On3 Roundtable: Florida's SEC East preseason ranking is surprising

Following the conclusion of SEC Media Days, those covering the conference are not too high on the Florida Gators. In Year Two of Billy Napier, they have been selected to finish fifth in the SEC East — the exact spot they finished in last season with a 6-7 overall record.

Improvement record wide is thought to be expected by Florida, at least from Gators Online‘s Nick de la Torre. He said seeing the Gators being picked fifth in the SEC East is “surprising.” While he is not picking them to win the SEC by any means, de la Torre believes Napier will have people shocked by the time the 2023 season ends.

“I think being fifth is a surprise,” de la Torre said when joining the On3 Roundtable. ” If we’re being honest, it’s a three-team conference right now with LSU, Alabama, and Georgia. Am I surprised Florida was not picked to win? No.

“To only be ahead of Vanderbilt and Missouri, the writers are a little down on Florida… It is surprising to me that Florida is fifth. I think they’ll surprise some people.”

Even for teams not expected to perform well, a few stars emerge on preseason All-SEC teams. Nobody from Florida appears on either the first-team or second-team, putting the Gators in an unusual position. Recruiting has not been horrible and Napier worked the NCAA transfer portal well this offseason.

Florida does have three players on the third team, with Trevor Etienne on offense plus Princely Umanmielen and Jason Marshall Jr. being defensive representatives. Even so, low preseason expectations from SEC writers heading into the year.

Once again, de la Torre sees voters being surprised at the end of the season. He says Florida should be well represented in the All-SEC first and second team by the time December rolls around.

“When I look at Florida, it’s a six-win, seven-win team,” de la Torre said. “Should you have a bunch of first-teamers, second-teamers preseason All-SEC? No, probably not. But there are guys that I think will be on a more coveted list of a first-team, second-team postseason SEC list.”

Florida could prove the voters wrong right away, having multiple statement opportunities in the first three weeks of the season. Utah will be a massive nonconference showdown once again before Tennessee — a team picked to finish higher — rolls into town on Week 3.

Begin the season 3-0 before moving into the heart of your SEC schedule and Florida will have people well surprised before the season ends.