Drafting the Florida Gators' Roster Ahead of 2026 Spring Game

I will give Mark credit for his receivers, and ceding him Vernell Brown III, Eric Singleton Jr., and Micah Mays may not be my wisest decision, but I think I balanced that well with Ben Hanks III, who has arguably been Florida’s top corner in camp, and veteran players in corner Dijon Johnson and safeties Bryce Thornton and Cam Dooley.

Because I have Baugh and because of my lack of established deep-threat receivers, I decided to prioritize speed, yards after catch, and the rushing game. Bailey Stockton and Davian Groce give Florida versatile options, while Aaron Philo reportedly had a strong rushing performance in the second scrimmage. It also helps that established veteran Knijeah Harris, system-familiar center Harrison Moore, and guard TJ Shanahan Jr., who has also been praised for his aggressiveness, are leading my interior line.

Breaking Down Team Blue (Mark)

First off, I’ll give Cam credit for building one of the stronger rosters over the 6-8 times I’ve held this draft. There were at least three occasions where he picked the player I intended to take with my next pick.

Good job!

These two teams were being picked to play one game, and then disbanded. So, we are living in the here and now – and not overly concerned with upside or down the road potential.

This is a what have you done for me lately type of draft.

That is why I looked for positional value.

For example, I took Kanye Clark in the seventh round. Is Clark one of the 14 best players on the squad? Maybe not. But he is the only Star that Jon Sumrall has praised several times. The dropoff from him to the other two makes him more valuable and definitely sets him apart from the other two Stars.

The same for wide receivers. Just this week, the coaches have talked about four or five being ready to play. I think I got the top three.

Orange squad’s Ben Hanks III may have had the best spring of the cornerbacks, but he is but one player. That means we are going to see Bryce Thornton and/or Dylan Purter matched up against one of my top three. I like my chances there.

In what probably looks like the biggest shock, since Orange took Aaron Philo, I could wait around and select my quarterback last. My options were Tramell Jones Jr. and Will Griffin. Jones Jr. has a year of experience on Griffin, but they both have had the same amount of time in this offense. Plus, I like Griffin more as a runner to move around or take off to avoid Woods.