Bowl Win Shows Jim McElwain Will Have Talent to Turn Florida Offense Around

In spite of struggles that saw Florida finish with the third-worst offense in the SEC (370.2 yards per game), several stars did emerge in 2014, including running back Kelvin Taylor and wide receiver Demarcus Robinson. They'll be around next season for new head coach Jim McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, as the duo looks to turn around a program that has been offensively challenged since 2010.

What McElwain saw in the 28-20 Birmingham Bowl win over East Carolina, though, were several other under-utilized Gators impress on offense and announce to the new coaching staff that the future is bright.

Freshman Adam Lane was the most notable of those players, as he finished the afternoon with 16 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown, while earning Birmingham Bowl MVP honors. As Zach Abolverdi of The Gainesville Sun noted, that was part of the plan:

McElwain and Nussmeier now know that, in addition to Taylor, Lane can carry the load at running back.

The chance to audition for the new staff was a motivating force for Lane.

"It just built a bigger fire inside me and made me want to work harder," he said, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com).

Having options at running back is huge for an offense that will still be struggling to find a way to stretch the field in the passing game this offseason under the new regime. 

USA TODAY Sports

How exactly will they solve that riddle?

Rising junior Ahmad Fulwood could help.

Fulwood, a former 4-star prospect from Jacksonville, caught one pass Saturday and made it count, as he turned on the jets for an 86-yard touchdown on a screen pass. It was Florida's longest offensive play of the season. Fulwood only had 11 catches this season, but the 6'5" monster showed that he's more than just a big body. 

As Jeff Barlis noted, it was about time he made his presence felt:

Add in freshman running back Brandon Powell, who made a tremendous touchdown catch on an under-thrown pass from Treon Harris, and the story of the Birmingham Bowl evolved into the show for players who have been missing for the majority of the season.

Is that an indictment of former head coach Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator Kurt Roper? Absolutely.

But it also should give Florida fans hope for 2015 and beyond.

USA TODAY Sports

Is everything rosy in Gainesville? Of course not.

Harris left the game with an injury, and interim head coach D.J. Durkin was forced to turn to much-maligned former starter Jeff Driskel. Driskel did ice the game away with a quarterback keeper on third down with less than a minute to go, but he could be moving on elsewhere. According to Greg Ostendorf of ESPN.com, McElwain has granted Driskel a release to transfer if he chooses to do so.

When Harris was healthy this season, it's not like he was setting the world on fire. He only completed 49.5 percent of his passes (55 of 111) this year and needs some work in order to solidify the starting spot. One player who could challenge him is redshirt freshman Will Grier, who was a 4-star prospect in last year's recruiting class.

Is the offensive future bright in Gainesville? That'd be a stretch, but at least more options emerged in Birmingham on Saturday afternoon.

That, at the very least, should give McElwain, Nussmeier and Florida fans hope, which is a step in the right direction.

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.