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The last time the Florida Gators put out a depth chart (PDF), it included Skyler Mornhinweg OR Tyler Murphy, Marcus Roberson, and Ian Silberman as starters.
It's been a while, in other words.
Fortunately, Florida should be releasing a depth chart for the 2014 season soon (I'd guess Monday), and the depth chart is going to look much, much better, both because the Gators have more talent to throw on it, and because the players who rolled off last year's version with injuries are restored to (nearly) full health.
This is our first swing at one for this fall, and it's bound to be wrong: We don't even know for sure which positions will be listed on offense under Kurt Roper, and don't know how many strings will be listed.
Offensive Depth Chart
| Position | First Team | Second Team | Third Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Jeff Driskel | Treon Harris | OR Will Grier |
| Running back | Kelvin Taylor | Mack Brown | Brandon Powell |
| B position | Matt Jones | Hunter Joyer | |
| X receiver | Quinton Dunbar | Ahmad Fulwood | |
| Z receiver | Demarcus Robinson | Chris Thompson | Latroy Pittman |
| Slot receiver | Alvin Bailey | Andre Debose | C.J. Worton |
| Tight end | Jake McGee | Clay Burton | Tevin Westbrook |
| Left tackle | D.J. Humphries | Trenton Brown | |
| Left guard | Tyler Moore | Trip Thurman | |
| Center | Max Garcia | Drew Sarvary | |
| Right guard | Trenton Brown | Trip Thurman | |
| Right tackle | Chaz Green | Roderick Johnson |
I am least confident about slot receiver and tight end, if only because I'm pretty sure that there's no sure starter at slot receiver right now (Thomas Goldkamp says Latroy Pittman, but he hasn't impressed me in practices) and because Will Muschamp mentioned Burton before McGee when talking about tight ends earlier this week, but I do think I've got the likely starter at each position there.
Defensive Depth Chart
| Position | First Team | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| End | Jonathan Bullard | Gerald Willis |
| Nose | Leon Orr | Jay-nard Bostwick |
| Tackle | Darious Cummings | Joey Ivie |
| Buck | Dante Fowler, Jr. | Alex McCalister |
| Sam | Neiron Ball | Jeremi Powell |
| Mike | Antonio Morrison | Jarrad Davis |
| Will | Michael Taylor | Daniel McMillian |
| RCB | Vernon Hargreaves III | J.C. Jackson |
| LCB | Brian Poole | Jalen Tabor |
| Safety | Keanu Neal | Marcus Maye |
| Safety | Jabari Gorman | Duke Dawson |
| Nickel | Marcus Maye | J.C. Jackson |
| Dime | Jalen Tabor | OR J.C. Jackson |
The defense, though? The defense is a crapshoot, especially on the back end.
Bullard-Orr-Cummings-Fowler makes the most sense up front, and I think I've got their backups right. Ball-Morrison-Taylor is the logical set of linebackers, but I'm far less certain on their backups.
In the secondary, though, I may as well be throwing darts: I think Poole's got a slight edge on Tabor for Florida's second spot at corner, but Jackson's in the mix, too; Neal is one safety, and Gorman probably the other, but the rest of the names are really just guesses; Maye is Florida's starting nickel back if healthy, but I don't know who his backup would be; the dime position might just be about trying to get a sixth DB on the field, which makes me think that Tabor and Jackson should hold it down.
Special Teams Depth Chart
| Position | First Team | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| Kicker | Austin Hardin | OR Frankie Velez |
| Punter | Kyle Christy | OR Johnny Townsend |
| Kick returner | Andre Debose | Chris Thompson |
| Punt returner | Demarcus Robinson | Vernon Hargreaves III |
| Holder | Kyle Crofoot | Jeff Driskel |
| Long snapper | Drew Ferris | Kyle Crofoot |
I bet Florida punts (no pun intended) on naming outright starters at kicker and punter, and lets them continue their competition through the first two games of the season. I think Hardin and Christy, who both have slightly bigger legs than their competition, hold edges, if only at the moment.
Debose should be Florida's only kick returner, to the point that kick return formations are about getting him 10 blockers, but I guess I have to list another. I really do think D-Rob might be the starting punt returner; either him or VH3 there is going to be cause for grousing, but they're both agile and decisive, and have great hands.
Florida's lucky to have a dedicated holder, and I think Crofoot's staying there, but I noticed Driskel taking snaps as a holder in one practice, so he gets the No. 2 spot.
What do you think of this stab at a depth chart? Where am I dead-on, and where am I bound to be wrong? I'll be in the comments.