The Gator running back position now and in the future

[travisduncan]

Update: The Gators have offered 2013 running back Joshua Mercer out of South Effingham in Guyton, Georgia. If he accepts the Gators offer he'll be the third running back in the 2013 class. Fellow recruit Kelvin Taylor previously said he didn't think the Gators would add a third running back to the class.
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The Class of 2013 is starting out very well for the Florida Gators. Following last weekend's Junior Day the Gators have a total of 10 verbal commitments for next year's class.

The biggest news came from running back Kelvin Taylor, son of former Gator and NFL star Fred Taylor.

Taylor rushed for 2,884 yards and 40 touchdowns at Glades Day High (Fla.) last season.

The other nine commitments for 2013 are Rodney Adams WR St. Petersburg FL, Caleb Brantley DT Crescent City FL, James Hearns LB Tallahassee, FL, Adam Lane RB Winter Park, FL. Dillan Lawson LB Crestview, FL, Daniel McMillian LB Jacksonville, FL, Keanu Neal DB Bushnell FL, Quinton Powell LB Daytona Beach Fl, Nick Washington DB Jacksonville, FL.

But the star of this class will probably be Taylor from now until the start of the 2013 season, simply because of the type of career the elder Taylor had and the prospects of having a dominant running back in the SEC who can run between the tackles.

Taylor isn't going to run anyone over but he will make defenders miss. He possesses great speed but his vision to find openings is probably his greatest asset.

But that is 2013.

The Gator running back position for 2012 is a curious one. Gone are Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps who could beat just about any non-conference defender to the sideline but weren't able to escape the speedy defenders of the SEC for the type of gains they saw early in the 2011 season.

Going forward you have to think Mike Gillislee is the starter with three others filling in.

Muschamp recently told ESPN, "You can only take so many runs into a game, so you have a lot of the perimeter runs they were able to do and some of the inside runs they couldn’t do we should be able to do now with Mike Gillislee, Trey Burton, Mack Brown and Matt Jones, the freshman coming in."

He added, "We’ll also be bigger in the backfield. I love Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps and the job they did at the University of Florida. But at the end of the day, you do get limited in some of the things you want to do as far as the inside run game is concerned"

Last season the Gators ranked 8th in the SEC in total rushing. In a stretch of four losses against Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Georiga the Gators totaled 175 rushing yards combined. Some of that had to do with the loss of John Brantley and the predictability of the Gator offense with freshmen quarterback under center and some of that had to do with the simple fact the Gators couldn't run the ball.

 

[DRU2012]

While there are some questions still to be answered on offense for 2012, describing the running game as "curious" may be overly pessimistic--I think we'll have a ball-control offense that matches up well with our aggressive, opportunistic defense and special teams. "Curious" may better describe our situation at quarterback--though it is hoped that both of the two sophomore QBs will have come far with time and experience, and of course that one will seize the starting role (the sooner the better). The view here is that though our offense will improve greatly over last year's Weis-designed misfire (we've got an imaginative OC and tough-minded staff now who have a plan and won't hesitate to use what they have on hand: a group of hard-running physical RBs of varying skill-sets , some real promise at TE, and a returning (now healthy) O-line to be augmented by incoming talent), by NEXT year (2013) we'll REALLY begin to come into our own across-the-board: we will begin to show the complete package Coach Boom and Co. are building towards, confident of control in every facet of the game.
To all the Gator fans out there, that varied mass referred to as "Gator Nation" that sometimes seems unrealistically impatient and in danger of tearing itself apart from within, it's time to sit up and take notice:
Y'all wanted a return to "The Elite"? You wanted a coach and staff who were on the same page, not just with each other but with us, the fans? You wanted them thinking big, eventually making all of us proud? These guys, from Muschamp on down, are after nothing less than long term dominance, not just sometimes on certain days with most teams, but over every team they play, throughout every game, for seasons to come. How's THAT for big goals, Gators?