a ton of struggle. The interior guys are moving well, both vertically and in their pulls, which should open up some inside zone. The tackles need to clean up some technique in the run game, however, left tackle Stone Forsythe has been pretty great in pass protection.
The line has only allowed 10 pressures so far - six of which have come from right tackle Jean Delance. He needs to start stepping up, or else he could be the first lineman to lose his spot.
From @itsbcarroll: How big of an impact will safety Brad Stewart have in regards to the play at safety after being suspended for the first two games of the season? Is he the missing piece to the secondary?
A: Getting Stewart back is huge for the secondary, especially considering that Henderson likely won't be on the outside this week. Pro Football Focus gave Stewart a borderline elite grade in coverage last year at 89.5, allowing only 50% of his targets to be caught, recording two interceptions along the way. Given the breakout of Shawn Davis, Florida might finally be comfortable at safety with that duo on the backend.
From @jmbagay: While on the back burner in the grand scheme of themes, if quarterback Feleipe Franks ever goes down, who do you think the Gators would be more comfortable with going forward, Kyle Trask or Emory Jones?
A: I think it depends on the situation. If Feleipe Franks were to suffer a short-term injury, I believe Trask would step in given his experience, in order to keep Florida competitive until Franks were to return.
Rather, if Franks were lost for the season due to injury or was benched for poor performance - which would lessen Florida's ability to compete - Jones would likely take over. He's the future at quarterback, and at that point, it'd be beneficial for Jones to get all the game reps that he can to build towards his future.
From @MrColeThompson: One team on the schedule that could derail Florida's chances at competing?
A: South Carolina on October 19th. QB Jake Bentley, who suffered a season-ending foot injury, reportedly could look to transfer following the debut of true freshman QB Ryan Hilinski.
Hilinski is the future at QB in South Carolina and looked great in his first game (albeit against Charleston Southern), completing 80% of his passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns. If he can continue this momentum, Florida could face some challenges when they head up to Columbia next month.
