The Florida Gators have won the SEC East two years in a row. Here are five storylines to keep an eye on during the annual Orange and Blue Debut on Saturday.
The first two years of the Jim McElwain down in Gainesville have brought stability to the Florida Gators. After four years of inconsistency under then head coach Will Muschamp, the Gators have gone on to win the SEC East the last two seasons, albeit during a down cycle for the division.
Florida has a solid shot at three-peating in the East, but teams like the Georgia Bulldogs and the Tennessee Volunteers will certainly be in contention for the division title. The Gators should be a top-25 team throughout 2017 but will need to have a good foundation from spring practice to get this upcoming season off on the right foot.
Florida’s annual Orange and Blue Debut will be on Saturday, Apr. 8 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET and the SEC Network will have the telecast. Here are the five most interesting storylines for Florida’s upcoming spring game.
5. Randy Shannon is running the defense
After two great years of calling the Gators defense, former defensive coordinator Geoff Collins has left Gainesville to be Matt Rhule’s replacement with the AAC juggernaut Temple Owls. Losing a coordinator of that caliber would be tough for much SEC coaches, but not McElwain.
When he arrived in Gainesville in 2015, McElwain had another strong defensive-minded coach on his staff in former Miami Hurricanes head coach Randy Shannon. While his four-year tenure leading his alma mater Hurricanes was a disaster, Shannon is adept at coaching linebackers and a brilliant defensive coordinator.
Promoting from within was the right move to account for Collins’ lose to Temple. Shannon had already been Collins’ co-defensive coordinator and McElwain’s assistant head coach the last two years. With that, Shannon is well aware of the talent and limitations of his defensive personnel.
Since Shannon is a linebackers coach, look for that area of the Gators defense to be the focal point of attack defensively. The Gators may have lost inside linebacker Alex Anzalone to the NFL Draft, but the linebacking corps should be the bread and butter of Florida’s defense. It will be interesting to see if Shannon has left any indelible marks on his Gators defense already.