Ignore the hate, Florida’s running back room is one of the best in the SEC
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Florida’s running back room is loaded. It has five players with varying skills who can put up eye-popping numbers on paper.
Dameon Pierce is a human bowling ball. Malik Davis stars in the passing game. Nay’Quan Wright is a Swiss Army knife, and Lorenzo Lingard and Demarkcus Bowman are the ones who can do it all.
Only time will tell if the talent will translate into production, but it’s still mildly surprising that none of the Gators tailbacks made any of Athlon’s or Lindy’s Sports Magazine All-SEC teams. Athlon also rated the group as fifth-best in the SEC, which adds insult to injury.
Athlon ranking the bunch fifth is the most shocking despite the struggles Florida endured on the ground last season. However, most of the blame can be placed on the offensive line because the group struggled to generate enough push up front and reach the second level of the opposing defense.
Florida will have to rely on the running game instead of its aerial attack this season because of new dual-threat quarterback Emory Jones. Coach Dan Mullen also favors run plays over passing ones typically. The last two seasons with Kyle Trask were an anomaly because of how special Trask was.
It’s unlikely any of the five backs ranks near the top in any rushing statistical category this season because of coach Mullen’s propensity to rotate backs to keep them fresh. But Athlon’s disrespect to the group as a whole on paper is unwarranted.
The only running back room that matches Florida’s depth and talent is Georgia. The Bulldogs return multiple five-stars, such as Zamir White and James Cook, and former four-star Kenny McIntosh.
Regardless of what the preseason magazines think, the Florida running backs don’t care.
“The sky is the limit,” Davis said, according to Swamp247. “We’ve got guys returning and got experienced guys. So we’re definitely excited to get out there and see what we can do.”
