Week 1 Roster Comparison: Florida vs Miami

[Escambia94]

The Florida Gators will face off against a similarly talented roster in week 1 against the Miami Hurricanes. By most metrics, the Canes have a slight edge over Florida. The difference may come down to depth.

Team	Grade	Avg Year	Avg Exp	QB	WR	RB	TE	OL	DL	LB	DB	Transfer	HS Grade	Tr Grade
Florida	89.00​	2021.04​	2.96​	90.00​	91.00​	90.00​	85.00​	88.40​	91.25​	94.50​	91.25​	10	88.44	89.90
Miami	89.38​	2020.96​	3.04​	94.00​	94.00​	94.00​	94.00​	94.00​	94.00​	94.00​	94.00​	9	88.53	90.78

The average player rating for the Gator starters is 89.00, compared to 89.38 for Miami. The Gators have slightly less experience despite having one more transfer. Miami has a slight edge over Florida at every position in terms of ratings. In terms of production, the Gators have a slight edge.

Florida Gator Player	Position	Grade	Class
Jason Marshall​	DB​	98​	2021​
Eugene Wilson III ​	WR​	95​	2023​
Shemar James​	LB​	95​	2022​
Grayson “Pup” Howard​	LB​	94​	2020​
Tyreak Sapp​	DL​	92​	2021​
Justus Boone​	DL​	92​	2021​
Caleb Banks​	DL​	91​	2021​
Austin Barber​	OL​	90​	2021​
Damieon George​	OL​	90​	2020​
Elijah Badger​	WR​	90​	2020​
Graham Mertz​	QB​	90​	2019​
Montrell Johnson​	RB​	90​	2021​
Sharif Denson​	DB/ ST​	90​	2023​
Arlis Boardingham​	TE​	90​	2022​
Devin Moore​	DB​	90​	2022​
CamRon Jackson​	DL​	90​	2020​
Asa Turner​	DB​	89​	2019​
Knijeah Harris​	OL​	88​	2023​
Chimere Dike​	WR​	88​	2020​
Jordan Castell​	DB​	88​	2023​
Jake Slaughter​	OL​	87​	2021​
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson​	OL​	87​	2019​
Rocco Underwood​	LS​	85​	2021​
Hayden Hansen​	TE​	80​	2022​
Trey Smack​	PK​	79​	2022​
Jeremy Crawshaw​	PT​	76​	2020​

Miami Hurricane Player	Pos	Grade	Class
Francis Mauigoa​	OL​	99​	2023​
Samson Okunlola​	OL​	98​	2023​
Reuben Bain, Jr.​	DL​	96​	2023​
Mark Fletcher​	RB​	95​	2023​
Elijah Arroyo​	TE​	94​	2021​
Cam Ward​	QB​	94​	2020​
CJ Clark​	DL​	93​	2019​
Wesley Bissainthe​	LB​	93​	2022​
Damari Brown​	DB​	93​	2023​
Samuel Brown​	WR​	92​	2020​
Jalen Rivers​	OL​	92​	2020​
Tyler Baron​	DL​	92​	2019​
Francisco Mauigoa​	LB​	92​	2021​
Mishael Powell​	DB​	90​	2019​
Jacolby George​	WR​	89​	2021​
Jaden Harris​	DB​	89​	2022​
Daryl Porter​	DB​	89​	2020​
Zach Carpenter​	OL​	88​	2019​
Simeon Barrow​	DL​	87​	2020​
Xavier Restrepo​	WR​	86​	2020​
Anez Cooper​	OL​	84​	2022​
Andres Borregales​	PK​	80​	2021​
Dylan Joyce​	PT​	70​	2023​
Mason Napper​	LS​	70​	2019​

 

[DRU2012]

What WE as Gators are hoping is that the difference comes down this early in the season to VENUE: We get them in the SWAMP this time!
Beyond that, I don't know bout y'all, but though I don't care to rush the passage of time in another long, lazy summer (I'm getting up there; I have learned these days and seasons are like gold--I try to savor them), the truth is that as this pivotal season approaches, most Gator fans are, like me at this point just hunkering down and WAITING for this particular GAME 1.
I just cannot overstate the teetering importance that its outcome appears to be for winner AND loser. I don't think I need explain. Let the rest of the college football world babble on from their variously ignorant or biased perspectives.
Cane fans will crow loudly, while longtime true GATORS will clam up, hunker down and keep our fingers crossed--right up until GAME TIME.
I've stopped reading most of the podcasts...
It's gonna be a long, tight summer.

