Florida football depth chart, Week 1: Feleipe Franks named Gators’ starting quarterback

By Adam Silverstein
August 27, 2018
Florida football depth chart, Week 1: Feleipe Franks named Gators’ starting quarterback
Football

Image Credit: Twitter / GatorsFB

After playing in all 11 games and making eight starts at quarterback for the Florida Gators one year ago, redshirt sophomore Feleipe Franks has been named the team’s starter to open the 2018 season.

Head coach Dan Mullen made the announcement Monday by releasing the team’s complete depth chart ahead of his weekly press conference. He previously said that he hoped to only have to make such an announcement once this season with the anticipation that the man who won the battle in camp would carry the job for the rest of the campaign.

Franks tossed for 1,438 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions a year ago. Though he certainly made his share of eye-opening highlight plays, Franks’ inconsistency throughout the season hampered Florida’s success and was one reason why the Gators struggled throughout the year. That said, the plan for Franks when he joined the Gators was not to start until his third year with the program, which he is now entering in 2018.

Mullen addressed his decision later Monday, noting that Franks gave Florida the “best opportunity to win now,” though all of the team’s quarterbacks are far from complete in their development. Ultimately, Franks athleticism and ability to extend plays factored into the decision, not his experience as a starter last season.

“To play quarterback for us, you’ve gotta have some thick skin,” Mullen added later. “You’re quarterback for the Florida Gators. You gotta treat every day like a head coach. I used to tell Dak [Prescott], ‘If you don’t like the pressure and the situation you’re in, throw picks and you won’t be the quarterback anymore.”

In terms of other notable depth chart items, junior Cece Jefferson, who some believe could be a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, opens as second-string Buck behind junior Jachai Polite. Mullen said Polite has put together a great camp, and

Let’s take a look at the rest of the Week 1 depth chart as announced by Florida entering the Charleston Southern game on Saturday, Sept. 1.

Offense

QB: Feleipe Franks, Kyle Trask
RB: Jordan Scarlett, Lamical Perine OR Malik Davis
TE: C’yontai Lewis, R.J. Raymond, Moral Stephens
WR (X): Van Jefferson, Trevon Grimes
WR (Z): Josh Hammond, Freddie Swain
WR (Y): Tyrie Cleveland, Dre Massey OR Kadarius Toney

LT: Martez Ivey, Stone Forsythe
LG: Tyler Jordan, Brett Heggie
C: Nick Buchanan OR T.J. McCoy, Nick Villano
RG: Fred Johnson, Chris Bleich
RT: Jawaan Taylor, Noah Banks

Defense

DE: Jabari Zuniga, Zachary Carter
NT: Elijah Conliffe, Khairi Clark OR Kyree Campbell
DT: Tedarrell Slaton, Marlon Dunlap OR Adam Shuler
Buck: Jachai Polite, Cece Jefferson OR Jeremiah Moon
MLB: David Reese II, Rayshad Jackson
MLB: Vosean Joseph, Kylan Johnson

CB: C.J. Henderson, Trey Dean III
Star: Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, C.J. McWilliams
CB: Marco Wilson, Brian Edwards
S: Jeawon Taylor, Brad Stewart
S: Donovan Stiner, Shawn Davis

Special teams

K: Evan McPherson OR Jorge Powell
P: Tommy Townsend, Jacob Finn
H: Tommy Townsend
LS: Ryan Farr
KR: Adarius Lemons, Dre Massey
PR: Freddie Swain OR Kadarius Toney

3 Comments

Leave a Reply to Phil Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Top
WordPress Appliance - Powered by TurnKey Linux