Florida Football: The Offseason To-Do List for the Gators

With National Signing Day in the rearview mirror, minus Stefon Diggs, the Gators and Will Muschamp can begin to focus on the 2012 season. 

After finishing a disappointing 2011 campaign, the Gators will look to rebound, and got a good start with this recruiting class. Florida finished with the fifth-ranked class according to Scout, third-ranked according to Rivals and fourth according to ESPN.

The Gators linebackers and special teams coach, D.J. Durkin, was named the Rivals recruiter of the year in part because of how well he was able to recruit the state of North Carolina. Florida pulled in the top two recruits from the state in D.J. Humphries and Jonathan Bullard. 

The Gators will be looking to start strong with a good spring practice and will work as quickly as they can to acclimate that top-five class when they get on campus this summer. 

This is what the Gators will be focusing on this offseason to get back on top of the SEC in 2012. 

Sign Stefon Diggs

Stefon Diggs is the highest-rated recruit who has yet to sign a letter of intent. 

Diggs is a dangerous player with the ball in his hands and would make an immediate impact at Florida. Diggs is an elite athlete who can play receiver, carry the ball out of the backfield and return punts and kicks. 

Diggs was thought to be a strong Florida lean, but has never named a leader during his recruiting process. Urban Meyer and Ohio State have entered the picture late and are making a late but strong push to sign Diggs. 

Stefon Diggs will announce his college decision on 10 p.m. Friday night. 

Get the Wide Receivers Involved in the Passing Game

The Gators are very thin at wide receiver and only signed two receivers this recruiting cycle (three if Diggs commits). The addition of LaTroy Pittman and the surprise signing of Raphael Andrades will give the Gators some much-needed depth to the position.

Andre Debose is the only returning receiver that has been any kind of reliable for the Gators. The Gators will have former blue-chip recruit Ja'Juan Story coming off of a redshirt season. Story is a 6'3'' 206-lb. freshman that will be a player to watch this offseason. 

The Gators receivers hauled in 76 receptions last season, only 41 percent of the team's receptions. Charlie Weis leaned heavily on his running-back tandem, a luxury new offensive coordinator Brent Pease does not have. 

Pease, who ran Boise State's offense last season, was able to get his receivers much more involved. The Bronco receivers caught 241 passes, 68 percent of the receptions.

The Gators will need to find playmakers and dependable options at this position if they want to improve on last season's putrid offense. 

Establish a Power Runnig Game

Will Muschamp and Charlie Weis blamed a lack of a power-rushing attack for why the Gators struggled to move the ball at times last season. 

With Mike Gillislee and fullback Hunter Joyer returning, along with the addition of Matt Jones, the Gators cannot use that excuse next season. Joyer showed last seaosn that he can carry the load on the goal line. At 5'10'', 242 lbs., Joyer can be the bruiser the Gators need in short yardage situations. 

Matt Jones was the only tailback signed this recruiting class, but he has the type of physical running style that Muschamp wants at the position. Jones is listed at 6'3'', 225 lbs. and has good speed and quickness for his size.

Gator fans were left scratching their heads last season at how seldom Mike Gillislee was used. As the Gators struggled to run between the tackles with Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps, it seemed Gillislee was the obvious solution. Gillislee carried the ball only 56 times last season, but will be the frontrunner until Jones enrolls this summer. 

Emphasis on Turnovers

While the Gators defense showed potential to become an elite unit in 2011, they struggled to create turnovers. The defense forced only 14 turnovers last year, the lowest total in the past five seasons. 

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn made it a point of emphasis before the bowl game, and the Gators responded, recovering two fumbles. 

The Gators finished the season with a min8s-12 turnover margin, winning the turnover battle only four times in 13 games. 

The Gators will be strong on defense again next season, but will need to create turnovers in order to help out an offense that will take some time to develop. 

Improve the Offensive Line

No matter who was under center for the Gators last season, this picture pretty much sums up how the game went for them. 

John Brantley was injured twice, Jeff Driskel was injured after a sack and Jacoby Brissett was forced to run away from defenses all season long. 

The Gators offensive line gave up 23 sacks, a number that would have been higher if Brissett wasn't so hard to bring down. 

The unit was low on numbers a season ago and ill-equipped to run the style of offense that the Gators tried to run. For as great as a recruiter as Urban Meyer was, he built an offensive line based on a spread-option offense. The linemen Florida have could not get a push in the running game or keep a safe pocket in the passing game. 

The Gators added three offensive linemen in the 2012 recruiting class, and all of them will have an opportunity to play right away. D.J. Humphries and Jessamen Dunker are already on campus, and both should be the favorites to start at left tackle and left guard this season. 

Create Familiarity with a New Offensive Coordinator and Offense

With the signing of new offensive coordinator Brent Pease, the Gators will now have a new offensive coordinator for the third straight season. 

Pease has already made an impact in his short time at Florida, signing Skyler Mornhinweg. For some reason, Charlie Weis did not seem to think it would be necessary to sign a quarterback this year. With only three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster and really only two good enough to play, it is obvious the position needed more depth. 

Pease will now be charged with the task of transforming an offense that never took off last season and find ways to move the ball. 

Find a Starting Quarterback

Last on this list but arguably the biggest task this offseason is to appoint a starting quarterback. 

Jeff Driskel was an early enrollee last season and benefited from being on campus early, earning the backup role behind John Brantley. Unfortunately for Driskel, he would injure his ankle against Alabama and miss the next game against LSU. On the year, Driskel was 16-of-34 for 148 yards and two interceptions. 

Jacoby Brissett was a late signee and took over as the starter against LSU after Brantley and Driskel went down with injuries. Brissett was baptized by fire, having to start at LSU and Auburn to start his collegiate career. Brissett became the first Gator quarterback in school history to throw his first career pass in his first start. Brissett was serviceable last season, completing 18-of-39 passes for 206 yards, adding two touchdowns and four interceptions. 

The Gators will likely close their practices again this season, so it will be difficult to judge how the quarterback battle is going, but expect the competition to be fierce and the intensity at practice to be amped up.

In the end, whichever quarterback performs better during the spring, summer and fall practices will earn the starting job, and just because Brissett took more snaps than Driskel last season does not mean he has a lead going into the offseason.

Both quarterbacks who will be sophomores next season will need to become familiar with a new offensive coordinator and a new offense quickly if they want a chance to be the starter come Sept. 1.