Florida Gators Offensive Line QUESTIONS Will Be Answered in Spring Practice

0:00It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up everybody? This is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Lockdown Podcast Network, and if you haven't heard yet, we started a club and we would love for you to join. It's called the Everydayer Club, and one of the things that you get as a member is an ad-free version of the podcast that you're listening to right now. It works with whatever podcast app you already use, same episodes every day, just no ad. There's also a member's only group chat for fans of your team, plus a lot more. You can check it out by tapping the Everydayer Club link in the show notes. The Florida Gators' offensive line is unpredictable, but they're getting there. You are Lockdown Gators, your daily podcast on the Florida Gators, part of the Lockdown

1:00Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Lockdown Gators, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks for making Lockdown Gators your first listen of the day every day, if you are available daily and free wherever you listen to podcasts and on YouTube, as always, I am your host Brian and Olson. I host a Lockdown Gators right about the Florida Gators, your swapsicklet.subsec.com. Today's episode of Lockdown Gators is brought to you by Game Time, down with the Game Time App, freeing account is going to be locked on for $20 or if you're first purchased and an important reminder for those that haven't seen or have forgotten. Florida Gators head coach John Somerall will be here tomorrow morning on Lockdown Gators of each join of me, super stoked for it, not going to lie. But the Florida Gators' offensive line is going to drag a lot of their success or failure this year, right?

2:02A lot of their success or failure and yesterday during the post-practice press conference, John Somerall was really open about some things, right, we were just like, look, like we are not even close to where I want to be right now, which I know that people are going to look into and I'm sure rivals are going to see that and, you know, oh, a floor of the street, you've been practicing, you've had what, seven days of practice or something like that at this point, let's be a little bit real here. Not a concern. I mean, coach Somerall said it wasn't a concern for him either, but I don't think it should be concerned at all right now. But the Florida Gators' offensive line is one of those areas where it's something that gives me a little bit of hesitancy to just buy into this team. I think the defense is going to be really good. But very open about that, pretty much since they put it together, I know that there were bunch of people that were like, oh, I don't know what this defense is doing, I think the defense seemed me pretty good. The receiver room is really good, running back room is really good. Tight-end room is really questionable, just in a sense, we don't know what the hell is

3:04going on there, but it's not a valuable position, especially compared to other ones on the offense, right? But at quarterback, which we've talked about a lot, and offensive line, there are a lot of question marks there. No idea what's going to go on with that one, and so that's kind of where I get a little bit of hesitancy with the offensive line, it's just, I don't know, and it's a really important spot, right? It's like 45% of your offense in terms of who's out there, and the overall unpredictability of the room is what gives me that hesitancy, and I don't care, I see it on Twitter all the time of people being like, oh, who's out there with the ones, who's out there with the twos. It doesn't matter. I mean, some are all even said yesterday in his press conference, he was just like, look, the depth chart, we have a depth chart because we need guys to go out there first and second and third, but right now it's written in sand, you can just wipe it away, it's nothing. So I don't care that this guy was out there with the first team when I saw him.

4:06This guy was out there in second, it doesn't matter, he's kind of mentioned that they're just kind of trying stuff pretty much to see who works where, how they work, how coachable guys are, and look, this is an offensive line that even if you weren't so portal heavy, there'd still be a lot of questions for me because when you look at what you have lost from this roster from last year, it's two NFL draft picks, one of whom is going to go on, I'm going to say day two, and one of whom is going to go on probably early day three, maybe late day two in Jake Slaughter and Austin Barber, and you lost your starting right guard in Damien George, who I know none of us were super pumped about, but lost him. The guy who was your starting right tackle last year in Kaden Jones, actually let's say any further step back, the guy who was your starting right tackle to start the season

