5 Florida Players Who Must Impress Jim McElwain This Bowl Season

New Florida head coach Jim McElwain won't coach the bowl game, but he will be watching closely at which players step up against East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl.

A new head coach means a clean slate for Gators players who have struggled or been buried on the depth chart this season.

Which Florida players need to make a statement against the Pirates and impress their new head coach?

Our top five are in this slideshow.

WR Demarcus Robinson

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Florida WR Demarcus Robinson

Florida wide receiver Demarcus Robinson was one of the lone bright spots on Florida's offense in 2014, catching 47 passes for 774 yards and seven touchdowns in a unit that struggled to complete passes consistently.

Not bad for the sophomore, who spent the majority of his career coming into the season in and out of former head coach Will Muschamp's doghouse.

McElwain needs a leader, and Robinson should be that leader.

We saw Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper step up this year and become the most valuable player in college football thanks to his work helping quarterback Blake Sims and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin adjust to their new roles.

Robinson isn't at Cooper's level yet, but he can serve a similar purpose for an offense that desperately needs somebody to provide stability in the offseason.

DB Jalen Tabor

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Florida DB Jalen Tabor

Everybody knows Vernon Hargreaves III, and he will certainly be a huge piece of the puzzle in McElwain's first season. 

Behind him (or, in the case of the secondary, "alongside"), there is a small village of talented defensive backs for the defense to work with.

One of those is freshman Jalen Tabor. 

The 6'1", 195-pounder had 28 tackles, four tackles for loss and one incredible interception vs. Vanderbilt this year for the Gators and will be counted on to be a key contributor next season for McElwain's team.

That starts in the Birmingham Bowl against East Carolina. The Pirates sling it all over the field, and while quarterback Shane Carden will look toward Justin Hardy more times than not, he'll likely be locked up with Hargreaves, which means Tabor will have plenty of chances to make game-changing plays at Legion Field.

QB Treon Harris

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Florida QB Treon Harris

The quarterback job is going to be wide open in Gainesville, and Treon Harris will have the first chance to make a first impression.

Harris will get the start vs. the Pirates in Birmingham, and while he'll still run most of offensive coordinator Kurt Roper's system, there will be some of McElwain's flavor mixed in despite the fact that he's not coaching in the game.

It's a perfect chance for Harris to take advantage of the opportunity, build some momentum heading into the offseason and cement himself as the man to beat at the quarterback spot in Gainesville.

Besides, it's not like East Carolina poses much of a threat to shut the passing game down. The Pirates rank eighth in the AAC in passing defense (262.6 yards per game) and are giving up 6.7 yards per attempt. 

If Harris shines, that's huge for his Florida future. If he struggles against these Pirates, however, McElwain will be back to the drawing board.

LB Alex Anzalone

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Florida LB Alex Anzalone

Linebacker Alex Anzalone came to Florida with a ton of hype, but for the better part of his first two seasons, he's been relegated to being a role player.

That looked like it was changing during the month of November.

Nine of his 11 tackles came in the Gators' final three games. According to Jesse Simonton of the The Miami Herald, Anzalone got his first career start at outside linebacker against Florida State in the regular-season finale. With Neiron Ball and Michael Taylor gone and Antonio Morrison possibly jumping early, Anzalone needs to take advantage of any chances he gets vs. East Carolina.

The former 4-star prospect is best suited to take over for Ball at "Sam," but a new staff could bring a new system, and showing some versatility could set him up to be a starter full-time in 2015.

RB Kelvin Taylor

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Florida RB Kelvin Taylor

Kelvin Taylor has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success during his first two seasons in Gainesville, and that has been while splitting time in a backfield that included Mack Brown and Matt Jones.

With Brown exhausting his eligibility following the bowl game and Jones likely gone to the NFL, it will be Taylor's show next season.

We know he can handle the job, but in bowl games, you show up to show out. 

Taylor finished the regular season behind Jones, with 565 yards on 112 carries and six touchdowns, and he certainly knows by now that McElwain's offense helped Dee Hart eclipse the 1,000-yard mark this season. A strong performance in Birmingham could set the stage for Taylor to follow in Hart's footsteps in 2015.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.