5 questions facing Florida football as the Gators enter fall camp for the 2023 season

Florida football will open fall camp on Monday with plenty to work on in preparation for its season opener a month from now against Utah (August 31, 8 p.m., ESPN).

The Gators enter season two under head coach Billy Napier with 32 new faces on the roster that will need to continue to mesh with returning players. Part of that process occurred during spring practice in March and April, but the sense of urgency will be heightened with a full season ahead.

"The theme here for training camp, all parts of the organization and the team, is we have to agree to an expectation," Napier said. "I think that's a big deal."

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The Gators will practice 15 times over the next three weeks with a strategy mapped out by Napier centered on enhancing performance.

"As competitors that make up our team, this is a time of the year that you really look forward to, as we kind of prepare for the challenges that are ahead of us," Napier said. "This is a critical time of the year. You've got to work really hard, but you've got to work smart."

Here are five key questions for the Gators entering fall camp:

When will Florida football coach Billy Napier name a starting QB?

Napier said two weeks ago at SEC Football Media the decision could be made by the end of the scrimmage. But he also said he wouldn't rush the decision if there wasn't a clear leader between the two battling for the position -- Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz and redshirt sophomore Jack Miller.

Mertz appears to have the upper hand after spring and summer workouts and proved leadership qualities to his teammates. As a former starter at Wisconsin, Mertz has more experience (32 career starts) than Miller (1 career start).

"Graham is actually on my offseason team, and he's been doing a good job just making sure everybody is where they're supposed to be, doing what they're supposed to do," Florida defensive back Jaydon Hill said. "Then just for the team, Graham has gotten up, he's spoken to us as far as just being a leader, and everybody, they listen. Graham has a lot of respect from us as players."

What other position battles are worth watching?

With Hill moving from cornerback to the star position, the other starting cornerback spot opposite Jason Marshall Jr. is up for grabs, with contenders including Jalen Kimber, Devin Moore and true freshmen Ja'Keem Jackson and Dijon Johnson.

Kimber, a transfer from Georgia, returned an interception for a touchdown last season against USF.

"With D-Mo coming back from his injury, I feel like he's going to be out there," Hill said. "Jalen Kimber had a big spring. With Ja'Keem, we got Dijon just came in, but we got a couple of guys that can go in there, and I look forward to all them guys in there contributing. I'm sure they will."

At linebacker, Scooby Williams, Ohio State transfer Teradja Mitchell and Houston transfer Mannie Nunnery will battle for the second starting position opposite Shemar James. Justus Boone and Tyreak Sapp will battle for a starting spot at defensive end, though with the added depth on the defensive line, both should get extensive snaps.

Can the defense continue its momentum from the spring under first year coordinator Austin Armstrong?

Both defensive units were impressive in UF's Orange and Blue game as the Gators combined for eight sacks and held both offenses to 17 points. Armstrong blitzed on and off throughout the contest holding true to his mantra of a defense that intends to "negotiate with a hammer."

"The identity of our defense, we want to be a tough, physical, relentless -- a group that plays with relentless effort and physicality, situational experts, plays with joy and enthusiasm," Armstrong said. "We're going to be the aggressor and we're going to hunt."

The 29-year-old Armstrong was hired away from a brief stint as linebackers coach at Alabama under Nick Saban after two years as the defensive coordinator at Southern Mississippi. At Southern Miss, Armstrong's defenses were strong on third down and generating sacks, two areas where UF struggled last season under former defensive coordinator Patrick Toney.

"It's going to make all of us better," Hill said. "The more disruption we cause, the better we are in the back end. We're all tying together."

Can the offensive line be a strength again this season after losing All-American O'Cyrus Torrence?

The Gators lost four starters on the offensive line, though Austin Barber returns at left tackle after making five starts at the tackle position last season. Starting center Kingsley Eguakun also is back.

The Gators are counting on Alabama transfer Dameion George Jr. to step in at right tackle and Richie Leonard IV to replace Torrence at right guard.

"For a lot of those guys, it's their second year in the system," Florida offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Rob Sale said. "The cumulative amount of reps that we do and our year-round plan, we've got Damieon George who came from another school that's run similar concepts, now it's just word association, getting him in there to play good football and jelling with his teammates next to him, and he's done a good job, as well."

At left guard, a potential position battle could develop between Baylor transfer Micah Mazzccua, who is recovering from shoulder surgery and true freshman Knijeah Harris, who started in the spring game. Mazzccua will be limited at the start of fall drills, Sale said. Sale is high on the potential of Harris.

"Football comes easy to him," Sale said. "He looks like he's been around here three or four years, and he's a freshman. Everybody, it kind of gets them a little bit different at different times. Some kind of need more reps, some kind of get the concept, OK, I get it. But he's a guy that is a good teammate, good person, obviously a good player, as well."

Florida suffered an unexpected loss to the offensive line when Kentucky transfer Kiyaunta Goodwin left the team a few weeks ago for family reasons to be closer to his mother in Louisville, who is battling cancer. But Sale thinks there's still enough depth and a tackle rotation could develop with Jordan Herman and FIU transfer Lyndell Hudson Jr.

"We've still got enough bullets in the chamber there when it comes to Damieon George," Sale said. "You've got Lyndell, and you've got Jordan Herman. So, we've got guys there that can play football for us."

Can any freshman emerge over the next three weeks?

The wide receiver position presents some interesting candidates. Andy Jean is coming off a strong showing in the spring as an early enrollee, and fellow early enrollee Aidan Mizell is a potential deep threat with his straight-line speed.

Another true freshman slot receiver, Eugene Wilson III, has impressed in summer workouts. At 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, Wilson has shown quickness coming out of the slot and elusiveness with the ball in his hands after the catch.

"I could see his play making ability early on," Hill said. "He has like a -- he's kind of been a little limited right now, but like as far as just watching him go, I've matched up with him a couple of times. He definitely can go, and he's going to make a lot of plays for us."

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Five questions for Florida Gators football entering fall camp