5:06last year, and Bryce Love it is now back inside, we'll talk a little bit about him later. The guy who took over for him as your starting right tackle in Kaden Jones is now on the left side, so you've got him flipping, so even if he is a starter, he's going to be a starter at a new position that he played from last year, right there alone, that means you're going to have four new starters, or four new, screw it, four new starters on the depth chart, those spots are going to change, right, you can try to say like, oh, you could try to go, oh yeah, Kaden Jones started last year, so it's not a new starter, and it's like, well Kaden Jones started right tackle, starting at left tackle is different from starting at right tackle, and I don't care if you want to disagree, that's fine, I don't respect what you have to say at that point, now I'm just being frank, like if you think starting at left tackle, the right tackle is the same thing, they're not, starting at left guard and right guard are the same thing, you got to do things differently, and tackle is way

6:09more of a dramatic change there, it is because you're working in space at that side too, like it matters, there's a reason some guys can play both sides in the best camp, there's a reason that swing tackles are valuable thing, especially in the NFL where it's a guy who aren't great at either spot, but they get stepped in and play both, and that's important, and so for Kaden Jones, that we saw you at right tackle, it wasn't great, but now you're going to play in left tackle, we have no idea what that is, physical makeup, he could absolutely do it, the physical makeup, yes, going out there and doing it though, that's different, right, and so Kaden Jones has been starting at left tackle and by starting at the Commission, he's been starting to spring at left tackle, not that he is the starting left tackle, or not that I think that it's indicative that he's starting left tackle, he's just been playing left tackle this spring, immemorial goregy from Stanford has also been playing left tackle from the spring from my understanding at least, and I think that when you're looking at that room and when you're looking at what you have there, it's again, it's one of those

7:14things where you go, well we don't really know who's good, who's bad, there's not a single combination you can tell me and I go I'm comfortable with that, just not, you're replacing guys, how are they going to play individually, no clue, how are they going to play as a unit, less of a clue, nothing, I don't know anything about what they're going to be, so right now it looks like you're probably going to have either Kaden Jones or Umeku Gorgi as your left tackle, which Umeku Gorgi of course has horrible, horrendous, terrible, no good, very bad stats from last year, but again, throw those out the window, they don't matter, I know there's people that disagree, but they don't matter even the slightest to me, I've said this before, he got his ass kicked last year, he was a true freshman starting at the power four level, he's going to get his ass kicked, I don't care what you did, congratulations on getting experience, that's the only thing that matters for me there, right, could be Kaden Jones,

8:18I saw him play right tackle, wasn't the best, let's see how you do it left tackle, and again like I'm still someone who very much is a believer in Kaden Jones, he wasn't great at right tackle, he still has the tools to be great, at right tackle you got Tavara Stice who dealt with injuries last year and held them back, and he's someone who he was a big time recruiter, he was a big time win for Billy Napier Rob sale and that coaching staff to land, coming from Auburn, he was a big time recruit there, someone that was like oh well is he going to play tackle or guard, and I don't know if this was the thought process, but like I've said a thousand times and I will always say, if I'm deciding between two positions, I'm going to play you with the more valuable one, because if you play well there, you're playing well at a more valuable position and positions are more valuable typically when they're harder, and so if you're playing well at the harder position I'm going to have that because it's easier to replace the other position, and so if Tavara

9:20Stice can work out of right tackle, great, if you can't, I mean you got Egan Boyer there, and Tavara Stice can try guard next year or something like that, but Egan Boyer, someone who came over from Penn State with Phil Troutline, and I'm just going to be real what you're there, really hesitant there, I didn't love the film at Penn State, which I've said you know I'll trust Phil Troutline's, he has a valuation or like his two year evaluation over my two game, but Egan Boyer just looks really small to play tackle in the SEC, he does, he looks really lean, long arms, in saving long arms, he's six for eight, so he's tied with the tallest player in the team, but yeah really, really lean looking and that's going to be, that could be an issue, and some of these bigger guys, off of the title Fletcher Westfall hasn't practiced still no idea what their plan is with him, like I don't know if they want to play him at left or right, or just see wherever you can slot him in, but he's someone that Florida, you're going to have to

