The Florida Gators didn’t have the first half it wanted to against the Miami Hurricanes, but running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]. provided a highlight to keep the Orange and Blue in it before halftime.
Johnson had run for 22 yards on five carries before ripping a 71-yarder down the left side for Florida’s first touchdown of the season. The Gators’ offense was “inept” in the first half, according to the halftime crew on ABC, but Johnson’s big run sparked some life back into The Swamp.
Johnson will get the praise because he had the ball in his hands, but the left side of the offensive line, and tight end [autotag]Hayden Hansen[/autotag], deserve some love too. Hansen is Florida’s best blocking tight end and he removed the edge defender from the equation early in the play. [autotag]Austin Barber[/autotag], Florida’s starting left tackle, did the same with the inside linemen.
Left guard [autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag] and center [autotag]Jake Slaughter[/autotag] did a good job rotating around those guys and shut down the second level of Miami’s defense, allowing Johnson to turn on the burners and find a seam down the edge.
MONTRELL JOHNSON JR. 71 YARDS TO THE HOUSE đ đ pic.twitter.com/luQspWsxjc
— ESPN (@espn) August 31, 2024
It was a brief moment of hope for Florida before Miami ran a two-minute drill to near perfection and made it a two-score game again before the half.
Aside from Johnson’s run, Florida’s offense hasn’t looked good against its in-state rival. A few missed shots to Elijhah Badger and an inability to convert on third and fourth have the Gators in a deep hole with 30 minutes left on the game clock.
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