Tag: Kyle Engel

Taking a look at Florida’s depth chart ahead of the Las Vegas Bowl

The Las Vegas Bowl is almost here and Florida is working with a different look roster after a busy start to the transfer season.

Florida’s depth chart for the Las Vegas Bowl looks a whole lot different from the opening-day roster, but that’s expected as players leave for the draft, enter the transfer portal and suffer injuries over the course of the year.

Starting with the offense, Florida is down players at every position but running back. [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] is making his first start at quarterback with [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] headed to the NFL, and walk-on [autotag]Kyle Engel[/autotag] true will serve as the backup. True freshman [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag] is listed as the third-string option under center.

[autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] are the only available running backs on Saturday, but that duo has the bulk of Florida’s carries over the season so it shouldn’t be a problem.

[autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] is preparing for the draft, which means [autotag]Xavier Henderson[/autotag] is the new No. 1 out wide for the Gators. True freshman [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag] gets the No. 2 spot (and his second start) with [autotag]Daejon Reynolds[/autotag] in the transfer portal, and [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] is still in the slot. Despite losing some talent from the receivers room, Florida is in an okay spot heading into the bowl game.

At tight end, [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] is still dealing with an injury, meaning [autotag]Dante Zanders[/autotag] is the starter once again. [autotag]Jonathan Odom[/autotag] was productive as the team’s second tight end towards the end of the season and will get another shot to audition for next year against Oregon State.

Florida’s offensive line features a new face: Redshirt freshman [autotag]Kamryn Waites[/autotag], who will get his first start at right guard with O’Cyrus Torrence headed to the pros. Left tackle [autotag]Richard Gouraige[/autotag] is also going to the NFL, but he could start in the bowl game and is officially listed as an “or” option along with [autotag]Austin Barber[/autotag]. [autotag]Ethan White[/autotag] and [autotag]Kinglsey Eguakun[/autotag] remain at left guard and center, and [autotag]Michael Tarquin[/autotag] returns to the right tackle spot. Christian Williams could see an increase in snaps as the primary backup for either guard spot with [autotag]Richie Leonard[/autotag] injured.

Now on to the defense.

Florida’s defensive line looks the same as it was through the final few games of the season: [autotag]Gervon Dexter Sr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Princely Umanimielen[/autotag] at defensive end, [autotag]Desmond Watson [/autotag]at nose tackle and [autotag]Antwaun Powell-Ryland J[/autotag]r. at the JACK linebacker spot. The big change in the front seven comes at [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag]’s linebacker spot which now belongs to [autotag]Derek Wingo[/autotag]. [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] is the other starting linebacker, but expect [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] and [autotag]Scooby Williams[/autotag] to get some work in too.

In the secondary, [autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag] remain as Florida’s starting cornerbacks, and [autotag]Trey Dean III[/autotag] and [autotag]Rashad Torrence[/autotag] will get another run at their respective safety spots. [autotag]Jadarrius Perkins[/autotag] is stepping in for an injured [autotag]Tre’Vez Johnson[/autotag] at the STAR, but that shouldn’t disrupt the defense too much.

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Billy Napier names Jack Miller III as Florida’s starting QB for Las Vegas Bowl

It’s Miller time! Billy Napier named Jack Miller III Florida’s starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Bowl.

The Florida Gators will go with [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] at quarterback for its bowl game against the Oregon State Beavers, according to Gators Online among other media members.

Miller spent the entirety of the 2022 regular season on the sidelines after injuring his thumb in the fall. Florida’s medical team fully cleared him just last month and now he’s going to take on the biggest workload of his career.

“Jack Miller probably three, four, five weeks ago was cleared from the thumb injury,” Napier said. He’s back. He’s been able to take reps and certainly this week in particular he’s been able to take a bunch of reps.” So, him, to go along with [autotag]Kyle Engel[/autotag], [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag] those three guys will take the majority of the reps today, tomorrow, and obviously when we get to the Oregon State prep.”

Miller spent time before the injury as Florida’s No. 2 behind [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag], but he didn’t get any in-game reps over the course of the season. Jalen Kitna served as the team’s backup, but he is no longer with the team.

Engel is a walk-on and Brown is a true freshman that was ranked a three-star recruit in high school, so Miller’s minimal experience across five appearances for Ohio State makes him the veteran of the bunch. The good news is Miller will have two weeks of high-volume practices before taking center stage on the Las Vegas strip.

Napier described Miller as “very capable” back in the fall, and he should be highly motivated in what amounts to be an audition for next year’s starting spot. Rumors have linked Florida to several transfer portal quarterbacks, but Miller could lessen the need to get an elite signal caller from the portal with a strong performance against a ranked opponent.

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Social media reactions before Florida’s Week 3 matchup with USF

It’s almost time for Florida to take on USF and social media is buzzing about what’s expected to be a lop-sided game in favor of the Gators.

It’s once again game day in the Swamp, and the Florida Gators are expected to put a hurting on the USF Bulls after falling to Kentucky a week ago.

