Tag: Montrell Johnson

Florida among teams most likely to rebound in 2022 season, per ESPN

The Gators have a new head coach and are ready to bounce back from what was a pretty disastrous 2021. What chances does ESPN give UF to improve?

The Florida Gators were one of 13 Division I college football teams that had their average points per game decrease by more than 10 in 2021, but ESPN thinks UF is primed to bounce back under first-year head coach Billy Napier.

In a breakdown of teams likely to improve in 2022, ESPN’s Bill Connelly has the Gators improving by 2.9 points per game (11.0 to 13.9) and finishing 23rd overall in SP+ with a 7-5 record. That’s a far cry from the Gators’ monstrous average of 23.9 points per game in 2020, when the team ranked sixth in SP+.

But improvement takes time, especially when Dan Mullen left Napier a rather empty talent cupboard. Connelly notes the Gators still have plenty of players brimming with potential that could make things go right.

As is always the case when a coach takes over a job in which their predecessor was fired, there are potential stumbling blocks in Gainesville. The skill corps is very thin outside of receiver Justin Shorter and transfers [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] (Louisiana) and [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] (Arizona State), and the defense wasn’t nearly disruptive enough last fall. But quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] has flashed immense potential, key defenders [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] (linebacker) and [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag] (cornerback) return from injury, and the schedule includes only a couple of truly likely losses (vs. Georgia, at Texas A&M).

As it stands, the Gators have a 69% chance of improving their record, and Richardson reaching his full potential (or maybe even just some of it) would increase that number by a lot.

Florida isn’t expected to bounce back nearly as strongly as some other programs, such as USC, but the Gators should be better than last year.

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What will it take for Florida to be national title contenders in 2022?

ESPN looked at what 20 major college football teams need to do to compete for a national championship, and let’s just say there are a lot of conditions that need to be met.

Heading into the first year of the Billy Napier era there aren’t many who are expecting the Florida Gators to compete for a national championship. The folks at ESPN like to push the boundaries of reality though and laid out what exactly needs to be done for Napier to claim glory in year one.

For starters, ESPN groups the teams by how many “ifs” it would take for them to be national title contenders. Florida is a four-If team and the first thing that has to go right is sophomore [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] finding success. The upside is high but Napier needs to find some consistency from his young quarterback.

As a part-timer last season, Richardson produced passes of 75, 41, 38, 36, 36, 33 and 27 and rushes of 80, 73, 26 and 25. He’s got a big arm, and he is much faster than a 240-pounder has any right to be …

If Billy Napier coaxes steadier play from the sophomore, Florida goes from also-ran to contender very quickly. (“Quickly” is a must — Florida plays Utah, Kentucky and Tennessee in September.)

The next item on the list that would make Florida a contender is “if a thin skill corps makes plays.” When Dan Mullen left and Napier came in, the Gators lost a ton of talent to the transfer portal and also some to the draft.

Napier brought in running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag], who tore up the Sun Belt Conference as a freshman under his coaching at ULL. He also brought in [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] to help out [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] at receiver, but there aren’t too many proven names behind those guys. ESPN points to [autotag]Xzavier Henderson[/autotag] as a potential difference maker this season.

There’s also plenty of youth on the defensive side of the ball. [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] and [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. returning helped bolster the front seven, but ESPN says that unit will need to be much better than expected for Florida to contend.

Four leading returning defensive linemen are all sophomores, and while veteran Brenton Cox Jr. is excellent, sophomores might carry most of the upside at linebacker too. That’s not typically part of a title recipe.

Finally, if all of those other pieces come together, Florida needs its new coaching staff to get creative. The defense needs to be better than good in this dream scenario where the Gators win it all, and that requires some ingenuity from co-defensive coordinators [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag] and [autotag]Sean Spencer[/autotag]. Coach Chaos (Spencer) has the nickname to match, but there needs to be true havoc on the field.

The Gators ranked 98th in havoc rate* last season. Defensive co-coordinators Patrick Toney and Sean Spencer have never worked together, but they need to very quickly craft a lot more disruption than Florida has produced of late.

