The 2023 college football season is less than 100 days away from its opening kickoff and it is never too soon for positional rankings for the upcoming season. College Sports Wire’s Patrick Conn recently assembled his running back power rankings for the Southeastern Conference’s upcoming schedule, including the Florida Gators, and has now produced his list of national running back rooms.
The Orange and Blue have had solid success in the offensive backfield, being it the three-headed monster of the early 1980s, the run of Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, Fred Taylor’s sustained success during his career, or even recent first-round draft pick Lamical Perine. Long story short, while Florida has long been known as a quarterback school it has also produced a plethora of backfield bruisers.
This coming season, the Gators are expected to lean on the running game a bit more than usual, given that both of the options at quarterback leave a lot to be desired in Billy Napier’s second year.
So where are the Gators in relation to the rest of the nation? Conn ranks presumed starter [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]. and the running back corps as the 16th-best this fall. Here is his justification.
SEC Ranking: No. 3
Johnson matched his production in 2022 from his time at Louisiana with head coach Billy Napier. The Gators have a plethora of backs but Johnson is likely going to be the lead dog once again. He has the talent to be a 1,000-yard back in this league, now he just needs to prove it. But Trevor Etienne might have something to say about who gets the most touches in 2023.
The Gators open up their 2023 schedule on the road against the Utah Utes on Aug. 31, with the start time still to be determined.
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