10:24figure out what that's going to look like, and if there's a stop firm in 2026 to contribute in this 2D, whether or not you play or rotate whatever it is, but just to be on this 2D, that remains completely up in the air, been dealing with injuries for a while now, and on the bright side he wasn't being coached by Rob Sale, so he wasn't being ruined there, but what are you going to look like? Who knows, we're going to talk about the interior offensive line when we get back with Lockdown Gators. I'm Clea Butler, host of Lockdown Women's Basketball, and this is Mazda's Women's Basketball Snapshot, celebrating the work no highlight reel can ever capture. Number one ranked UConn dominated St. John's 85 to 49 on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, extending its winning streak to 47 games. The Huskies kept a perfect 31 and 0 regular season, including 20 and 0 in the Big East.

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13:32you can get into our Every Day or Club bracket pool on Discord for a chance to win Lockdown Merch. Should be a lot of fun. And right now, you can use code Marks to get your first month free, head to LockdownGators.supercast.com and get your first month free of the Every Day Club. And on the interior of the offensive line, the Florida Gators have a few interesting battles, right? And they all matter. There's no spot on the offensive line that doesn't matter. I know that there used to be people that would, oh, guards don't matter, right? Because you've got centers that can help you and tackles that can help you. And realistically, no, it's not how that works. Because now, every team has this 310-pound freak on the interior of the defensive line. That can rush the pasture like crazy. And you guard and take a handle of that. And then also, you'll be able to run block. Everything matters in the offensive line. At center, you've got to replace a two-time all-american in Jake's slaughter with either Harrison Moore coming over from Georgia Tech or Jason Zandamel, who we transferred in from USC. And is maybe going to get that

14:38playing time. Before people talk about how Jason Zandamel has been out there with the first team, again, they've been pretty open about this. Like, first team, second team doesn't matter. Most guys are taken snaps with the first team at some point. And guys that were here last year are getting that priority early on. No secret. Nothing hidden. Guys that were here are getting the priority of actually playing with the first teams to start spring because they were here. Will they say they're who knows, right? But you're being given the opportunity to earn it if you were here last year. And some were all mentioned yesterday. You know, nobody's been guaranteed playing time. No one's been guaranteed anything whether they were here last year or coming back here last year and coming back. Or if they were part of the process this year coming in. Nobody. Okay, so it could be Harrison Moore who has experience with Buster Faulkner, the offensive coordinator for us from Georgia Tech could be Jason Zandamel.

15:38He's back. Harrison Moore also has played left guard at Georgia Tech, but it does feel like he's going to play center at Florida whether or not that's center one or center two. Still to be determined, but it does seem like Harrison Moore is going to be playing center and not guard as opposed to what we've talked about before where it's like, hey, you can in theory say if you're not working out at center or Jason Zandamel takes the lead at center and we still want you out of the field, you could play guard. If that's a possibility from what I've been told of people I know that have been in practice, that hasn't been seen yet. Both guard spots are open for the Florida Gators too. I will say from what I've heard from who I've talked to, I don't think it's locked up at all, but the we'll say the clearest spot, we'll say that. The clearest spot right now is Naji Harris at left guard. It seems like it's more

16:42Naji Harris versus Rod Kearney than anything else. I don't know what to tell you with Rod Kearney. He's someone who when he was coming out of high school was a huge fan of his film, was certain he'd be really good. I know last year the coaching staff was not happy with his technique, which is a little ironic because that's the job of being on the coaching staff is teaching that. But also with the offensive line, I know people have talked about it with some of the workout clips that have come out, and this offensive line doesn't look that strong. They had a joke of a strengthening conditioning program last year. Every strength, the conditioning staff under Napier was a joke. We had Prince William on mail and left and did an interview with

17:47who it was, but it was a 12 strength conditioning program. They were training to run track and not play football in the SEC. We had some of the guys after the coaching change go like, like now we're putting an emphasis on actually lifting weights here. They looked good last year, but clearly we're not strong enough to play football in the SEC. We'll see right there, but right now the clearest spot that we've got seems to be left guard Naji Harris, but again, even at this point, I firmly believe that's not settled. I don't think anything is settled on the offensive line, and I think it should be frankly again, like we haven't seen what the best unit is going to look like, and to me that's the thing that matters. That's it. To me the only thing that matters is what it looks like when you go, what's the best unit you can put out there? That's got to be

