Florida Gators fall camp: Three things to watch for on day one

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators will kick off fall camp at 11:15 a.m. on Monday afternoon in preparation for the Utah Utes. The Gators will have 15 practices over the next 30 days to get ready for the 2023 football season.

Gators Online will be on the scene for every practice.

Who will start at quarterback for the Gators?

The Gators started the 2022 camp with Anthony Richardson at quarterback. When camp starts on Monday the Gators don’t have a starting quarterback. That leaves the next 15 practices for one of three guys to earn the job. Graham Mertz, Jack Miller, and Max Brown will all compete for the job.

Entering camp, Mertz is the odds-on favorite to win the job. He enrolled at Florida prior to spring camp and has earned the respect of the locker room.

“He leads the team. And he just got here, it’s a transfer, he just got here, but he acts like he’s been here,” running back Montrell Johnson said. “(Graham) leads the team. He talks to us in a way like a coach would talk to us kind of, and you obviously hear him in the meeting room, stuff like that.

“I think he’s doing exactly what you would want a veteran quarterback to do. This is like acquiring a free agent that has played multiple years as a starter. He’s learning our system, he’s embraced our methods, our way of doing things,” Billy Napier said of Mertz. “And I think you get almost a renewed lease on life, like having a new lease on life. You come in, you’re experienced, you’ve got a chip on your shoulder, and you’re there with a purpose. And I think he’s been really professional in his approach, I’ve been very impressed.”

Who will start at cornerback across from Jason Marshall?

Jason Marshall will start outside but who will start on the other side? There is a long list of candidates.

“Then at corner you’ve got J-Marsh, Devin Moore, you’ve got Jalen Kimber, Ja’Keem Jackson, Dijon Johnson, Aaron Gates, and then obviously Coach Raymond does a phenomenal job,” defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong said. “So we have a lot of players that have bought in.”

With Jaydon Hill and Jadarrius Perkins battling to start inside, the last corner spot should provide a ton of competition.

Austin Armstrong’s defense

What will the Florida Gators’ defense look like That might be the million for not just fall camp but the entire season. The Gators’ defense was one of the worst in the SEC. They added players like RJ Moten, Teradja Mitchell, Cam Jackson, and Caleb Banks. But what will the defense as a whole look like?

“The identity of our defense, we want to be a tough, physical, relentless,” Armstrong said of his intentions for the group. “A group that plays with relentless effort and physicality, situational experts, plays with joy and enthusiasm, and we’re going to be the aggressor and we’re going to hunt.”

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