With all that said, competing for an SEC East title might be enough for Billy Napier’s first year to be considered a success. Only a few of those “ifs” need to come true for that to happen, and it feels mildly attainable after going through hoops to make Florida look like national contenders

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How long does ESPN think it will take Billy Napier to find success?

It might be a little bit longer than most Gator fans would like until UF wins the SEC East again, but Billy Napier has a ton of talent at Florida to work with.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly previewed the SEC East on Monday, and he had quite a bit to say about the Florida Gators, as one may expect.

Connelly tackled several big questions surrounding the top programs in the conference, and one of them was how long Gator Nation could expect it to take for Billy Napier to succeed in Gainesville? The answer isn’t so simple, but he’s expecting it to take a bit longer than most that fill the Swamp on Saturdays would like to hear.

“The Gators could indeed be positioned to make a leap next year. This year? Hard to say,” Connely said.

Florida’s offense might actually be in a better spot right now than it was last year at this time, but the defense has much to prove. Eight of the twelve returning players on defense were freshmen last year, and the youth showed on the field. Connelly pointed to [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag] returning as difference makers for this year, but he also said that the sophomores need to take a big leap for the team to be competitive against the conference’s best.

If [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] and Co. can shake off the Todd Grantham funk quickly enough, Florida could impress quicker than expected. Offensively, the line is in better shape than it was last year. Napier brought in [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] from Louisiana to help lead that front and has [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] to lead the running backs room. Of course, [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] has the biggest ceiling of anyone on the team, and Napier’s job is to help him control his raw talent and turn it into something consistent. If Richardson gets it together, Florida should be able to put up some gaudy numbers.

Napier lost three of his first four with ULL, but the Ragin’ Cajuns won six of the next eight and wound up winning the Sun Belt West title that season. Florida’s got far more talent to work with, but the SEC East isn’t exactly a walk in the park.

Connelly’s SP+ projections have Florida finishing third in the East this year, ahead of Kentucky and behind Tennessee.

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This Florida RB could be one of the most impactful transfers in nation

Check out where Montrell Johnson ranks among the other running backs that transferred this offseason.

Thousands of student-athletes hit the transfer portal this offseason but only a handful of them will be hailed as the most impactful in the class once the season ends. The folks at On3 are ranking the top 10 transfers at each position this year, and Florida’s [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] pops at No. 7 on the running backs list.

It makes to see Johnson on the list. He’s stepping into a favorable position at Florida and is following his head coach from last year. The Gators lost both of their top two running backs last, so Johnson is going to be Billy Napier’s go-to guy early in the year if familiarity is something he leans on. He finished 2021 with more yards and touchdowns than the rest of the running backs’ combined career totals.

Montrell Johnson rushed for 838 yards and a team-leading 12 TDs in earning Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year honors last season. He shared time with the Ragin’ Cajuns (Louisiana had three rushers with at least 600 yards in 2021) and will do so again with Florida … The hope is Johnson, [autotag]Nay’Quan Wright[/autotag] and holdover [autotag]Lorenzo Lingard[/autotag], a former five-star prospect who began his career at Miami, can team with QB [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] to give the Gators a potent rushing attack.

Two more SEC newcomers made the list ahead of Johnson. Ole Miss’ Zach Evans, who transferred from TCU, is No. 3, and Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs, who came from Georgia Tech, is at No. 1. It will be interesting to see where these three backs end up once the season is finished. Many expect Johnson to break out and move up a few spots.

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Florida RB transfer Demarkcus Bowman commits to UCF

It didn’t work out for Demarkcus Bowman in Gainesville, but maybe Orlando will be the right fit.

Less than a week after UCF lost its top recruit in the class of 2023 to Florida, the Knights landed former Gators running back [autotag]Demarkcus Bowman[/autotag] through the transfer portal.

Coming out of high school, Bowman was a five-star recruit and considered among the top 3 running backs in his class by 247Sports. He ranks No. 391 all-time on 247Sports’ list with a near-perfect rating of .9909. However, a high rating didn’t translate to immediate success, and Bowman left Clemson in October of his freshman year in 2020. It took him just two days to decide on Florida at that point, one day less than he spent in the portal this time around.

