Florida Gators first official depth chart ahead of season opener vs. Florida Atlantic highlights multiple risers in fall camp
There are some interesting elements to parse out with the Florida Gators’ first official depth chart ahead of the season opener.
It’s finally game week for the Florida Gators football team, as they are set to take on the Florida Atlantic Owls in The Swamp.
Head coach Jon Sumrall named Aaron Philo his starting quarterback last week, setting the stage for the Gators to have their third Week 1 starting quarterback in the last three years. Outside of Philo getting the starting job, we were waiting for more answers at multiple positions.
With the release of the first depth chart of the season, we started to get answers, and a few things stood out.
Offensive line has a theme
The offensive line under new coach Phil Trautwein had a lot of questions about it. Austin Barber and Jake Slaughter were both selected on day two of the NFL Draft and needed to be replaced. Trautwein also brought in multiple transfers with him from Penn State, and only one of them earned a starting job.
Penn State transfer Eagan Boyer was batting for the left tackle spot with Bryce Lovett and ended up losing the job, while Caden Jones lost out to Emeka Ugorji. What’s the theme with Boyer and Jones? They are both 6-8. That seems somewhat noteworthy here, especially with how the 2026 recruiting class was filled with guys who are that tall.
The starting lineup is as follows:
- LT: Bryce Lovett
- LG: Knijeah Harris
- C: Harrison Moore
- RG: T.J. Shanahan Jr.
- RT: Emeka Ugorji
Gators have depth on defensive line
There are some really interesting players on the defensive line. Recruiting there has been really good, and we have one true freshman who is on the two-deep. KJ Ford out of Duncanville, Texas is listed as the backup JACK, along with fifth-year senior Kofi Asare. That’s a huge vote of confidence in Ford, and it’s warranted after the strong fall camp he had.
The other intriguing position is at END, with essentially three co-starters in senior Kamran James, junior L.J. McCray, and fifth-year senior Emmanuel Oyebadejo. There is a lot of intrigue with those players, but who will emerge as the guy?
The other interesting player was sophomore Jeramiah McCloud, who won the defensive tackle job over senior transfer DK Kalu and fifth-year senior Jamari Lyons.
Secondary has some youth
The depth on the back end is very interesting for the Gators. There were two returning starters in cornerback Dijon Johnson and safety Bryce Thornton. The former wasn’t named a starter losing out to sophomore Ben Hanks III, who had a great fall camp.
The other intriguing element is at the other starting cornerback spot, as senior Cormani McClain was named co-starter with sophomore J’Vari Flowers. McClain has had a really good camp, and the hope is he can stay consistent. It’s great to see Flowers take a step forward, and it gives the Gators a little bit more depth, which is honestly a little rough.
