The Florida Gators got the win last Saturday over the Vanderbilt Commodores but it wasn’t pretty. The Gators didn’t slow down but the defense had another off game which is concerning since Vanderbilt’s offense was one of the worst in the SEC.
Florida quarterback Kyle Trask continued to build his Heisman resume and continues to get the ball to different receivers. The Gators defense gave up 406 of total offense with 319 of it coming from Vandy’s freshman quarterback.
Personnel changes might need to be made heading into this week and the underclassmen are starting to show out. The Gators offense also had one receiver have a career night is starting to look one of Trask’s go-to targets.
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Kyle Trask And The Florida Offense Continue To Roll
The Florida Gators offense have one of the most potent offense in the country and had another good performance on Saturday. The Gators offense scored 38 points and Kyle Trask continues to impress.
Trask completed 26 out of 35 passes for 383 yards and three touchdowns. He wasn’t able to extend his four plus touchdown streak but did break another record. Trask became the first player in SEC history to throw 30+ touchdown passes through the first seven games.
The Florida rushing attack has also quietly improved in the past two games. Florida rushed over 173 yards on 40 carries averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Junior Dameon Pierce led the Gators in rushing with 55 yards on eleven carries and a touchdown.
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Personnel Changes Need To Be Made On Defense
While the Florida offense has been amazing, its defense has been inferior. It looked like they were improving but took a couple of steps back against the Commodores. The Gators front four has been good but the rest of the defense hasn’t performed well and it might be time to make changes.
The secondary, which has been a strength in recent years, is the biggest weakness on defense. Redshirt-junior cornerback Marco Wilson has really struggled this season. He’s been getting beat deep and missed a couple of tackles this season. Sophomore cornerback Jaydon Hill has looked good when his number has been called and should probably get the start heading into this week.
Other defensive players that have been struggling are Donovan Stiner and Amari Burney. The Gators did make some personnel changes on defense and it looked like it was working in a short period of time. Underclassmen like Tyron Hopper, Tre’Vez Johnson, Jesiah Pierre and Rashad Torrence have performed well while on the field.
Another thing that defense needs to improve on is communication. There were a bunch of times when the defense didn’t look set or confused before the ball was snapped. Vanderbilt took advantage of Florida’s confusion and would get chunks of yardage on the plays Florida’s defense didn’t know what was going on.
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Justin Shorter Is Becoming A Go-To Target
When the Florida Gators landed former five-star wide receiver Justin Shorter from the transfer portal, nobody really knew what to expect. Everybody knew he had the potential to be a great wide receiver but didn’t show it at Penn State.
That hasn’t been the case since his arrival at Florida, Shorter got the waiver to play this season from the NCAA and Florida couldn’t be more grateful. During his time at Penn State, Shorter had 15 receptions for 157 yards with no touchdowns. It looked like Shorter was a bust but the transfer to Florida has been amazing for the New Jersey native.
In his seven games as a Gator, Shorter has 16 receptions for 195 yards and three touchdowns. Shorter has been more productive in one season at Florida than his first two seasons at Penn State.
Shorter is not even starting at Florida but is playing like one and might get some starts if he continues to perform. He is also coming off a career game in which he caught five passes for 94 yards.
With Kyle Pitts out with a head injury, Shorter and the other tight ends have filled in nicely and have Gators fans excited for future when Shorter should become a starter in 2021. Shorter made a business decision this offseason and it definitely looks he made the right decision as he’s been very productive on the sixth ranked Florida Gators and Penn State is 0-6 on the season.