Bowman’s departure from Florida on June 24 came as a bit of a surprise after he impressed in spring practices, but a crowded running backs room was presumed to be the reason. Lousiana transfer [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] already knows Napier’s scheme, [autotag]Nay’Quan Wright[/autotag] is the only returning back on the depth chart with legitimate in-game experience and Lorenzon Lingard is also a former five-star that’s been impressive. If that’s not crowded enough, freshman Trevor Etienne was behind him hungry for any playing time.

For a guy that could be a star, it’s not the ideal situation. So, he headed a few hours south to the team that beat Florida last year in the Gasparilla Bowl. The only problem is that he will have to sit out the 2022 season with this being his second transfer and well past the deadline for players to enter the portal. A waiver could clear that issue though, and the Knights have had three players regain eligibility over the past two years.

It may benefit Bowman to wait, though. Isaiah Bowser and Johnny Richardson each netted over 700 rushing yards last season, and the duo is set to return for another run in Orlando. Playing alongside Richardson was one of the catalysts for Bowman’s transfer to UCF, according to 247Sports.

Sitting out until 2023 would give Bowman time to learn the playbook and move up the depth chart with only Richardson to compete with, assuming he returns for his senior year. Behind those guys, UCF has a fleet of former three stars that are fighting for some playing time.

Bowman will be 22 in 2023, though. The likelihood of him staying another year to meet up against his former club when the UF-UCF series begins in 2024 is low. However, he should be a part of the Knights’ first season as a member of the Big 12.

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Report: Florida losing former 5-star RB to transfer portal

Running back Demarkcus Bowman is in the transfer portal after just one year at Florida.

After Billy Napier cut three players from the program earlier in the week, the Florida Gators lost another scholarship player on Friday. Running back [autotag]Demarkcus Bowman[/autotag], a former five-star recruit out of high school, has entered his name into the transfer portal, according to On3.

Bowman came to Gainesville in 2020 after playing his freshman year at the Clemson Tigers. That makes this his second transfer, which means he will be required to sit out for a year before playing with a new team. That might not be so different than what he would be doing at Florida, though, with [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Nay’Quan Wright[/autotag], [autotag]Lorenzo Lingard[/autotag] and [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] in UF’s running backs room.

Entering the portal doesn’t guarantee Bowman’s departure, but Florida is still over the scholarship limit and the room is too crowded for a talent that was once considered among the top 20 recruits in the nation. Bowman’s far from a bust at this point. He still possesses good speed and impressed many during spring practices. He ran the ball 14 times for 81 yards in 2021 across appearances in five games.

Florida should be okay without Bowman given the depth in the room. It also opens the door for Etienne to pick up some carries as a freshman, especially if injuries come into play. Both of last year’s starting backs, [autotag]Dameon Pierce[/autotag] and [autotag]Malik Davis[/autotag], are gone and Napier likes to run the ball.

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These 3 new Gators among The Athletic’s college football transfers to watch

Here is who The Athletic thinks are the best transfer portal scores for the Gators this offseason.

The college football landscape has been overhauled in recent years thanks to the implementation of name, image and likeness laws as well as the expansion of the transfer portal into an entity not dissimilar to professional free agency. In fact, the combination of those two nascent elements has given collegiate sports a much more business-like feel, quickly shedding any vestiges of its amateur past.

The latter has been a crucial element in the short-term plans of [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag], who has dealt with a fair amount of turnover so far — especially in light of the dismissal of three players recently. The good news is that the new head coach and his staff are off to a good start on that front, having brought in a pair of studs from the skipper’s previous stop with at Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns while the third crossed the country from the Arizona State Sun Devils to relocate to the Sunshine State, among others.

The Athletic’s college football staff recently assembled an overview of the transfers to watch for in 2022, including the three new Gators referenced above. Take a look below at what writer Manny Navarro offered on the topic.

Ex-Arizona State wide receiver [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] (48 catches, 580 yards, four touchdowns in 2021) definitely will help the Gators, but Billy Napier brought over the two most impactful transfers with him from Louisiana. That would be offensive guard [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag], a 35-game starter at guard and tailback [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag], who ran for 838 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns as a freshman last season. 

