Florida Football: Depth Chart Analysis, Complete 2015 Preview and Predictions

The Jim McElwain era at Florida is about to begin in earnest. With it comes new hope that the Gators can get back to the glory days they most recently experienced under former coach Urban Meyer. 

There's work to be done, however, especially on the offensive side of the ball. A quarterback battle, a thin and inexperienced offensive line and the need for more playmakers at wide receiver means McElwain and Co. will earn their paychecks this year. 

The cupboard is not completely bare, however. And with an SEC East division that, once again, figures to be wide-open, there's a chance for Florida to pull off some big wins right away. 

Below is the complete 2015 Florida Gators preview, where we break down the offense, defense, schedule and much, much more. 

Coaches

Head Coach	Jim McElwain
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks	Doug Nussmeier
Defensive Coordinator	Geoff Collins
Associate Head Coach/Co-Coordinator/Linebackers	Randy Shannon
Running Backs	Tim Skipper
Wide Receivers	Kerry Dixon II
Offensive Line	Mike Summers
Tight Ends/Special Teams	Greg Nord
Defensive Line	Chris Rumph
Defensive Backs	Kirk Callahan

McElwain's staff, as you'd expect, is almost completely brand new. All but one member, offensive line coach Mike Summers, are in their first year with the Gators under McElwain. However, McElwain's coaching staff is heavy on SEC experience. Geoff Collins, Kirk Callahan, Greg Nord, Doug Nussmeier, Chris Rumph and Randy Shannon have each coached at least one year at an SEC school. 

That's McElwain's M.O.: build a staff with heavy recruiting ties to the area. It's what he did at Colorado State, and it's what he's doing now at Florida. Only Tim Skipper and strength and conditioning coach Mike Kent—and head coaches often prefer their own strength and conditioning guy—came to Gainesville from Colorado State. 

It's a solid staff, overall. Nussmeier lasted only one year at Michigan in the final days of the Brady Hoke experiment but previously had successful stints at Alabama, Washington and Fresno State. Nussmeier, in fact, succeeded McElwain as the play-caller in Tuscaloosa and with Fresno. 

Collins comes to Florida after four years with Mississippi State—the first two as a co-defensive coordinator and the final two as the sole play-caller for the Bulldogs defense. 

But perhaps the biggest assistant coaching hire was Shannon, the former head coach at Miami (Florida). Shannon's resume as a defensive assistant is a lengthy one, and he's one of the top recruiters in all of college football. As B/R colleague Tyler Donohue wrote in February, Shannon's roots in south Florida should pay dividends for the Gators long term. 

What to Watch on Offense

Position	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
QB	Will Grier/Treon Harris	Will Grier/Treon Harris	--
RB	Kelvin Taylor	Jordan Scarlett	Jordan Cronkrite
WR (X)	Demarcus Robinson	Antonio Callaway	Raph Andrades
WR (Z)	Ahmad Fulwood	Chris Thompson	C.J. Worton
WR (Y)	Brandon Powell	Latroy Pittman	Valdez Showers
TE	Jake McGee	DeAndre Goolsby	C'yontai Lewis
LT	David Sharpe	Kavaris Harkless	--
LG	Mason Halter	Antonio Riles	--
C	Trip Thurman	Cameron Dillard	--
RG	Tavaris Dorsey	Andrew Mike	--
RT	Martez Ivey	Kavaris Harkless	--
K	Austin Hardin	--	--

This is easily where a majority of the questions lie, and the lack of an official depth chart from Florida shows just how fluid the situation is. 

Let's start with the quarterback spot because, well, why not? Redshirt freshman Will Grier and sophomore Treon Harris have been in a tight battle throughout the entire offseason, and there doesn't appear to be any major separation between the two just weeks ahead of the season. As such, McElwain says he's prepared to use both players in Week 1 against New Mexico State. 

"Those two guys are progressing," McElwain said via Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel. "No clear separation yet. And that's OK. That's alright. They're competing. They're working." 

There's also the matter of who's going to block for the quarterbacks. Depth along the offensive line isn't as dire as it was in the spring, but it's not ideal, either. True freshman Martez Ivey figures to see plenty of time at tackle if he's not on track to start. This is an inexperienced and thin group that will be thrown into the fire early. As of mid-August, few, if any, positions have been locked down as McElwain tries to find the five best guys. 

At receiver, the Gators need a complement to Demarcus Robinson, who caught more than twice as many passes (53) as the next-leading player in 2014. Brandon Powell's full-time transition to receiver has him lining up in the slot, and big things are expected of him this year. Can he be that No. 2 guy? Or will someone else step up at the other outside receiver spot? 

Outside of Robinson, no other returning receiver caught more than 15 passes a year ago, so there's sizable room to grow. Ahmad Fulwood and C.J. Worton are some of the names to keep an eye on here. 