 

[Escambia94]

The Gators and the Canes are built rather similarly from the top of the roster to the backups, but the Canes do have more true and redshirt freshmen as backups.

When adding the backups, the Gators get a slight advantage in talent and experience on defense, and a slight disadvantage on defense. Overall the teams are nearly identical.

Team	Grade	Avg Yr	Avg Exp	QB	WR	RB	TE	OL	DL	LB	DB	HS	TR	Transfers
Florida	89.59​	2021.12​	2.88​	95.00​	87.00​	88.50​	87.75​	88.82​	91.25​	94.00​	91.33​	89.55​	89.69​	16​
Miami	89.60​	2021.27​	2.73​	91.00​	91.00​	91.00​	91.00​	91.00​	91.00​	91.00​	91.00​	89.54​	89.71​	17​

The Gators have a decent advantage on the second team compared to Miami's second team. With both teams' second team it is the high school recruits who are more talented. I expect the Gator's second team to step up more quickly than Miami's, since this team has quite a few veterans whose starting roles were lost due to injury or replacement by more talented and experienced transfers.

Florida Gator Player	Pos	Grade	Class
D.J. Lagway​	QB​	100​	2024​
Ja'Keem Jackson ​	DB​	97​	2023​
Derek Wingo​	LB​	97​	2020​
Kamran James​	DL/ DT/ EDGE​	95​	2023​
Dijon Johnson​	DB​	94​	2023​
Roderick Kearney​	OL​	94​	2023​
Keon Zipperer​	TE​	94​	2019​
Joey Slackman​	DL/ DT/ EDGE​	92​	2019​
T.J. Searcy​	DL/ DT/ EDGE​	92​	2023​
Marcus Burke​	WR​	92​	2021​
Kamryn Waites​	OL​	91​	2021​
Jaden Robinson​	LB​	90​	2023​
Trikweze Bridges​	DB​	89​	2019​
DJ Douglas​	DB​	89​	2019​
Riley Simonds​	OL​	89​	2019​
Devon Manuel​	OL​	88​	2021​
Aaron Gates​	DB​	88​	2023​
Desmond Watson​	DL/ DT/ EDGE​	88​	2021​
Cameron Carroll​	RB​	87​	2018​
Bryce Lovett​	OL​	87​	2023​
Tony Livingston​	TE​	87​	2022​
Christian Williams​	OL​	86​	2022​
Kahleil Jackson​	WR​	70​	2019​

With the exception of one Gator (former walk-on Kahleil Jackson), the Florida second team is more talented across the board than Miami's.

Miami Hurricane Player	Pos	Grade	Class
Zaquan Patterson​	DB​	96​	2024​
Ny Carr​	WR​	95​	2024​
Ray Ray Joseph​	WR​	94​	2023​
Riley Williams​	TE​	94​	2023​
Robert Stafford​	DB​	94​	2022​
Akheem Mesidor​	DL​	92​	2019​
Markel Bell​	OL​	91​	2022​
Markeith Williams​	DB​	91​	2022​
Isaiah Horton​	WR​	90​	2022​
Marley Cook​	DL​	90​	2019​
Tommy Kinsler IV​	OL​	89​	2023​
Ryan Rodriguez​	OL​	89​	2021​
Ajay Allen​	RB​	89​	2022​
Emory Williams​	QB​	88​	2023​
Elijah Alston​	LB​	88​	2019​
Jadais Richard​	DB​	88​	2022​
Brian Balom​	DB​	88​	2020​
Jaylin Alderman​	LB​	87​	2021​
Matthew McCoy​	OL​	86​	2022​
Ahmad Moten​	DL​	85​	2022​
Luis Cristobal​	OL​	83​	2019​

 

[Escambia94]

Running a data model with optimistic and pessimistic values, I still have Florida as a slightly better team than Miami.

