Florida Gators 2023 football season preview

The University of Florida football team is gearing up for the 2023 season with high hopes and expectations.

After the Gators concluded their 2022 season under first-year head coach Billy Napier with a 6-7 overall record, it marked their second consecutive losing season after tallying the same record in 2021. The last time Florida suffered back-to-back losing seasons was from 1978 to 1979.

With a statement 29-26 win against No. 7 Utah in the season opener, and a new head coach at the helm, high expectations were set for the Gators at the beginning of the 2022 season.

Nevertheless, the team finished the year with seven losses, including defeats to Tennessee, LSU, Vanderbilt, and Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl.

But throughout the season, the Gators had some stellar moments, particularly involving its younger group of players and its offense that was formerly led by now-NFL quarterback Anthony Richardson and standout players Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne.

Previewing the offense

In April, Richardson — who completed 176 of 327 of his passes for 2,549 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions in his first full year as a starter — declared for the NFL Draft. He was the the No. 4 overall pick by the Colts.

While the selection made Richardson tie with Kyle Pitts as the third-highest overall pick in Florida history, it also compelled the Gators to begin searching for a new replacement at quarterback.

So Florida picked up Wisconsin’s Graham Mertz from the transfer portal.

“I’ve been very impressed with Graham,” Napier said at SEC Media Days. “Graham is a 32-start player. He’s played over 2,000 snaps at a really established program in Wisconsin. We went through an extensive process to make that decision. I think Graham is an accomplished player but more importantly, I’ve been impressed with the person, the leader. This guy has an incredible motor and work ethic.”

Mertz spent four years with the Badgers, throwing for 5,405 yards and 38 touchdowns.

Jack Miller III served as Richardson’s backup last year and will compete against Mertz, along with redshirt freshman Max Brown, for the starting spot.

“We have been really pleased with a young player, Max Brown,” Napier said. “He’s had a good summer. He’s impressed the staff and he’s impressed his teammates… We are excited about that competition. We’ll go into training camp and we’ll make a decision when we see fit for the team.”

Florida’s rushing attack dominated last season, and two of its top offensive players will be returning in 2023.

Junior Montrell Johnson along with sophomore Trevor Etienne combined for 1,560 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns last season.

Johnson led the team in rushing yards (841) and placed second in scoring with 11 touchdowns. He brought a ton of success in just one season to Florida’s offense after transferring from Louisiana – where he was coached by Napier during his freshman season.

Johnson was just one of several players from Louisiana to land at Florida following Napier’s arrival.

Senior wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is also among the returning starters on the offense. Last season he led receivers with 661 yards and five touchdowns.

Outside of Richardson, the Gators also lost All-American guard O’Cyrus Torrence and wide receiver Justin Shorter to the draft, as well as wide receiver Xzavier Henderson to the portal. But despite losing some key players, the Gators will have some solid talent returning to the offense in 2023.

Previewing the defense

The Gators 2022 defense was ranked No. 97 in total defense — allowing 411 yards per game, 5.92 yards per play and 28.85 points per game, which was third worst in the Southeastern Conference.

And then they lost a ton of defenders to the NFL, including Rashad Torrence, who led the team in total tackles, Brenton Cox Jr., who led the team in quarterback hurries, Trey Dean, Amari Burney, Ventrell Miller and Gervon Dexter.

But the Gators have some strong returning players on defense as well, such as junior edge Princely Umanmielen, sophomore linebacker Shemar James and sophomore defensive back Kamari Wilson.

Umanmielen, who earned preseason All-SEC honors, led the team last year in sacks (4.5 for 45 yards loss), tackles for loss and ranked second in quarterback hurries. James had 47 stops while Wilson registered 39 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble and pass breakup each.

The Gators have also brought in a number of newcomers, including safety and University of Houston transfer Mannie Nunnery and Ohio State transfer Teradja Mitchell.

A coaching addition was also made as new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong will lead the defense in his first year with the Gators.

Napier hired Armstrong ten days before spring practice after Patrick Toney, who had been hired as the defensive backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals in February, left for the NFL.

Armstrong, 29, had a two-year stint as the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Southern Miss, and also served as the assistant defensive line coach at Louisiana under Napier for the 2017-18 seasons and linebackers coach in 2020.