Realistic Expectations for Jim McElwain's First Year at Florida
Jim McElwain was hired by athletics director Jeremy Foley to kick-start a Florida program that had become stagnant and mired in anonymity under former head coach Will Muschamp.
In an SEC East that is loaded with question marks in 2015, that shouldn't be too difficult, right?
Well, with only six healthy offensive linemen when he closed up his first spring practice session and another six coming this summer, developing offensive consistency might be much easier said than done.
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"They've done an outstanding job getting people in there," McElwain said at SEC spring meetings in Destin, Florida, last month. "Obviously, through attrition in some areas, we were short from a numbers standpoint to be able to practice the way we want to practice.
"That's OK. They had five guys at one position go down due to medical issues, and then of course some guys left early. Balance in the roster is something that we are trying to do now."
With that in mind, what are some realistic expectations for McElwain's first season in Gainesville?
Offensive Identity
An offensive identity has been something that was remarkably absent in Gainesville during the Muschamp era—even in the Sugar Bowl season of 2012.
That has to change, despite the inevitable limitations caused by an offensive line that's bound to be inconsistent at times in 2015.
What will that identity be?
That's tough to answer.
But with talented running backs like Kelvin Taylor, Adam Lane and Jordan Scarlett available to be used in creative ways, using two at one time and keeping one in as a blocker could help the quarterback—either Treon Harris or Will Grier—ease into the starting role. McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier could mix in screen passes and a multidimensional rushing attack to at least keep opposing front sevens honest.
Outside, a weapon like Brandon Powell—a 5'9", 177-pound wide receiver who converted from running back this offseason—could be Florida's X-factor. He missed most of spring practice recovering from a foot injury, but is the perfect option for McElwain in the slot on screen passes and jet sweeps.
"Everybody keeps saying we don’t have any receivers," Powell told ESPN.com's Chris Low. "We really do. It’s just that last year we couldn’t spread the ball around like we wanted to because of the play-calling. This year, we’re going to prove to a lot of people that we’re better than what everybody is saying."
Combine a quick, east-to-west passing game with a multidimensional running game, and that pass rush will be held at bay enough for Harris or Grier to take a few shots deep to established deep threat Demarcus Robinson.
A Small Step Up the Bowl Food Chain
The Birmingham Bowl simply won't cut it this year, despite the massive deficiency in the trenches. The Gators' goal should be to play in a "pool of six" bowl, which including the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Belk Bowl, Outback Bowl, AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl, Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl and TaxSlayer Bowl.
That would signify a small step forward for the program, and set the stage for a potential SEC East title run in 2016.
There's no lack of talent at Florida, but the main roster hole will prevent the Gators from contending in 2015.
Is Florida really capable of holding back the deep and talented Ole Miss front seven? How about a Tennessee front four that returns seven of eight players on the two-deep including Derek Barnett, and gets talented freshmen Shy Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie? How about LSU and Florida State teams that have plenty of pieces to work with?
It's going to be an up-and-down year for McElwain, but as long as there are more positives than negatives—and perhaps one signature win—he should lead the program to a slightly better bowl game.
Stability at Quarterback
Even when Florida won 11 games in 2012, the quarterback position was a point of major concern. In fact, issues at quarterback go back to Urban Meyer's final year when John Brantley struggled to replace Tim Tebow.
That has to change.
Whether it's Harris, Grier or somebody else, there has to be some stability that develops at the quarterback position.
Grier, the pro-style passer, is the likely candidate to win the starting job, and exited spring practice with a leg up on the dual-threat weapon Harris. The second-ranked pro-style passer in the class of 2014, Grier is the more natural fit for McElwain and Nussmeier's system.
Will he be the guy, or will the offensive line issues force McElwain and Nussmeier to change their approach, which could give Harris more of a chance for sustained success at quarterback?
That can't be answered until the fall. But enough is enough.
One quarterback has to solidify his spot atop the depth chart this year, because the recurring theme of quarterback inconsistency in Gainesville is something that McElwain needs to avoid if his program is going to jump back into the spotlight.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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