What to Watch on Defense

Position	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
DE	Jonathan Bullard	Bryan Cox	--
DT	Taven Bryan	Caleb Brantley	Thomas Holley
NT	Joey Ivie	Khairi Clark	Jay-nard Bostwick
DE	Alex McCalister	CeCe Jefferson	Jordan Sherit
MLB	Alex Anzalone	Matt Rolin	--
WLB	Jarrad Davis	Daniel McMillan	Jeremi Powell
CB	Vernon Hargreaves	Quincy Wilson	--
CB	Jalen Tabor	Brian Poole	--
S	Marcus Maye	Duke Dawson	--
S	Keanu Neal	Marcell Harris	--
NB	Brian Poole	--	--

Defense figures to be the strength of the Gators in 2015 and probably the side of the ball that will win games. However, the defense lost a major star in edge-rusher Dante Fowler Jr., who departed for the NFL.  

Florida does return a few key components, namely cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, an All-SEC and All-American player. Hargreaves is the cornerstone for what should be an outstanding, if not slightly underappreciated, secondary. Jalen Tabor and Brian Poole won't get the attention that Hargreaves does, but they're every bit as important. Tabor specifically was a freshman All-SEC selection in 2014 and had one of the highlight interceptions of the season against Vanderbilt: 

Up front, the Gators should have a nice edge-rushing duo with Jonathan Bullard and CeCe Jefferson—the latter of whom was a heralded member of the 2015 recruiting class. Jefferson may not "start" or play every down, but the coaching staff is going to get him on the field in passing situations to take advantage of his athleticism.

Nick de la Torre of Gator Country explains: "Jefferson will be used in a role similar to what Ronald Powell and Dante Fowler were used as freshmen. Jefferson will be used primarily on passing downs where the playbook for his position is simple; get to the quarterback quickly. As he learns and grows, that role with expand."

Beyond Hargreaves, there isn't a ton of star power on the defense—but don't confuse that with any negative connotation. The Gators are thriving with young talents who should emerge as major playmakers over the next two to three years. 

However, the defense is also missing its key middle linebacker. Speaking of which... 

Injury News

Antonio Morrison is still recovering from a severe knee injury he sustained in last season's Birmingham Bowl. He's had surgery on the knee twice and has been limited to no-contact work in practice. Ideally, Morrison will be able to play at some point this year, but McElwain isn't sure when—if at all. 

"It's too early to say if he'll play. The fact he'll be out there is short of a miracle based on that knee," McElwain said via Robbie Andreu of GatorSports.com. "A credit to how hard he has worked to be part of this family, and I just can't tell you how good that makes us all feel."

Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone are two of the players competing for reps in Morrison's absence. With the way Florida's defense is set up, there should be enough depth to account for the injury. 

"We may have two middle linebackers that may be the best two guys on the field," Shannon said via Scott Carter of GatorZone.com (h/t Fox Sports). "We have to play them. It may be two outside linebackers who are the best guys. We may have three linebackers in the game who are all weak-side linebackers. Whoever the best guys are at that point in time, that's who we're going to have to play."

X-Factor

There are so many questions that have yet to be answered for the offense, but one of the few steady components is running back Kelvin Taylor.

The second-leading rusher a year ago now becomes the primary back with the departure of Matt Jones. Furthermore, the transfer of Adam Lane means there's even more pressure on Taylor to be the legitimate bell-cow running back. Freshman Jordan Scarlett will likely serve as a complementary runner, but this is undoubtedly Taylor's ground attack.

With a new quarterback and a thin offensive line, Taylor will be asked to do a lot in 2015. If Florida can move the chains consistently, it'll be in large part because of him.  

2015 Schedule

Date	Opponent	Location
Sept. 5	New Mexico State	Gainesville
Sept. 12	East Carolina	Gainesville
Sept. 19	Kentucky	Lexington, Ky.
Sept. 26	Tennessee	Gainesville
Oct. 3	Ole Miss	Gainesville
Oct. 10	Missouri	Columbia, Mo.
Oct. 17	LSU	Baton Rouge, La.
Oct. 31	Georgia	Jacksonville, Fla.
Nov. 7	Vanderbilt	Gainesville
Nov. 14	South Carolina	Columbia, S.C.
Nov. 21	Florida Atlantic	Gainesville
Nov. 28	Florida State	Gainesville

Make-or-Break Games

The monthlong stretch from late September to late October is a critical time for Florida. In that span, the Gators play Tennessee on the road, Ole Miss, Missouri on the road, LSU on the road and Georgia. 

Yeesh. 

Make no mistake, early matches against East Carolina and a rising Kentucky program won't be gimmes—not the way Florida has played over the past few years. But that midseason stretch is going to tell us a lot about this Gators team and what McElwain has to work with. 

Can the offense establish a starting quarterback? Can the offensive line come together by this point in the season? These will be some of the questions that will likely be answered by this time. With any luck, McElwain will come away with positive answers. 

Otherwise, fighting for bowl eligibility could very well be the case come November. 

Prediction

Despite the numerous question marks on offense, Florida gets off to a 3-0 start. But remember that key stretch in the middle of the year? It proves to be every bit the headache it looked to be on paper, and the Gators go 1-4 during that five-game run. 

The good news is Vanderbilt and Florida Atlantic alone are enough to get Florida back to a bowl game. The offensive line won't get any deeper—on the contrary, it could have depth issues again if injuries pile up—Grier should get things done at quarterback and one more receiver should emerge alongside Robinson. 

Winning games with defense means things won't always be pretty for Florida, but it could still be effective. It might even be enough to take a game Florida isn't supposed to win. 

Overall Record: 7-5

Conference Record: 4-4

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.