18:51the unit. I don't care about having the best individuals. The best unit is what matters. At right guard, you've got Bryce Lovett, who again, like Johnson will mention to me yesterday, is someone that is having good days at right guard or good plays at right guard, and he's someone that should have never gone to right tackle. We spoke about it in December of this year, and first off, we spoke about when they announced the move that he was playing tackle, you can go back. We said that was a bad idea here, because it was. He's someone that could work out at guard, but he never had the athletic ability to work out and be a good offensive tackle. Never. I've told the story before, Drain Illuminaur, who just signed a $13 million per year contract with the New York Giants. He was talking about offensive line playing. He's like a tackle. It's more about footwork than anything else. Gone are the days where it's like, oh, his arms are long enough to play tackle. Do you have the footwork to play tackle? Because you got to block

19:55these 230 pound free screaming off the edge. By the way, once they get you to overset, they're going to cut inside and destroy your quarterback. It's about having the footwork, and Bryce Lovett did not have the footwork to play tackle. He never did. He was always someone that wasn't going to work out there. Guard, he could do. He could. He has the power to play guard. He could play there. Does he have the power to play well there? Maybe. We'll see about that. That's an overall string conditioning program or overall string conditioning issue from the last program. But way better suited to play guard than tackle. And there was never a doubt about that. I said in December that if he was playing tackle, it was coaching my practice by this coaching staff. I'm glad they got it right. Because that's one of those tests to me. If you've got a guy where he's very clearly not going to work out at this spot, he's got a much better chance of

20:55working out at another. To me, that's a clear indicator is what you are and what you're about as a coaching staff saying, hey, play him at the better spot. And this A plus, you pass that test. Because he should not be a tackle ever. TJ Shanahan is someone that I expect to see compete with Bryce Love It at right guard. And Frank Lebson, I think TJ Shanahan, from what I saw on film from TJ Shanahan last year Penn State, what I saw on film from Bryce Love It in 2024 at guard. And 2025 at tackle and just trying to translate those traits seems very clear to me that first off that Bryce Love It should be at right guard. But also, I think TJ Shanahan is the better option at right guard from what I saw. But again, it's about the unit not the individual. To me, I don't know if that's how they're deciding it. That's how I think offensive line plays should be decided. And then there's a couple of freshmen that have been getting a good

21:55bit of a good of it. A good bit of attention by the media and search media and in clips. We'll talk about that when we get back with Octon Gators. What if sports were traded like markets? Now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robinhood prediction markets. It's not you against the house. It's you participating in a live market. You can buy or sell your positions alive. All game long. Use your sports knowledge in the moments that matter. Robinhood prediction markets changes the game. It's people moving the action. So when momentum shifts, you can move with it. You always knew the game, but never had a dynamic way to apply that knowledge. Now, actually take part live in a market powered by people. You're no longer just a spectator play by play. You decide to trade every play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. download the Robinhood app. Now, to begin futures and fear swap trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood derivatives LLC, a registered futures commission merchant and swap.

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24:01daily and free, visit Podcasts and on YouTube. And the Florida Gators have a couple of freshmen that really popped in the clips that we've seen on social media. And all of the reports that we've seen on a lot of various sites and various sources and what we're seeing people talk about. We're going to talk first about Desmond Green. Because Desmond Green posted a clip, I'm trying to find who but it was Keith, I'm so sorry, I don't know how to pronounce her name, Nieber. I think it is. But Keith Nieber from from on three Gators online posted a clip of Desmond Green, run and flipping this little blocking slide, like the individual blocking slide, picking it up and throwing it to the ground. Dude is the wrong with a capital S, a capital T, a capital R,

