Texas vs. Florida will be a battle of big humans, but one Gator is the largest in college football
The Texas Longhorns like big humans in the trenches. Turns out, the Florida Gators do too.
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Over 50 players whose listed weight is over 300 pounds will be on Campbell-Williams Field on Saturday morning when the No. 5 Longhorns battle the Gators in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Big humans has long been one of Steve Sarkisian’s philosophies when recruiting players to man the trenches. His often repeated tagline is that Southeastern Conference teams possess the type of players up front that can move others with a considerable amount of weight behind them, while deploying skill players with elite top-end speed. Sarkisian has his roster looking just like he wants and seemingly right at home in the SEC, as all five of his O-line starters — left tackle Kelvin Banks, left guard Hayden Conner, center Jake Majors, right guard DJ Campbell, and right tackle Cam Williams — all check in at over 300 pounds. Even the sixth man in Cole Hutson is above that three bills threshold.
The same holds true for his defensive linemen. Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton are both 300+ pounds. So too are interior regulars Bill Norton, Alex January, and Jermayne Lole.
While big humans are common in the SEC, the Longhorns are technically outnumbered in terms of the amount of people who weigh more than 300 pounds this Saturday. The Gators have 29 to the Longhorns’ 25. Sarkisian spoke Monday about how scouts and attendees alike may be in awe of the size of the competitors taking the field on Saturday.
“This will be arguably one of, if not the best looking team in our conference,” Sarkisian said. “They’re big. They’re long. They’re athletic.”
He’d later add, “They’re a good looking football team. It’s going to be challenging because they’re physical at the point of attack. They’ve got good length.”
The likely starting five O-line for the Gators goes, from left to right, 314-pounder Austin Barber, 321-pounder Knijeah Harris, 308-pounder Jake Slaughter, 345-pounder Damieon George Jr., and 322-pounder Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson.
Along the defensive line, the Gators trot out 342-pounder Cam Jackson and 325-pounder Caleb Banks.
But the largest human on the field works behind them on the depth chart. Sure, there’s 351-pound Michai Boireau and 307-pound D’Antre Robinson. Even the comparatively diminutive Brien Taylor Jr. sees snaps at 274 pounds.
There’s no one on either roster, or even in college football, quite like Desmond Watson. His No. 21 is usually reserved for skill players, but there won’t be any mistaking Watson for running back KD Daniels on Saturday as Watson is listed at a jaw-dropping 449 pounds.
Watson is almost assuredly the largest player in college football. Texas fans may be reminded of Baylor’s Laquan McGowan from a decade ago, a 6-foot-7, 410-pounder who rushed for two yards against the Longhorns in their 2015 win over Baylor.
Even he is outweighed by Watson by almost 40 pounds.
Sarkisian has some familiarity with Watson, as he explained Thursday.
“I recruited him in high school,” Sarkisian said. “I remember vividly going to Armwood High School with (Jeff) Banks, seeing him in person. I was like, wow, that is a really big person. The thing about him is he’s got suddenness. He’s got quickness. He’s not a guy who just stands there and puts his arms out and two-gaps the center. They call movements. They call pressures with him. I think that’s one of the things that can cause you issues.
“It’s like trying to go to hit somebody, you’re winding up and you’ve got to hit this guy, and you think he’s a stationary target and he’s not. Then, he gets on an edge and gets a tackle for a loss.”
It’ll be a challenge for the Longhorns offensive line, as Sarkisian explained.
“I think we’ve really got to trust our fundamentals and techniques in this game because he’s not the only big guy. Naturally, they’ve only got one guy over 400 pounds but they’ve got plenty of 330, 340 guys on that interior defensive line that we’re going to have to contend with.”
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Similar applies on the Gators offensive line when facing the Texas defensive tackles. And both rosters boast starters and depth that are set to cause some big collisions on Saturday.
Texas 300-pounders (25)
NamePositionHeightWeightConnor StrohOL6-7350Sydir MitchellDL6-6350Andre CojoeOL6-6340Bill NortonDL6-6335Cameron WilliamsOL6-5335DJ CampbellOL6-3330Neto UmeozuluOL6-4330Nate KibbleOL6-3320Hayden ConnerOL6-5320Kelvin BanksOL6-4320Alfred CollinsDL6-5320Jake MajorsOL6-3315Brandon BakerOL6-4315Trevor GoosbyOL6-7315Alex JanuaryDL6-5315Jermayne LoleDL6-3315Daniel CruzOL6-3310Cole HutsonOL6-5310Connor RobertsonOL6-4310Vernon BroughtonDL6-4305Aaron BryantDL6-2305Melvin HillsDL6-3305Robert SweeneyOL6-5300Malik AgboOL6-4300Jaydon ChatmanOL6-4300
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Florida 300-pounders (29)
NamePositionHeightWeightDesmond WatsonDL6-5449Sebastian ScottDL6-2354Michai BoireauDL6-4.75351Damieon George Jr.OL6-6345Kamryn WaitesOL6-8343Cam JacksonDL6-6342Enoch WangoyOL6-7330Caden JonesOL6-7.5327Caleb BanksDL6-5.75325Brandon Crenshaw-DicksonOL6-7322Fletcher WestphalOL6-8321Knijeah HarrisOL6-3321Devon ManuelOL6-7319Bryce LovettOL6-5317Noel PortnjaginOL6-5314Austin BarberOL6-6.25314Jason ZandamelaOL6-2.75313Mark FairclothOL6-4.75309Mark PittsOL6-6309Christian WilliamsOL6-4.25309Jake SlaughterOL6-4.5308Mike WilliamsOL6-5.75308D’Antre RobinsonDL6-3307Connor HomaOL6-2.25306Marcus MascollOL6-4.75306Roderick KearneyOL6-4305Jamari LyonsDL6-3.5304Chase StevensOL6-3302Joey SlackmanDL6-3.5300
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