The Florida Gators will welcome the East Carolina Pirates to the Swamp this weekend in what is technically a rematch of last year’s Birmingham Bowl that the Gators won 28-20. However, this game doesn’t feel much like a rematch. East Carolina lost many of their key playmakers such as quarterback Shane Carden and all-time FBS receptions leader, wide receiver Justin Hardy. They are breaking in new players all over the field, and the ones who are playing for them either saw very little action or watched from the sidelines at last year’s bowl game. We all know the Gators changed their entire coaching staff, their offensive and defensive schemes. With new players all over the field as well, this game will have a very different feel than the Birmingham Bowl.
Week 2 Preview: Florida Gators vs East Carolina Pirates
It seemed like everything worked last week for the Gators as New Mexico State was severely outmatched and outclassed. East Carolina will be able to close the gap a bit, but the Gators should still be superior athletically and have the advantage over the Pirates. Despite their upside, however, the Gators are going into only their second game in this new system. They are still working out the kinks, so that athletic advantage may be negated because of their lack of familiarity with what they are running. It will definitely be more of a challenge and give a better indication of how some of these players are performing.
Kelvin Taylor looked like a breakout back last week but, he will need to prove it over the course of the season. Treon Harris and Will Grier will both play and continue their quarterback battle. First-year head coach Jim McElwain will continue to build his offensive line, which remains the biggest concern for the Gators as conference play approaches.
Here are the team breakdowns by position:
QUARTERBACK:
The Gators are still trying to determine if Treon Harris or Will Greir will lead this offense. Treon Harris started, but both guys played last week and they both performed well. Harris was 14-for-19 for 215 yards and two scores while Grier was an astonishingly efficient 15-for-17 for 164 yards, two touchdowns through the air and another one the ground. Both guys will battle it out again this week with Grier getting his first start and likely seeing slightly more playing time. I still think McElwain would like to go with Grier as his full-time starter but is holding on to the idea of going with Treon based on his questionable offensive line. He has the slight edge with ability to escape the pocket and get out and make a play, which could help make up for the deficiencies on the offensive line.
East Carolina was already breaking in a new starter at quarterback when Kurt Benkert got hurt in fall camp, but now they’re taking their planned backup Blake Kemp and making him the starter. It will likely be an extensive process to get comfortable in their offense, as they are also replacing their leading rushing and receiver. Kemp was 29-for-37 for 230 yards passing and two touchdowns last week, but that was against Towson. This week he will be facing the best secondary he may go against in his entire college football career.
EDGE: GATORS
RUNNING BACKS
Kelvin Taylor looked like he had grown into his body, put on some extra bulk and definition, and carried it over into a tough and hard nosed running game. He also looked like he was ready to take the reigns as an every down back in the SEC. He reminded me of former Gators back Mike Gilliselle from a couple years ago when he was running last week. Jordan Scarlett and Jordan Cronkite also looked good in limited action and gave the Gators a three-headed monster of capable backs. There production will be imperative for this young, inexperienced offense.
McElwain will be forced to lean on his ground game and try to keep the ball away from his opponent at points during the season and it will be important to keep the guys fresh by rotating them in and out. They should all get carries in this game and should all produce in the box score. The goal this week is to come out of it healthy and ready for conference play.
East Carolina is replacing starting running back Breon Allen and senior Chris Hairston had 154 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 18 carries last week on an overmatched Towson front seven. Hairston is a tough guy to bring down and has had decent success over his career with 868 yards and 9 touchdowns. Sophomore Anthony Scott saw limited action last week with 11 carries for 42 yards. Both guys will need to make the most of their opportunities as finding holes will be tough to come by and when they get them, they will need to make people miss in the second level in order to bust big plays and help the offense have long sustained drives.
Consistent running will be tough to come by for East Carolina. Kemp is inexperienced and not much of a threat to the Gator secondary, because of that Florida will be able to stack the box with seven or eight man fronts and stuff the run early and often. It will be hard for East Carolina to get things going, they will have to be creative with their screen and draw game.
EDGE: GATORS
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Demarcus Robinson leads the Gator wide receiving crew and is looking to duplicate his strong season from a year ago. Brandon Powell has made the move from running back to slot receiver and had a nice 37 yard touchdown grab against New Mexico last weekend. He could emerge as the secondary target for either quarterback.