The loss left a bad taste in the mouth of everyone involved on the Gators’ side and that’s what has fans and experts thinking that the score might be very, very lopsided tonight. The Bulls gave up 50 to BYU in the season opener and 20 to Howard in Week 2, so it’s reasonable to expect Florida’s offense to rebound nicely this week.

[autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] struggled in particular against UK, so this should be good for his confidence. Last year, he threw a pair of touchdowns on just three pass attempts against USF as the backup, and he also added another score on the ground while rushing for over 100 yards. If he can come close to replicating that sort of efficiency as the starter this time around, we may get to see the debut of [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] or [autotag]Kyle Engel[/autotag] at quarterback in the fourth quarter.

It’s almost game time, so let’s go over some of the last-minute buzz on Florida’s Week 3 matchup with USF.

Florida’s backup quarterback undergoes thumb surgery

The Gators’ quarterback room took a big hit with the loss of the Ohio State transfer.

According to Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel, Florida Gators backup quarterback Jack Miller has undergone surgery for an injury suffered on his right thumb.

The injury does not seem to impact who will start against Utah in the Orange and Blue’s season opener but it is a massive blow to the quarterback room. [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] has been the consensus favorite to be the starter, and while Billy Napier and his staff have yet to officially name a starter, it was assumed that the redshirt sophomore would win the job over Miller.

Miller transferred to Gainesville from Ohio State in the offseason in an attempt to bolster a quarterback room that lacked experience. At the end of the Spring, Miller had established himself as the clear backup, beating out [autotag]Carlos Del Rio-Wilson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag], both of whom were on the roster in 2021. Del Rio-Wilson transferred to Syracuse after spring camp while last year’s starter Emory Jones transferred to Arizona State in the offseason, where he will also be among the first on the field.

247Sports’ Graham Hall has confirmed Thompson’s original report and has added that there is hope that Miller can return “before the midway point of the season”.

Hall also reported that as of Tuesday, on three of Florida’s six rostered quarterbacks were participating in practice: Anthony Richardson, [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Kyle Engel[/autotag]. Kitna, a redshirt freshman, wore a non-contact jersey and did not participate due to a lower-leg injury.

Head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is expected to provide an update on Miller after Florida’s scrimmage on Sunday.

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2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Quarterbacks

Gators Wire’s 2022 position-by-position roster breakdown starts with the quarterback room.

The college football season begins in slightly less than three weeks, which means there’s still time to break down the 2022 Florida Gators roster position-by-position. The quarterbacks are up first, and there’s a pretty clear hierarchy heading into the season.

In 2021, the quarterback position at Florida was a mess under offensive guru Dan Mullen. [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] entered the year as the team’s starter, but the fans soon clamored for the freshman with the big arm and even more impressive legs, [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag]. Mullen stuck with Jones for most of the year until finally giving Richardson a shot to start against … Georgia. Talk about setting a kid up for failure.

Jones closed the year as the starter when Richardson was dealing with injuries. The two combined for 18 interceptions (and 25 touchdowns) to close a 6-7 year. Florida let Mullen go well before the lame-duck loss to UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl, and the Billy Napier Era started to take shape. Jones earned his degree from UF and transferred to Arizona State, leaving Richardson the presumed starter for 2022.

Florida also lost [autotag]Carlos Del Rio-Wilson[/autotag] to Syracuse via the transfer portal, but Napier didn’t make any moves after that loss, signaling he was comfortable with the depth he has at the position.

Let’s go through the quarterbacks on the 2022 roster.

Check back with Gators Wire for more position-by-position breakdowns leading up to the season.

Report: Florida QB Jalen Kitna out following ‘small procedure’

One of Florida’s quarterbacks is dealing with an injury, but Billy Napier is describing it as a minor setback.

The Gators will be without third-string quarterback [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] for an indefinite amount of time, according to [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s comments to reporters on Tuesday. Swamp247 got an update from the first-year head coach, and the damage, fortunately, sounds minor.

“I would say Kitna is the player that I probably saw the most growth in from spring practice,” Kitna said. “Just to see him take another step fundamentally, I thought he’s throwing the ball much more consistently, much more accurate, better grasp. You know, he had a little bit of a setback injury-wise. We anticipate getting him back. He had a small procedure just yesterday.”

Whatever Kitna is dealing with, he won’t be rushed back to practice. [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] is the team’s clear starter and Ohio State transfer [autotag]Jack Miller[/autotag] has a fairly firm hold on the backup spot for now.

During the spring game, Kitna saw limited action and attempted just three passes, one of which was intercepted. Still, he emerged as a clear No. 3 with [autotag]Carlos Del Rio-Wilson[/autotag]’s transfer. Freshman [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag], a three-star recruit in the 2022 cycle, and walk-on [autotag]Kyle Engel[/autotag] are also in the position room for Florida.

There’s no timeline for Kitna’s return, but Napier’s comments make it sound like he could be healthy for some portion of the season if necessary.

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