Florida football depth chart: Gators release Week 1 lineup vs. FAU to open 2021 season

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Image Credit: @GatorsFB / Twitter

The No. 13 Florida Gators on Monday released their first official depth chart of the 2021 college football season ahead of their Week 1 showdown against the FAU Owls. While there were no major surprises on the depth chart, head coach Dan Mullen cautioned that it should be considered temporary with players who play the first snap this Saturday being the true starters.

Redshirt junior quarterback Emory Jones will make his first career start on Saturday, while the playmaking talent around him undergoes a shift following numerous departures due to graduation and the NFL Draft. The defensive depth chart has also changed tremendously, while on special teams the kicker spot remains up in the air despite an entire offseason.

Notable as always are the “OR” designations. There are six this season after Mullen placed a whopping 15 on the first depth chart in 2019. Three are on special teams, while the starter at running back will likely be determined each game based on the first-series script.

Let’s take a look at the depth chart ahead of Florida’s first game of the season.

Offense

QB: Emory Jones, Anthony Richardson
RB: Dameon Pierce OR Malik Davis, Nay’Quan Wright
TE: Keymore Gamble, Keon Zipperer
WR (X): Jacob Copeland, Xzavier Henderson
WR (Z): Justin Shorter, Ja’Markis Weston
WR (Y): Trent Whittemore, Rick Wells

LT: Richard Gouraige, Gerald Mincey
LG: Ethan White, Will Harrod
C: Kingsley Eguakun, Richie Leonard
RG: Stewart Reese, Josh Braun
RT: Jean DeLance, Michael Tarquin

Last season, Davis was technically listed in front of Pierce at running back. Gamble and Zipperer shared an OR designation behind Kyle Pitts in 2020, though it seems Gamble will be the first option in 2021 despite both expected to see significant playing time. On the line, Gouraige has swung outside moving from guard to tackle. The right side of the line is unchanged.

Defense

DE: Zachary Carter, Princely Umanmielen OR Dante Zanders
NT: Antonio Valentino, Gervon Dexter
DT: Daquan Newkirk, Jalen Lee
Buck: Brenton Cox Jr. OR Jeremiah Moon, Khris Bogle
MLB: Ventrell Miller, Mohamoud Diabate
MLB: Amari Burney, Ty’Ron Hopper

CB: Kaiir Elam, Jason Marshall, Jr.
CB: Avery Helm, Elijah Blades
Star: Tre’vez Johnson, Jadarrius Perkins
S: Rashad Torrence II, Donovan McMillion
S: Trey Dean III, Mordecai McDaniel

Dexter moved to nose, while Newkirk and Lee are both incoming transfers in their first year with the Gators. Helm seemingly winning the starting cornerback job was the most notable listing on this depth chart. Both Torrence and Dean move into starting roles after being backups in 2020.

Special teams

K: Chris Howard OR Jace Christmann
P: Jeremy Crawshaw, Jace Christmann
H: Jeremy Crawshaw, Jace Christmann
LS: Marco Ortiz, Rocco Underwood
KR: Jacob Copeland OR Ja’Markis Weston, Xzavier Henderson
PR: Kaiir Elam, Jacob Copeland

Howard is a walk-on who made 2 of 2 field goals (long: 32 yards) and 11 extra points last season while averaging 51.3 yards on kickoffs in his career. Christmann transferred in from Mississippi State with a 32 of 40 career field goal mark (long: 51 yards) and near-perfect 127 of 128 accuracy on extra points.