Florida Gators

It’s Rankings Week at GatorNation. Every day we’ll rank some aspect of the Florida football program heading into the 2013 season. Today we’re ranking the top 10 offensive players the Gators will face this season. On Wednesday we’ll rank the top 10 defensive players Florida will face in the fall.

Ranking the offensive players

1. QB Aaron Murray (Georgia): Murray led the SEC in passing yards (3,893) and touchdown passes (36) and guided the Bulldogs to a school-record 529 points. He’s got plenty of weapons around him, so similar numbers in 2013 wouldn’t be out of the question. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder hasn’t always played well against Florida, but he has won back-to-back games against the Gators. The last time Georgia beat Florida in consecutive seasons was 1987-89.

2. WR Jordan Matthews (Vanderbilt): Matthews led the SEC in receptions (94) and finished second in receiving yards (1,323) last season. He had Jordan Rodgers throwing to him last season -- which won't happen in 2013 -- but he is still one of the league’s most dangerous players. The 6-3, 205-pound Matthews is so high on this list because he has absolutely owned Florida in the past two meetings, catching eight passes for 131 yards and one touchdown last season and nine passes for 170 yards and one touchdown in 2011.

3. RB Todd Gurley (Georgia): Gurley finished second in the SEC in rushing (1,385 yards) and rushing touchdowns (17) last season as a freshman. The 6-1, 218-pound Gurley has the power to run inside and breakaway speed. The combination of him and fellow sophomore back Keith Marshall (759 yards last season) -- Bulldogs fans have nicknamed the combo Gurshall -- gives Georgia perhaps the best backfield tandem in the SEC.

4. QB Stephen Morris (Miami): Morris threw for 3345 yards and 21 touchdowns with only seven interceptions last season. He should be even better in 2013 with the addition of new offensive coordinator James Coley. Morris threw for 256 yards and four touchdowns in the Hurricanes’ spring game and the offense hummed along better than it did much of last season.

5. RB Duke Johnson (Miami): Johnson ran for 947 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and picked up right where he left off by gaining 120 yards on only 10 carries in Miami's spring game. The 5-9, 183-pound Johnson never carried the ball more than 16 times a game last season but he’s going to get more work in 2013.

6. RB Henry Josey (Missouri): He was one of the Big 12’s best players in 2011 before a devastating knee injury forced him to miss the last year-and-a-half. The 5-10, 190-pound Josey ran for 1,168 yards and nine touchdowns before his injury and is capable of putting up similar numbers now that he’s completely healthy.



8. WR Odell Beckham (LSU): Beckham was LSU’s between-the-20s big-play receiver in 2012, averaging 16.6 yards per catch. He caught 43 passes for 713 yards but only two touchdowns (Jarvis Landry led the Tigers with five TD catches). New offensive coordinator Cam Cameron likes to throw the ball down the field, which should mean bigger numbers for the 5-11, 183-pound Beckham.

9. WR Bruce Ellington (South Carolina): Ellington wasn’t the dual-threat that many thought he’d be, but he did lead the Gamecocks with 600 yards receiving last season -- 69 more than Ace Sanders, a fourth-round draft pick. He averaged 15.0 yards per catch and should be the Gamecocks’ top weapon in the passing game.

10. WR Dorial Green-Beckham (Missouri): Green-Beckham was the nation’s top recruit in 2012 and finished his freshman season with 28 catches for 395 yards. He did catch five touchdown passes though, meaning that roughly one out of every six catches went for a TD. He’s got the size (6-6, 220 pounds), speed, and athleticism to be one of the country’s top receivers.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Former Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd and safety Matt Elam have traded orange and blue for purple. In Floyd's case, it came a little later than most everyone thought, and nobody's quite sure why.

The Minnesota Vikings took Floyd with the 23rd selection of the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night. Roughly an hour later, the Baltimore Ravens selected Elam with the round’s final pick. Elam was regarded as a borderline first-round selection, but Floyd was projected by several draft analysts to be a top-five pick and his freefall down the draft board was the night’s biggest surprise.

The 6-foot-3, 297-pound Floyd was considered the top defensive tackle in the draft but Missouri’s Sheldon Richardson (No. 13 to the New York Jets) and Utah’s Star Lotulelei (No. 14 to Carolina) were taken before him. NFL Network’s Mike Mayock reported that a team executive told him the drop was because of character concerns.

UF coach Will Muschamp said he doesn’t understand why anyone would say that.

"I was with the young man for two years and he’s as good a young man as we’ve had on our football team and in our locker room," Muschamp said. "He’s as good a kid as I’ve been around. There’s absolutely no character issues. I don’t know where that comes from, from people grasping at straws when a guy slides a little bit in the draft."

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said his team found no off-the-field issues with Floyd and former Florida State cornerback Xavier Rhodes, the Vikings’ second first-round pick.

"Very clean," Spielman said in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "We met with both of them numerous times. There were not personal issues, no off-field issues when it comes to what we look for in bringing [players] into our building."

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