With the season opener against Miami almost two months away, the Florida Gators are in the middle of their offseason workouts preparing for the 2019 season. The Gators had a terrific 2018 season with Dan Mullen running the show. They finished last season 10-3 with a 41-15 blowout victory against the Michigan Wolverines. The Gators offense was the best offense they have had since Mullen was the offensive coordinator at Florida in 2008. Florida did lose some key players on offense and will look at some underclassmen to fill in. Here are three breakout candidates on Florida’s offense.
One of the positions on offense that Florida lost a lot of production from last season was at tight end. C’yontai Lewis was a consistent player that was a good leader on the field. Moral Stephens was a pleasant surprise as he scored five touchdowns in his senior season. Without them, Florida will look towards their sophomore tight end Kyle Pitts to become their star tight end. Pitts is more than capable of being the tight end Florida needs in their system. He is a 6’6 250-pound tight end that you can spread out. He’s a terrific receiver that does a good job of using his height to his advantage. Pitts did get a lot of playing time towards the end of last season but will most likely be Florida’s starting tight end for the 2019 season. Florida’s coaching staff is very high on Pitts and expect him to have a big season.
The wide receiver from Alabama, Toney, has been talked about as one of the most explosive players in the SEC. Toney hasn’t had a ton of production but he’s due to have a breakout season. The junior receiver has made a lot of improvements with his route running which has been his biggest issue. In his first two seasons, Toney could only get the ball on a straight-line pass, handoff or if he was the Quarterback in Florida’s Wildcat formation. If Toney can be the downfield threat, he’s got the speed and agility to make short yardage completions into explosive plays.
We finalize our list of three breakout candidates on Florida’s offense as we move to the running back position. In his freshman season, Davis quickly became a fan favorite due to his big plays late in games and explosive runs. His freshman and sophomore seasons were cut short due to injuries but Davis is healthy again and playing in a less crowded backfield. The redshirt-sophomore has a great opportunity of getting more playing time with Jordan Scarlett in the NFL. Lamical Perine will still be the starting back at Florida but Davis could still a lot of touches as the backup. He’s a home run threat from the backfield which is something Florida hasn’t had since his injury freshman year. Davis is smaller back compared to Florida’s other running backs but he’s also the fastest in the Gators backfield and has that second gear for long runs. If Davis can stay healthy, Florida’s backfield could be one of the best in the country.