While there are others who arrived through the portal, such as quarterback [autotag]Jake Miller[/autotag], cornerback [autotag]Jalen Kimber[/autotag] and offensive lineman [autotag]Kamryn Waites[/autotag], none offer the experience nor can be expected to hit the ground running like the aforementioned trio. In a debut season with a challenging schedule, the Gators will need all the help they can get and hopefully the portal proves its worth for the Orange and Blue.

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Here’s where Florida football stands in ESPN’s top 25 Future Power Rankings

You’re probably not going to like where ESPN ranks the Gators. We certainly didn’t.

Florida’s football program reached stratospheric heights during the first decade of the 21st century under head coach [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag], but since his departure, the team has taken a massive U-turn back into a level of mediocrity not seen since before [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag]’s tenure. Exacerbating the issue is the coaching carousel that the Orange and Blue experienced in recent years, having burned through three new skippers before bringing on [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] to right the ship.

There is little question that the new administration has a steep hill to climb to get the Gators back to their previous level of success. Even though [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]’s tenure saw three straight New Year’s Six bowl game appearances, it still came to a tumultuous close as the program imploded upon itself due to neglect, leaving things in shambles for the next coach to clean up.

With that in mind, ESPN senior writer Adam Rittenberg recently published his college football’s top 25 future power rankings and where he placed Florida may rustle a few jimmies among the Gator Nation. Take a look at his entry below.

22. Florida Gators
2022 Future QB ranking: Not ranked
2022 Future offense ranking: Not ranked
2022 Future defense ranking: 21
2021 Future team ranking: 8

Scouting the Gators: Florida is the type of program that could surge in these rankings as soon as 2023. There’s always talent in Gainesville, and coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] looks like a smart hire for a program that hasn’t made the CFP and last won the SEC in 2008, the Gators’ most recent national championship. But an unexpected transition — no one pegged [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] to be fired at this time last year — could lead to a down year or two, especially in the improving SEC East Division. The biggest immediate question is the offense and whether dual-threat quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] will provide a consistent spark. Richardson must show greater accuracy and fewer mistakes in the pass game, but he has sophomore eligibility and room to grow under Napier.

Florida also received some QB insurance in Ohio State transfer [autotag]Jack Miller[/autotag]. Running back could become a multiyear strength. [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] followed Napier from Louisiana to Florida after a 12-touchdown season as a freshman in 2021. Johnson leads a sophomore group that includes [autotag]Nay’Quan Wright [/autotag]and [autotag]Demarkcus Bowman[/autotag]. Florida also added ESPN 300 recruit [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag]. Junior [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] leads a young wide receiver group with opportunities to shine. The Gators need sophomores [autotag]Trent Whittemore[/autotag] and [autotag]Xzavier Henderson[/autotag] to stay healthy, or someone else to emerge. They return two veteran tight ends in [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] and [autotag]Dante Zanders[/autotag] but need options for 2023 and 2024. Offensive line has some concerns, especially depth at tackle, but returns junior center [autotag]Kingsley Eguakun[/autotag] and some other interior pieces. Florida has a 2023 commitment from [autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag], ESPN’s top-rated center in the class.

The defense has fewer immediate questions. Florida returns proven players such as safety [autotag]Trey Dean III[/autotag], end [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. and tackle [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag]. Both Cox and Dexter could play multiple seasons and lead a line that needs others to emerge this fall, including sophomore end [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag]. Florida could become a back-to-front defense in Napier’s first few seasons, as the secondary returns Dean and sophomores [autotag]Rashad Torrence II[/autotag] and [autotag]Tre’Vez Johnson[/autotag] at safety, and talented young cornerbacks such as [autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]., an ESPN top-50 recruit who appeared in every game as a true freshman. [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag], ESPN’s top-rated safety and No. 18 overall recruit, headlined Napier’s first class. Seniors [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] and [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] lead a linebacker group that will look to build long-term depth this season. [autotag]Derek Wingo[/autotag] has sophomore eligibility, and Florida added ESPN 300 linebacker [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] in the 2022 recruiting class.

Despite just making the top 25 list by a few spots, the future is beginning to look bright again in Gainesville. Napier and Co. have done a great job on the recruiting front so far, and once the new regime has its plans for the future fully implemented, the Swamp should once again be a favorable destination for the best in the business.

