GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Going into 2020, Florida's running back room is as loaded as it has been in several years. The Gators gave three backs regular carries a year ago, while the other two on the roster are former five-star prospects.
It's a crowded room and at a position when touches are tough to come by when there are a lot of capable guys, you'd usually worry about buy-in and motivation. It's easy to get discouraged if you're not getting many carries.
But coaches always say, you're best off when your players are leading the charge.
And senior running back Dameon Pierce appears to be doing everything in his power to make sure every single back on the roster is ready to play. Even if it means some of those guys might eat into his carries next fall.
"The more the merrier," Pierce said. "The more people to learn from. It’s a bigger bond between everybody. With me being one of the older guys in the room, it changed my role a lot. I’m wanting to make sure those guys are prepared for everything and comfortable."
There are two main areas that Pierce is focusing on right now with the backs who haven't seen as many touches, redshirt junior Lorenzo Lingard and redshirt freshman Demarkcus Bowman: ball security and pass protection.
Whatever he can do to speed along they're development, he's all in on.
"It doesn't matter who is in, the job is going to get done at a very high level," Pierce said. "Coach (Greg) Knox stresses that, coach Knox makes sure that everybody, you know that's on the top of his list. If you can't protect the ball, can't protect the quarterback, you're not going to play. so if we're out there we must have those two things down. That's what we're working with with these young guys right now, it's their first year in the offense, we're trying to make sure everybody good."
Florida coach Dan Mullen has already noted that UF is built more around the run this year, and losing elite pass-catchers like Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes will likely mean the Gators lean more heavily on the strong stable of backs.
That might even include some looks with multiple backs. So there are touches to be won this spring.
"I mean for us, when you get into 'do we have our best guys on the field? Are we putting them in positions to be successful?' Mullen said, "If you have depth at running back you can probably play some more running backs, so that's what we're going to continue to evaluate through spring and getting into fall camp."
Pierce wants everyone in his running back room to be in a position to play.
"Like for a guy like Bowman in his first year here, how can I help him get more comfortable?" Pierce said. "How can I help him learn the playbook? How can I get him more involved and more knowledgeable? I have to make sure that he’s OK.
"If he ain't set, that’s a reflection on me. That means that’s poor leadership on my end."
Pretty solid attitude for a guy vying for snaps.
But, hey, Florida's got a lot of backs with different skill sets. And if there's anything Mullen's known for, it's featuring players by using what they do best. The more skill sets, the better.
"Obviously I'm a power runner, I'm a north and south guy," Pierce said. "Malik [Davis], you know, he more pass-reliant, so we might use Malik in the pass game, get him open. Same thing with Nay'Quan [Wright], Nay'Quan kind of like a Swiss Army knife. We can throw him in the run game, we can get him behind a couple of linemen, or we can throw him in the pass game, you know? And Lorenzo and Bowman come kind of similar in terms of physical assets. They both have great top-end speed and great acceleration, with those guys you want to get the ball, obviously, going north and south."
Expect to see a healthy dose of almost all of them next fall.
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