The takeaways here:
- The Gators have a more optimistic outlook than Miami because the recruiting and statistical performance on the field have been trending upwards.
- The Canes have a higher starting position and higher floor than the Gators due to their schedule.
- The Canes would likely rank near the bottom of the SEC despite being ranked near the top of the ACC.

 

[DRU2012]

That last little assessment resonates with more relevance than all the other efforts to compare rosters, at least to me. I mean, I'm glad you compiled the above complicated collection of comparisons, E--: It was TIME someone from OUR camp made the effort.
I just have difficulty assessing what it all adds UP to--all except that last piece of the puzzle.
I believe you are right: The Canes WOULD "likely rank near the bottom of tge SEC despite being ranked near the top of the ACC". And THAT is telling...not just to me but to any Gator fan trying to assess where we REALLY stand heading into what looks to be the pivotal starting game of a pivotally tough season.
I've been watching a lot of our games from those halcion seasons with Leak-through-Tebow under center and all that TALENT all OVER the field.
We were GOOD. Alie Peek commented in a recent podcast that the '08 team, for example, would have "licked its chops" at the prospect of facing this kind of schedule. We must build back to warranting that kind of confidence, not merely "regardless of difficulty" but rather ALL THE MORE due to the OPPORTUNITY it presents.
She hastens to note that we aren't there yet, that she didn't mean to imply that we were--but I will come right out and say what I think she was leaving unstated: For the first-time since Meyer crashed, turned it all over to Dizzy Addazio that last season as Gator Head Coach, then on through the procession of "unbalanced guys putting together unbalanced teams leading to unbalanced results" who were our Coaches for the next more than TEN YEARS...
Only now, in Coach Napier's third year in charge, are we finally BEGINNING to see the signs of a return to that kind of ATTENTION-TO-DETAIL in terms of not just the starting-talent-level, but finally now in the depth as well.
We aren't "THERE" yet, but the SIGNS are definitely there: We are headed in that direction now, strongly so--and the team, across the board are quietly all "buying in TOGETHER". By all accounts they are developing a chip-on-the-shoulder, "us-against-the-WORLD" mentality.
We all know that these young players read the magazines, surf the web, watch YouTube.
These Gators aren't buying it: We hear amazingly little about it out here, but I am told that among themselves they are quietly beginning to FEED on it, see the schedule not as a burden but as an opportunity.
Some of the credit has to go to Billy and his still-evolving staff. Like the onfield talent, the right people on the sidelines and upstairs now appear to be finally accumulating, things "falling into place"-: A certain "critical mass", required in advance of championship-level achievement, shows quiet advance hints of manifesting once again at The University of Florida. Hard to quantify--but "we know it when we SEE it", 'cause we've seen it BEFORE!".
To a greater degree than I can ever recall, THIS season's opening game's outcome will be more meaningfully impactful (for the season and, by subsequent consequences for everyone and everything having to do with the program's FUTURE) than any such moment before, at least in MY "many decades" of following them--as a kid in a Gator family, eventual undergrad, grad and alumnus. Which takes us back to where this long rambling tirade started: The signs that in my view ultimately appear to indicate that though it's "close", I think in any frank, deep and honest comparison, we are AHEAD of the Canes in meaningful ways at just the right TIME--and, if anything, that difference is growing, even SOLIDIFYING just when it NEEDS to:
These Gators, as a TEAM, are coming together, believing not just "in themselves" but (more importantly) IN EACH OTHER, just as that all-important FIRST GAME approaches. A likewise growing "chip on their collective shoulder" can only ADD to whatever other "elusives" can be detected.
I mean that. That's as "honestly positive" as I can manage at this point: Mid-July in a crucial transitional year for both the Florida Gators in particular and COLLEGE FOOTBALL IN GENERAL.
I still have NO idea of how things will turn out...
But I am fairly certain we'll have a very much clearer picture before we hear that final gun go off in Ben Hill Griffen that last Saturday in August.