HawgBeat - Arkansas-Florida position-by-position comparison
HawgBeat provides a position-by-position breakdown for Arkansas and Florida ahead of the matchup on Saturday.
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The Arkansas Razorbacks (2-6, 0-5 SEC) are set to take on the Florida Gators (5-3, 3-2 SEC) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CT.
Led by second-year head coach Billy Napier, Florida has earned wins over McNeese State (49-7), Tennessee (29-16), Charlotte (22-7), Vanderbilt (38-14) and South Carolina (41-39). Their three losses were to Utah (24-11), Kentucky (33-14) and Georgia (43-20).
Head coach Sam Pittman got the Razorbacks off to a 2-0 start with wins over Western Carolina and Kent State, but they've lost six straight to BYU, LSU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Alabama and Mississippi State.
HawgBeat has you covered with a position-by-position breakdown between the two programs to see who has the advantage where...
Note: All players listed are starters or backups on each respective team depth chart.
Quarterback
Players:
Arkansas: KJ Jefferson - 6'3", 247 lbs.
143/219, 65.3%, 1,547 yards, 14 TDs, 7 INTs, 139.3 passer rating, 200 rushing yards, rushing TD
Florida: Graham Mertz - 6'2.75", 215 lbs.
195/257, 75.9%, 2,127 yards, 14 TDs, 2 INTs, 161.8 passer rating, 3 rushing TDs
A transfer from Wisconsin, Mertz has had a breakout campaign in Gainesville, Florida. He's thrown for over 200 yards in every game but two (McNeese State and Tennessee), over 300 yards once (Utah) and over 400 yards once (South Carolina).
The junior signal caller is playing even better as of late. In his last three games against Vanderbilt, South Carolina and No. 1 Georgia, Mertz has thrown for 907 yards and eight touchdowns to zero interceptions. He's a big reason why the Gators rank 36th in the country in passing offense (274.1).
While not outright bad, Jefferson has definitely struggled up to this point in the season. He's already thrown a career-high seven interceptions and hasn't rushed the ball like he has in past years (200 rushing yards).
Maybe Jefferson will be revitalized under interim offensive coordinator Kenny Guiton, but I'm leaning towards the quarterback that's played better this season.
Pick: Florida
Running backs
Players:
Arkansas: Raheim Sanders/AJ Green/Rashod Dubinion
Average Height/Weight: 5'11.75", 221 lbs.
155 ATT, 603 YDS, 5 TDs, 24 REC, 147 REC YDS, REC TD
Florida: Montrell Johnson Jr./Trevor Etienne/Treyaun Webb
Average Height/Weight: 5'10.25", 210 lbs.
196 ATT, 1,132 YDS, 9 TDs, 37 REC, 248 REC YDS, REC TD
I didn't expect to write Sanders' name on here for the rest of the season, but the star running back is back with the team according to Pittman.
"There’s a chance that he’ll be available," Pittman said on the SEC Teleconference on Wednesday. "He has practiced. Monday and Tuesday. Limited basis but he has practiced and we’re hoping that he’ll be available on Saturday."
Will Sanders actually play this week? That's a totally different question, but I don't think it affects my choice here.
Johnson Jr. (72.2) and Etienne (76.3) are in the top 20 (out of 38) of SEC running backs that have a minimum of 20 rushing attempts, according to PFF's grading system.
Arkansas only has one in Green (73.5) while Dubinion (67.2) and Sanders (58.1) fall at 30th and 37th, respectively.
Pick: Florida
Wide receivers
Players:
Arkansas: Andrew Armstrong/Isaac TeSlaa/Tyrone Broden/Jaedon Wilson
Average Height/Weight: 6'4.5", 198 lbs.
83 REC, 964 YDS, 7 TDs
Florida: Eugene Wilson III/Kahleil Jackson/Ricky Pearsall/Caleb Douglas
Average Height/Weight: 6'1.25", 192.5 lbs.
111 REC, 1,343 YDS, 7 TDs
Wilson III (81.9) and Pearsall (79.6) are the top two graded players for the Gators, according to Pro Football Focus. They both come in over Arkansas' top two receivers in Armstrong (74.8) and TeSlaa (57.0).
All four of Florida's go-to wide receiver threats provide Mertz multiple options in the pass game. Arkansas', on the other hand, have been pretty limited in production and consistency besides Armstrong.
Could new interim offensive coordinator Kenny Guiton — the former wide receiver's coach — better utilize the Hogs' group of receivers now that he's controlling the offense? Sure. But even then, I don't see them surpassing the all-around performance and versatility from the Gators.
Pick: Florida
Tight ends
Players:
Arkansas: Tyrus Washington - 6'4", 247 lbs.
9 REC, 133 YDS, 2 TDs
Florida: Hayden Hansen/Arlis Boardingham
Average Height/Weight: 6'4.75", 252.5 lbs.
25 REC, 263 YDS, 6 TDs
On paper, Florida has the production advantage and numbers advantage. It's important to keep in mind the amount of games each player has played in, though. Hansen (8) and Boardingham (7) have played in more games than Washington (5).
When you look at each player one-by-one, it's easy to see that Washington is the best out of the group. His PFF grade (72.3) is considerably higher than Hansen's (50.0) and Boardingham's (61.7), and he has a higher yards per catch (14.8 vs 10.5).
But, Arkansas has nobody behind Washington that can provide any kind of a passing threat and definitely no one that block at a high level. For that reason, this matchup is even in my eyes.
Pick: Push
Offensive line
Players:
Arkansas: Andrew Chamblee/Brady Latham/Beaux Limmer/Joshua Braun/Patrick Kutas
Average Height/Weight: 6'5.5", 317 lbs.
Florida: Austin Barber/Richie Leonard IV/Kingsley Eguakun/Micah Mazzccua/Damieon George Jr.
Average Height/Weight: 6'4.25", 318 lbs.
Neither one of these offensive lines are great. Arkansas ranks 120th nationally in sacks allowed per game (3.88), while Florida ranks 108th (2.88).
When it comes to both teams' rushing attack, the Gators' (88th) is better than the Razorbacks' (112th), a good barometer of the push each line can generate.
Looking at the PFF grades, Florida's Jake Slaughter (75.5) and Arkansas' Joshua Braun (73.5) and Beaux Limmer (73.5) lead the way by far for both teams. After that, only one Razorback has a grade above 65.0 (Brady Latham) while the Gators have three (Austin Barber, Richie Leonard IV and Micah Mazzccua).
Pick: Florida