25:03a capital L, a capital N and a capital G. He is strong. And like, like you know that, you watch his film from high school and you go, that's a powerful dude. He's got pop and he's aggressive as hell. Like he is, he's got pop, he's aggressive as hell. I think he's got a lot of potential, just from I think he's athletic enough to move in this offense. And I think he's powerful enough to block it down in any offense. I think he's got a lot of potential, but like most high school kids technique is just a mess. It is, that's not a knock on you. That's, I've been very open about it. My opinion is that offensive line coaching throughout the country, especially in high school, is worse than it's ever been. But you get lucky with guys like Desmond Green and we're saying, hey, um, bigger than you, stronger than you, quicker than you, and I'm going to kick your ass

26:07up and down this field. And that's what Desmond Green did in high school. He just beat ass up and down field. That's it. That's not going to work in the SEC like that, right? But that's a great starting point to have where it's a guy. We improved your technique. In 2027, we're talking about choose potential starter. And I think that's fair. I think that's very fair. Where you go. All right. Like 2027 could be the guy. Absolutely. One of the guards plot. Hell yeah, especially if it's someone that leaves and it's not like it's an open competition again, it's not someone that has established their starting spot. Absolutely. Tyler Chouquiam at offensive tackle is someone that has always had the physical traits and the physical tools to be really good. I've been very open about his high school film from before he even committed to Florida when he was just being recruited. I was like, this is like that dude has NFL traits.

27:12Like he's got Sunday player traits. I think he does need to probably add a little bit more power. I'm not going to say mass or anything like that because I think he's got mass but maybe converts some of it a little more power to translate to the SEC in high school. He just had another guy that was just pummeling people. But technique. Also, everything that needs to work. For me, the biggest thing with Tyler Chouquiam that I watched, I'm like, he's got the footwork to do anything you ask for an offensive tackle. He's got the footwork to deal with the most finesse rushers on the edge. We got all that set up. All right. I still don't think that you see much if anything really from the true freshman in 2026. Because think about the conversations we've had about true freshman competing for starting spots in 2026. We haven't. Because think about the position battles we've talked about. Left tackle. You've got Caden Jones there. You've got a mecca with Gorgi there. Probably going to be one

28:14of them. Right tackle to Varistice, Egan Boyer. Probably going to be one of them. Stenner, Harris and Moore, Jason Sandemella. Probably going to be one of them. Left guard, Naishi Harris, Rod Hearney. Probably going to be one of them. Right guard, Bryce Lovett, TJ Shanahan. Probably going to be one of them. It's not a knock on these freshmen. I think that especially with the 2026 class was the best offensive line class recruited by the Napier staff. I think you could look to guys like Desmond Green, Janari Carr and Tyler Chouquiam and say, those guys could probably compete playing time. If we're talking last year's coaching staff, last year's roster, probably compete with playing time there. But I think you look at what the position battles have been and what the position battles have looked like for Florida in this spring. And you can kind of go, all right, there's not really a spot for you to earn in the starting lineup especially.

29:16But the two deep also, and if you can crack a two deep, that's impressive. Like to me, that's winning a battle there. If you can crack the two deep provided that there's no injury that puts you in there, that's going to be really impressive for me. That's all I look at at the least because I also will say, I'm very over about this. I never expect true freshmen to play and play significant roles as true freshmen. I never want them starting. And I've said like Tyler Chouquiam is the one guy that I was looking at in the 2026 last year. I was like, if he earns a spot in the two deep, I'm good with that. And to me, that's saying a lot for what I think of you as a player. Because I generally think that these high school freshmen have so much work to do coming out of high school. It's really tough to project any expectations from him. It is. I show you a lot of Don Gators, you're first listen of the day. Every day we are available daily and for you as the podcast and on YouTube. We'll be back later on today. And we will be back

30:18tomorrow with Florida Gators Head Coach John Someral on Locked On Gators. For Locked On Gators, I'm Brandon Olson. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter at WNS underscore Brandon. And find all my written work with swabsato.subs.com. And I will see you all next time.