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During each off-season, Inside the Gators interviews an anonymous departing player in order for him to share his thoughts on an array of topics regarding Florida Gators football.

Since there was a coaching change, we changed the focus somewhat this time around.

Two departing players were interviewed and asked more about specific areas and instances rather than a strict look at their time at Florida, highs, lows, games and such.

In this five-part interview, no topic was off-limits as we discussed Jim McElwain, the strength and conditioning program, Dan Mullen, player assessments and much more.

As an aside, allowing a player to comment anonymously obviously has its benefits and downside. The goal of this feature is to give our readers an honest and freely expressive look at the Florida football team, but we also acknowledge the nature of anonymous comments and the stigma that can come with them.

Quarterbacks

The one thing I wish the old staff would have done and I hope the new staff does is make it simple. This is Florida – we have athletes – just let them play football and not make it complicated. Get the ball to our play-makers and let them do what they do.

I think one thing with Feleipe [Franks] is that it was too much for him to learn the offense. The verbiage on offense was too complicated. In the huddle, part of a call would be like 'Gun two, pistol, right, east blunt rudy on able.' If one thing gets mixed up, the play is screwed.

Malik Zaire – He didn't know the plays. He would call a roll out one direction, 10 players went that direction and he went the opposite way.

Feliepe Franks – Extremely talented, athletic and has the size. He's a freak. What went wrong with him is that they needed to put him in a simpler offense. He isn't known as a gunslinger, but I love that he isn't afraid to make a mistake. He puts the ball where he wants to and doesn't worry about what happens. You have to be like that. You might make a mistake or have an interception sometimes, but you will also make some big plays. The only negative to some is that he goes to college, so guess what he likes to enjoy it. How are you going to hold that against him?

Kyle Trask – Talented. His main things are he isn't vocal and he has never played in a meaningful game. He never started in high school and only played when it was a blowout. He's never been in there when the pressure was on him to get it done and when they put him in pressure situations he doesn't know how to handle it yet.

Running Backs

Jordan Scarlett – That year off helped him out. Think about it, a year without practice, or games, you aren't getting hit and beat on, your not injured so you're not going through rehab, but you are still working out. He has fresh legs is why he looked so good in spring practices.

Lamical Perine - He's a bowling ball. He's hard to bring down, but not extremely fast. He's the slowest of the running backs.

Malik Davis – He was the best running back we had last year. I don't know how he will look after that [knee] last year, but he is fast and strong. He reminds me of a smaller Ezekiel Elliott.

Adarius Lemons – Pound for pound he is one of the strongest players on the team. Fast and a good kid, but didn't know the playbook. The thing is, he'd run into the wrong hole and still break off a big run so they played him.

He has a past, he's been through a lot and his first instinct is to protect the ones he loves and himself. He would never do anything to anyone else unless they started it. He just needs to be around the right people.

Wide Receivers

Josh Hammond – Does what he's supposed to do all the time. Grinder. He's a hard worker.

Van Jefferson – From what I've seen and heard, he's good. He's got to work harder in the weight-room, but the talent is there.

Kadarius Toney – He can't run routes at all, but he's a dynamic player. I don't know where you play him or how you do it, but you have to get him the ball. He's not your typical receiver who's going to 'route' someone to get open, he doesn't know how to run routes or beat press [coverage], he's just a football player. You can't just line him up in the slot and expect him to get open, that's not him. When they find a role for him and a way to use him he is going to be dangerous.

Dre Massey - Extremely explosive. Still learning some of the nuances of being a receiver, but he should be a deep middle threat or open field threat this year.

Rick Wells - Great hands! Position receiver. Will not blow by anyone but will catch the ball willingly in traffic and take on contact. Powerful blocker. His problem is he needs to not get distracted off the field.

Freddie Swain - Crafty, Utility guy, Knows his plays. He's not a big time burner, but knows how to get open when need be. He has the highest football IQ I've seen. He's super smart.

Daquon Green - He's a cross between Rick and Freddie, but he needs more time to develop. Right now he's trapped behind more talented players. The question with players like that is will he stick it out?

Tyrie Cleveland - Fast, needs to learn to run more routes, not just be a deep threat. Most important he needs to stay healthy.

Tight Ends

Florida hasn't had a tight end stand out because they aren't looking for tight ends who can catch passes as much as they want a third tackle. The main responsibility is being an in-line blocker. You look at the tight ends like [c'Yontai] Lewis and [Moral] Stephens, they are big receivers who they try to turn into blockers instead of using them down field.

C'Yontai Lewis – It's hard for him to keep on weight. During the season from all the practice time and games he gets down to about 220. He's a hard worker on the practice field. He busts his ass. It's hard to block d-ends and linebackers when they outweigh you by 30 or more pounds.

Moral Stephens – The most athletically talented of the bunch. The fastest, the strongest. If he was in the Big 10 he would be a big receiver. The last staff didn't know how to use him. He knows how to run routes and can beat match-ups. He can have a breakout player if they use him right.

Kemore Gamble – Good athlete that got too heavy last year. He started looking like a tackle last year. If he has his conditioning in check he is a good athlete and can be a tight end that factors in the passing game. He's slimmed down.

