GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- One of Florida's biggest issues on offense since Dan Mullen and Tim Tebow left town, beyond just being able to find a capable quarterback, has been the inability to put a consistent offensive line in front of him.

That was one area of need that Mullen immediately targeted when he arrived at Florida, despite the fact that (at least for now) the Gators return all five starters.

Simply put, the Gators have to get better up front in a hurry.

"We had a couple offensive linemen that I'm excited about bringing in here," Mullen said, after signing two in the Early Signing Period. "I think that's a big need position. It'll continue to be a big need position in recruiting."

The addition of junior college prospect Noah Banks and freshman Chris Bleich should help add more competition that saw the numbers, but not the quality, increase at the position under previous coach Jim McElwain.

McElwain was always quick to point out that he inherited a situation where he was down to just six scholarship offensive linemen at one point in his first spring. (Actually, he embellished quite a bit and dropped that number to four, but we're here to straighten you out.)

In any case, the number he walked into after taking over after Will Muschamp were exceedinly poor. And to his credit, the numbers aren't the issue now.

The bigger problem is that few of the guys signed to bolster the numbers ended up as more than bodies on a roster. Few pushed their way into the starting lineup over the last three years.

Mullen hopes to change that, and one of the ways he'll do it is by trying guys in several different spots. You never quite know where they'll click and be most comfortable.

"What we look for, you have an idea where guys play, but you also want position flexibility within the offensive line of guys that can play multiple positions," Mullen said.

One way Florida will do that is by ensuring they don't end up in a bind by losing a center or two. Ironically, the Gators actually had that exact scenario play out in 2016. After Cameron Dillard and Tyler Jordan went down in back-to-back games, third-stringer T.J. McCoy was pressed into action.

In that case, McCoy actually ended up being the most productive center and giving the whole line a boost. Mullen wants to test those kind of things earlier on so Florida can get the best starting combo on the field from the jump.

"You talk with John (Hevesy), he wants to teach everybody to snap just so that everybody has an idea how to snap because if you can't snap the ball, you're going to look pretty silly in a hurry," Mullen said. "We'll find out who's comfortable because a lot of these guys maybe are great centers and have never been in that position before. If I look at some of the great centers in the past that we've had, whether it was at Mississippi State or here at Florida within our system, within our offense, most of the guys that played center weren't centers in high school, moved to that position."

The bottom line: Mullen wants to try guys in different spots. After all, a little tinkering certainly can't hurt after more ineptitude up front this fall.

If it means players have to learn new positions, so be it.

"The position flexibility across the offensive line is important," Mullen said.

---------------

For more news on Florida sports and recruiting, follow GatorBait247 on Twitter or sign up for our FREE daily Gators newsletter!

Contact Thomas Goldkamp by 247Sports' personal messaging system or on Twitter at @ThomasGoldkamp.