PFF ranks the Florida Gators as a preseason top-20 team
Pro Football Focus is higher on the 2023 Florida roster than most. Not only does the sports analytics company list multiple UF players among the SEC’s highest-graded returning players at their position, but it views the Gators as a preseason top-20 team.
PFF released its top 25 rankings ahead of the 2023 season, using its own ELO ratings, and listed Florida at No. 20 nationally. Here’s their reasoning:
“Florida is coming off its second-straight losing season, which hasn’t happened since the 1970s. The Gators also must replace quarterback Anthony Richardson, who was taken in the top five of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz will be filling those shoes and is coming off a career-high 75.3 grade last season. He’ll be able to rely on a great backfield duo in Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne. The defense has a couple stars in edge defender Princely Umanmielen and cornerback Jason Marshall Jr.”
PFF is also high on more than two-thirds of the Gators’ opponents. Eight of the 12 teams on their schedule are ranked in the top 25 and seven are ranked ahead of UF: Georgia (1), LSU (8), Tennessee (9), Florida State (14), Utah (15), Arkansas (18) and Kentucky (19). South Carolina is No. 22 and PFF has Missouri ranked No. 33.
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Lindy’s Sports on the 2023 Gators
Lindy’s Sports has also published its 2023 college football preview and the magazine is higher on the Gators than Athlon Sports.
Florida is ranked No. 32 in Lindy’s preseason rankings and picked fourth in the East behind Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.
Lindy’s overview on UF: “After losing quarterback Anthony Richardson, Florida’s offense appears to have taken a step back, a narrative that can quickly be dispelled if Mertz takes significant steps to improve over the summer in areas like pocket feel and pass precision. The Gator defense looks much improved, though, and could allow the team to be successful in lower-scoring games.”
Click here to check out Athlon and Lindy’s previews on the 2023 Florida football team.
