Game Balls: Florida's top performers against Vanderbilt
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Following each Florida victory, Gators Online will hand out game balls to UF’s top players.
Here are the standout performers from the Gators’ 38-14 win over Vanderbilt.
RB Montrell Johnson Jr.
With Trevor Etienne sidelined, starting running back Montrell Johnson Jr. had a bigger workload on Saturday and delivered one of his best performances as a Gator. He carried the ball a season-high 18 times for 135 yards, which marked the most by him since his 161-yard game last season against South Carolina.
Johnson averaged 7.5 yard per carry vs. Vandy, including a long of 34, and put Florida in front 21-7 with his 7-yard touchdown run. The junior surpassed 2,000 rushing yards for his career in the fourth quarter. He also caught three passes for 25 yards.
QB Graham Mertz
Florida redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz had another accurate outing throwing the ball, finishing with a season-high three touchdown passes. He also had his third-most passing yards (254) and third-best passer rating (170.1) of the season.
Mertz was on target throughout the day, connecting on 30 of 36 pass attempts to post an 83.3 completion percentage for the second straight week. He’s now completed more than 80 percent of his passes for three straight games and four of the last five, with the win over Tennessee (79.2) being the outlier.
TE Arlis Boardingham
Two of Mertz’s TD passes went to Arlis Boardingham. The redshirt freshman tight end had a breakout performance against the Commodores, setting career highs in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.
Boardingham almost finished with a 100-yard receiving game, hauling in seven passes for 99 yards and a pair of scores. He had a 2-yard touchdown from Mertz in the second quarter and caught a 15-yard TD in the fourth. Boardingham also made catches of 19 and 20 yards on third down.
WR Eugene Wilson III
After missing most of the Tennessee game and the last two weeks with a collarbone injury, Florida freshman receiver Eugene Wilson III returned to the starting lineup on Saturday and made his presence felt in the passing game.
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Wilson led the team in receiving with career highs in receptions (8) and yards (64) while finding the end zone for the first time as a Gator. He motioned into the backfield, caught a flip pass from Mertz and scored a 9-yard touchdown.
LB Shemar James
Sophomore linebacker Shemar James had a productive day on defense, leading the team in tackles for the fourth time in six games. James finished with seven tackles and a tackle for loss against the Commodores.
His TFL came in the third quarter on third-and-12 for Vandy from the UF 47-yard line. James tackled Ken Seals on a QB keeper for a loss of a yard to force a punt.
EDGE Tyreak Sapp
Redshirt sophomore EDGE Tyreak Sapp wreaked havoc vs. Vanderbilt, producing one of his most disruptive games of the season. He matched his season-high with three tackles and made some game-changing plays.
Sapp had his first career forced fumble in the first quarter and then closed out the half on a strong note, sacking Seals on third down for a 4-yard loss and forcing his second fumble on the play.