The tight ends look like they will be a big part of the offensive game plan this year with three guys seeing quite a bit of action and making catches last week. McElwain used wheel routes, misdirection, and stacked lines to try and free up his tight ends with linebackers in open space and allowing the big guys to go out there and make a play either running someone over or making them miss. The trio, led by sixth year senior Jake McGee are a welcome sight in Gainesville where the tight end position was rarely used in their offense. With the shaky offensive line situation, running two tight end sets seems like a good way to help provide extra protection for the quarterbacks while also giving him big body targets in the middle of the field.
East Carolina will take a noticeable step back after losing the all time FBS receptions leader Justin Hardy last season but they are breaking in some new players at the position, including junior Isaiah Jones who had 6 catches for 77 yards last week. Bryce Williams, Davon Grayson, Jimmy Williams, Chris Hairston, and Quay Johnson all caught a handful of passes as Kemp did an excellent job of spreading the ball around.
The Pirates no longer rely on that one receiver to provide their offense and they could go to any number of receivers on a given play. The Gators will need to be aware of any eligible receivers and lock them down since they don’t know where Kemp will go with the ball.
EDGE: GATORS
OFFENSIVE LINE
The Gators are very thin at offensive line. It is their biggest concern heading into the season and they struggled at times last week. The offense still put up big numbers and they scored a lot of points, but the quarterbacks still had to get rid of the ball quickly, take off running to save themselves at times, or take the hits. The line will need to continue to work hard and get better, working on their communication and trust among each other on the unit. The tight ends will continue to help in the running game.
East Carolina is returning more experience than the Gators and have the continuity built up that Florida is hoping to achieve as the season rolls on. I struggled to find an area where East Carolina has the edge, but if I had to pick one, it would be here.
EDGE: PIRATES
FRONT SEVEN
The Gator front seven is still a work in progress as they look to find the guys to replace Dante Fowler Jr and the rest of the talent that left from a season ago. Bryan Cox Jr. and Johnathan Bullard are established, but the other guys are still being worked in and out trying to see who will take the job. They are skilled enough as a unit to get lots of pressure on East Carolina no matter who is in there and could force Blake Kemp into some bad decisions.
The Gators have newcomers led by CeCe Jefferson that they are really excited about as well and they are going to turn them lose and send that at the quarterback hoping to get him to force it up into their talented secondary.
The Pirates are happy to have Terrell Stanley back after missing the entire 2014 season. Stanley had 7 sacks for East Carolina in 2013 and is capable of manhandling the young Gator offensive line and could be in the face of the quarterbacks all day. He will command attention and a good amount of double teams leaving other guys on the ECU defensive line alone or one on one to make a play.
EDGE: GATORS
SECONDARY
The Gators have one of the best secondaries in all of the country. Vernon Hargreaves III gets all the attention and is worth all of the coverage and hype, but Jalon Tabor played a really good game last week and could take that next step as a lockdown corner. If he does, it would give the Gators a lockdown tandem that no quarterback is going to want to play.
Marcus Maye and Brian Poole will see a majority of the snaps at the safety position with Duke Dawson getting a look at corner and safety.
The Pirate secondary will have to prepare for Grier and Harris and will get a different look depending on which guy is on the field. They were already outmatched in terms of talent and will then have to work that much harder getting ready for two quarterbacks.
EDGE: GATORS
SPECIAL TEAMS
Austin Hardin kept showcasing his big leg last week booting most of his kickoffs out of the back of the end-zone for an uncontested touch back. He is also handling all of their kicks after only attempting the long field goals a season ago. He was 2-for-2 in field goals last week and had one extra point blocked in eight attempts. Johnny Townsend is the Florida punted and hopefully will not be on the field much, like last week when he only attempted one punt for 40 yards.
Multiple guys will handle kick and punt returns including Brandon Powell, Vernon Hargreaves, Antonio Callaway, Alvin Bailey, and others. McElwain is going to go with the hot hand or whoever is fresh in the particular situation. He could also rotate guys in and out on hunches. I would like to see Hargreaves’ returns limited so he doesn’t injure himself and hamper the defense.
The Gators clearly have the athletic advantage in the return game and Austin Hardin has a leg that stacks up with some of the best kickers in the country. The Gators will have the edge in special teams so East Carolina will have to look for any opportunity to create turnovers or capitalize on mistakes.
EDGE: GATORS
The Gators will look to improve their record to 2-0 and continue the buzz surrounding McElwain. He has certainly renewed enthusiasm in the program, he seems to have the players playing and acting to a higher standard, and they are playing smarter on the field. They look like a completely new program from the one led by Will Muschamp and that is exactly what they needed.
