Scouting the opponents: Key questions for Florida

HEAD COACH: Billy Napier (first year, 40-12 overall)

2021 RECORD: 6-7 overall, 2-6 in SEC East

RETURNING STARTERS: Offense – 5; Defense – 6; Special Teams – 1

PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Anthony Richardson, RB Lorenzo Lingard, WR Justin Shorter, TE Dante Zanders, DT Gervon Dexter, LB Ventrell Millar, S Trey Dean III

VERSUS GEORGIA: October 29 (Jacksonville)

Can Florida overcome an overall lack of depth?

Even first-year coach Billy Napier admits this is a problem.

Although Napier feels good about his first-team units on both sides of the football, he fears his Gators may not quite have the depth they need to truly compete in the SEC East.

That’s especially true at wide receiver, where Florida returns just two of its top five receivers from a season ago in Justin Shorter (41 catches for 550 yards) and Xzavier Henderson (26-277).

In the backfield, the Gators only have one returning running back who rushed for more than 85 yards.

There’s also a concern at defensive tackle.

Other than sophomore Gervon Dexter, Florida will be depending on some young, unproven players to attempt to get the job done.

How will Anthony Richardson fare as the starter at quarterback?

Plenty of this team's destiny rests on its performance under center. Richardson was Florida’s unquestioned starter this spring and seemed to pick up Napier’s spread option attack quickly.

Napier used the same offense at Louisiana, and it's hoped that Richardson, despite limited weapons, will be able to execute the offense with some modicum of efficiency.

One interesting item of note: Florida’s offensive coordinator is former Georgia offensive line coach Rob Sale, who does return three starters on his offensive line.

However, as we mentioned above, Florida will need to have some players step up at both running back and wide receiver due to depth issues at both positions.

A tough early schedule won’t do the Gators any favors.

A season-opening date with Pac-12 member Utah won’t be easy, and neither will the SEC opener the following week against Kentucky.

The good news for the Gators is that both games, along with a Sept. 17 date with South Florida, will be in Gainesville before Florida heads to Knoxville to challenge Tennessee.

Back-to-back home games against Eastern Washington and Missouri figure to go in the win column. However, after that, it’s three straight against LSU, Georgia, and Texas A&M that will determine whether or not Florida can avoid finishing under .500 for the second year in a row.