R.J Raymond - Very hardworking individual. Did whatever the team asked of him. Has played TE, FB, LB, and multiple DL positions in addition to being on all special teams. Worked out with Taven Bryan whenever there was a lift (pushes himself)

Offensive Line

Martez Ivey – He can be hard to like because he has talent, but he didn't practice hard and was always complaining about something. He can't 'kick' the same way anymore, but this pride won't allow him to admit that. He should be playing guard, but he thinks that hurts his draft status.

Fred Johnson – Always goes hard. He is the biggest offensive lineman but he's also the best athlete. He's quick for his size. I think he should be outside and move Tez inside.

T.J. McCoy – Scrappy fighter, but I think we have to have more size in there.

Tyler Jordan – He'll stand out when we are playing against the lesser teams, but when you put a 'dog' in-front of him, he backs down a little. He goes hard, but he is more limited than the other starters.

Jawaan Taylor – Stud. Played last year on a torn meniscus. From practice through the season and never complained about it or made excuses. That tells you all about him right there. We had other linemen, if they sneezed you would think they were on their death bed and used it as an excuse not to practice or if something went bad while he stayed in there fighting. Hard worker. He'll play in the NFL.

Brett Heggie - Typical Gritty offensive lineman. Will do any and everything in those trenches. He can move between guard and center.

T.J Moore - Has a very mean streak when he wants to. He's very young so he still needs time to devlop his body and mind. But with the right coaching he can end up being a really good lineman down the line.

Stone Forsythe - Just a physical prospect. If he develops more of an edge and a mean streak he can be NFL caliber tackle.

Defensive Line

That whole line is outstanding. They all are hell on wheels. I'll leave it at that. Watch what happens with them this year.

Jabari Zuniga – He was so raw when he came in that he needed to learn how to play d-line. He is going to go off before he leaves and will make his money in the NFL.

T.J. Slaton – He was like 360 pounds last year and could still dunk a ball. He is an ox. If he's in shape, it's not fair.

Zach Carter - He's got a tweener body. Is he a tackle and/or an end? They're still trying to figure it out. He's very young, but strong. Because he's so young, he doesn't know how to use his strength to his advantage. He will develop into a good lineman if he listens to those in-front of him.

Antonneous Clayton - He hated [Jim McElwain] MAC. Everyone thought he should’ve played more last year. He wasn't ready to be an every down player because he was getting thrown around if his moves weren't working, but he should have played as a third down specialist. Too much talent to not use him at all.

Khari Clark - Could be a lot better. Sometimes he can be lazy, but he's a decent tackle.

Marlon Dunlap - Watch him push Khari out of the starting line-up. He has a good motor. Real quiet.

Cece Jeffereson - He's the best defensive player on the team. A leader, a good person, and hardworking. He's what you want out of a player.

Jachai Polite - He can be scary good. He can lineup anywhere across the line and make any lineman look bad. You ask any one on the offense who they hate blocking one-on-one and his name will come up.

Taven Bryan – I don't know if it was the scheme, but he's inconsistent. He'll jump out at you and then disappear. No one should be able to block him because of his size and ability, but they do. He was one of the strongest players on the team, one of the fastest on defense, but he didn't always make plays when we needed him to.

Linebackers

David Reese – He's undersized and slow as hell, but he gets to the ball. You won't see him do anything outside of the box, but inside of it he is going to pile up the tackles. He is smart as they get. He knows what play is coming before the ball is snapped. He's a football player. He's one of the players on the team who isn't in a 'football major' so you know he's smart.

Jeremiah Moon - He's very fast for his size. If he can gain some weight he’ll be a big problem. But because he’s so small now he tends to get thrown around when the blocker gets their hands on him.

Rayshad Jackson - He forced the coach's hand to play him. Rayshad works very hard and is a top special teams guy because he's fast and physical. You'll see him more and more on defense. He will force Vosean [Joseph] - who's fast but always out of position - to play smarter or he will be the reason Vosean is on the bench.

Secondary

Marco Wilson - He is the most fundamentally sound defensive back. He knows the position in and out. He is definitley going to be a three and out guy. He isn't as big, but he's a better athlete than his brother [Quincy Wilson].

C.J. Henderson - Blazing fast, still learning the position. Will make mistakes but has the most upside in the secondary.

Brad Stewart - Crafty saftey who will hit you. He's very quiet and keeps to himself.

Shawn Davis- He's a big hitter and a natural at finding the ball in air, but he struggles in man to man coverage. He gets lost when he is left alone with a receiver.

Jaewon Taylor - He was our smartest defensive back. He understands angles and route concepts and uses them to his advantage because of his lack of speed. Very long.

Chauncey Gardner-Johnson - There's no denying he's talented, but he shies away from tackling bigger guys. His problem is he doesn't always play smart because he misses calls or gets lost in the game. Then he will make up for it with great plays that shouldn’t happen. He likes to run his mouth, that's for sure and that's gotten him in some scraps with teammates.

UP NEXT IN THE SERIES:

Part VI - Moving forward with Mullen