AggieYell.com's preview series on No. 10 Texas A&M's 2020 opponents continues with a look at the Aggies' week 3 opponent, No. 5 Florida (11-2 in 2019)
Key returning players
Redshirt senior QB Kyle Trask (237-354, 2,941 yards, 25 TD, 7 INT in 12 games in 2019); Junior TE Kyle Pitts (54 catches, 649 yards, 5 TD in 13 games); Senior WR Trevon Grimes (33 catches, 491 yards, 3 TD in 13 games, 11 starts); Redshirt senior LT Stone Forsythe (started all 13 games in 2019); Redshirt senior center Brett Hegie (12 starts at both left and right tackle); Redshirt senior right tackle Jean Delance (12 starts in 2019); Redshirt senior defensive end Jeremiah Moon (31 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 3 sacks in 9 games); Redshirt junior LB Ventrell Miller (55 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 3 sacks in 12 games); Senior FS Shawn Davis (51 tackles, 3 INT); Senior SS Donovan Stiner (30 tackles, 4 INT); Redshirt junior CB Marco Wilson (36 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 3 INT); Sophomore CB Kaiir Elam (11 tackles, 4 passes broken up, 3 INT in 13 games, 5 starts)
Important losses
QB Felipe Franks (transferred to Arkansas); WR Van Jefferson (2nd round pick, LA Rams); RB Lamical Perine; WR Freddie Swain; WR Tyrie Cleveland; WR Josh Hammond; LB David Reese (team-high 94 tackles); LB Jonathan Greenard; CB CJ Henderson (1st round pick, Jacksonville)
Major new additions
Redshirt senior guard Stewart Reece (transferred from Mississippi State); DT Gervin Dexter; DE Princely Umanmielen; LB Derek Wingo; WR Xzavier Henderson; OL Josh Braun
2019 stats
Rushing offense: 129.8 YPG (107th nationally, 13th SEC)
Passing offense: 300.8 YPG (16th nationally, 2nd SEC)
Total offense: 430.6 YPG (45th nationally, 4th SEC)
Scoring offense: 33.2 PPG (28th nationally, 3rd SEC)
Rushing defense: 102.8 YPG (8th nationally, 2nd SEC)
Passing defense: 202.1 YPG (32nd nationally, 6th SEC)
Total defense: 304.9 YPG (9th nationally, 2nd SEC)
Scoring defense: 15.5 PPG (7th nationally, 2nd SEC)
Turnovers forced: 23 (20th nationally, 3rd SEC)
Turnovers allowed: 18 (56th nationally, 9th SEC)
2020 projected starters (returning starters in bold)
QB: Kyle Trask (6-5, 240)
RB: Redshirt junior Malik Davis (5-10, 205; 34 carries, 86 yards, 1 TD)
WR: Redshirt sophomore Jacob Copeland (6, 203; 21 catches, 273 yards, 2 TD)
TE: Kyle Pitts (6-6, 240)
WR: Trevon Grimes (6-4, 218)
WR: Senior Kadarius Toney (6, 193; 10 catches, 194 yards, 1 TD in 7 games)
LT: Stone Forsythe (6-9, 312)
LG: Redshirt sophomore Richard Gouraige (6-5, 316)
C: Brett Heggie (6-3, 321)
RG: Redshirt senior Stewart Reece (6-6, 350)
RT: Jean Delance (6-5, 316)
DE: Brenton Cox Jr (6-3, 250; DNP in 2019 after transferring from Georgia)
DT: Senior Tedarrell Slaton (6-5, 340; 29 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks in 12 games)
DT: Zachary Carter (6-4, 290)
DE: Jeremiah Moon (6-5, 250)
LB: Ventrell Miller (6-1, 230)
LB: Junior Amari Burney (6-2, 230; 37 tackles, 1 INT in 9 games)
CB: Marco Wilson (6, 195)
FS: Shawn Davis (6, 206)
SS: Donovan Stiner (6-2, 210)
CB: Kaiir Elam (6-2, 193)
STAR: Redshirt senior C.J. McWilliams (5-11, 184; DNP in 2019)
The Gators moved back into the top tier of programs last year under Dan Mullen, and this looks like another Mullen kind of team: very big, very experienced and really tough on defense.
But there's one problem: the running game. It was atrocious last year and may not be much better this season. But Kyle Trask threw for 300 yards a game, so that made up for a lot of problems. Trask won't have the same crew in 2020, though; most of his top wideouts, including second-rounder Van Jefferson are gone. He does, however, have a bunch of speedsters to throw to as well as first team All-SEC tight end Kyle Pitts. The offensive line is absolutely massive, with former tackle Brett Heggie taking over at center. Adding former Mullen player Stewart Reece from Mississippi State to play guard won't hurt either.
Florida strangled opponents' running games last year, giving up just over 100 yards a game. They lost some starters up front, but replaced them with guys who have plenty of experience and filled up the depth chart in their own right. They're powerful up the middle, with Slaton, Burney and Davis capable of making big plays at any time. Their weaknesses may be at corner, with CJ Henderson gone. Kaiir Elam got plenty of playing time last year, but teams may test him out early to see what he brings as a full-time starter.
The Gators look solid and deep on paper, but they'll have to develop a running game. If they don't, good defenses like Georgia, A&M and LSU may come after Trask if they're one-dimensional.
2020 schedule
Sept. 26: @Ole Miss
Oct. 3: South Carolina
Oct. 10: @TEXAS A&M
Oct. 17: LSU
Oct. 24: Missouri
Nov. 7: Georgia (at Jacksonville, Fla.)
Nov. 14: Arkansas
Nov. 21: @Vanderbilt
Nov. 28: Kentucky
Dec. 5: @Tennessee
