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The Florida Gators offensive line has been a talking point since coach Billy Napier came to town, but the 2023 season exposed the unit as one of the worst in the FBS. The Gators allowed 22 sacks for 143 yards and ranked 71st in the country in yards per rush attempt (4.1).
Florida swore 2024 would be a different story. The unit was returning starters Jake Slaughter, Austin Barber and Damieon George Jr., who moved from tackle to guard. Florida also brought in transfers Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (SDSU) and Devon Manuel (Arkansas).
The O-line didn’t get much better, though. Graham Mertz was under pressure for 36% of his drop backs going 1/6 (16.7%) compared to 10/14 (71.4%) when given a clean pocket. Mertz finished the game with a completion percentage of 55% for the entire game.
Compare that to Week 1 last season when Florida couldn’t get much going offensively vs. Utah. Mertz was “only” pressured on 25.5% of his drop backs vs the Utes leading to a completion percentage of 70.5% for the game.
How Gators Turn This Around
There were some positives from Saturday’s contest. Returners Slaughter, Barber and George Jr., all posted above an 82 pass block grade. Starting center Slaughter played all 56 of the Gators offensive snaps.
Barber said that the offensive line spent a lot of time watching film to ensure that the mistakes made won’t be repeated.
New Gator Mentality
Throughout coach Napier’s tenure fixing the culture has been a priority. While Saturday might not have looked very different on the field the postgame response from the team was certainly different than in years past.
“It’s definitely gotten better but this is the most guys I’ve seen in the building wanting to get better and come and watch the film and learn from what we did wrong and look at what we did right.”
The Gators will get a chance to rebound Saturday vs. Samford (0-1). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on SEC Network+ and air on Gainesville ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.