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CBS Sports lists its top incoming transfer for Florida football

CBS Sports published its list of top incoming transfers for Southeastern Conference schools in the coming 2022 season.

Rebuilding Florida’s football program is no easy task as new head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is quickly learning. Among the building blocks available to the Gators’ staff is the transfer portal, which has transformed from a small creek into a massive river flowing with players due to the change in eligibility rules, which now allows a student-athlete to immediately play for their new team.

While prep recruiting is at the forefront of Napier’s agenda, the portal has also been a major component in building the 2022 roster. CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee recently took a look at the Southeastern Conference and selected the best transfer for each school. Florida’s selection was an offensive lineman who followed his head coach from the bayous of Louisiana to the Swamp: O’Cyrus Torrence. Here is what Sallee offered about the big man on the line.

The senior earned All-Sun Belt honors twice and played on a pair of Joe Moore Award semifinalist offensive line units under Billy Napier at Louisiana. Now, Torrence provides an anchor on the Gators’ rebuilt offensive line in Napier’s first season.

Torrence was not exactly an easy selection, given some of the other talent collected in the portal so far. Two of his teammates at ULL who also came to Gainesville, running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] and fellow OL [autotag]Kamryn Waites[/autotag], are expected to carry a load for the Gators, while former USC wide receiver [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] could make an instant impact on the team as well. There is also former Georgia Bulldog [autotag]Jalen Kimber[/autotag] who bolsters Florida’s defensive backfield.

Who do you think will have the biggest impact? Let us know in the comments below.

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ESPN takes a look at how Billy Napier’s rebuilding process is going at Florida

The Gators are slowly rebuilding through recruiting and filling positions of need first.

Recently, ESPN took a look at how new head coaches are choosing to rebuild the programs they take over, and [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first go around with the Florida Gators is an easy case study to look at it given the school’s history and membership in the perenially strong Southeastern Conference.

Identifying positions of need is the first step in ESPN’s assessment, and the list is unsurprisingly long. Running back, wide receiver, offensive line, defensive line and linebacker it reads. Only two of those holes (running back and offensive line) would be filled in the first six months of Napier’s tenure, though.

He had just weeks to scramble and piece together a recruiting class that had prospects jumping ship left and right. Napier ultimately snagged five-star safety, [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag], from Georgia’s grasp and also landed four-star linebacker [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag]. Four-star running back [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] is another nice addition, but the group is still considered weak in a conference that routinely boasts the nation’s top recruiting classes.

New coach Billy Napier has his hands full trying to remake this roster as the previous staff went 6-7 last season with lackluster recruiting over the past few classes. The Gators finished the 2022 recruiting cycle ranked No. 32 overall, last in the SEC.

Napier then turned to the transfer portal, bringing in a trio of offensive players that already know his scheme. [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag], the Sun Belt Conference’s Freshman of the Year, is sure to add to the run game behind four-star Louisiana transfer [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] and fellow interior offensive lineman [autotag]Kamryn Waites[/autotag].

Still, it’s been hard to fill the holes left in the receiving core by [autotag]Jacob Copeland[/autotag] (Maryland) and [autotag]Kemore Gamble[/autotag] (UCF). The transfer portal, in general, has hurt more than it’s helped this offseason. Sure, guys like [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Kimber[/autotag] have a chance to make an impact early, but it doesn’t replace the departing starting talent. Not to mention those who have graduated or turned pro.

The coaches lost quite a bit to the portal and weren’t able to fill every hole… Defensive linemen [autotag]Zachary Carter[/autotag], [autotag]Antonio Valentino[/autotag] and [autotag]Daquan Newkirk[/autotag] are all gone as well, so the defensive staff has some work to do in the front seven to replace the production they had from last season.

It’s not the total overhaul some programs have seen, such as LSU or Oklahoma. In fact, Napier is taking a fairly traditional approach to rebuilding the Gators considering the modern game’s transfer rules. Landing a strong recruiting class in 2023 seems to be the path he’s headed down, but there are questions about whether or not Florida can keep up in the NIL space with some of the nation’s top programs.

As ESPN suggests, there’s still plenty of work to do for Florida to be “rebuilt,” but Napier is addressing the issues one by one. That attentiveness is what got him the gig, and he’s been successful in the past.