Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida has picked up the option year on coach Will Muschamp's five-year contract, meaning the deal he signed when he was hired in December 2010 to replace Urban Meyer will now expire after the 2016 season.

Steve McClain, UF’s associate athletic director for communications, said the school chose to pick up the option in January.

Muschamp – who led Florida to a 7-6 record in his first season -- is paid $2,750,400 annually. He has a $250,000 annual base salary and receives $1.7 million annually for activities (television and radio show, appearances, booster clubs, etc.) and $200,000 per year from Nike. UF also gives Muschamp an annual $61,000 expense account and $260,000 annually as part of his equipment package. The school also contributes $29,400 annually to Muschamp’s pension.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Replacing Florida forward Will Yeguete, who is out for the rest of the season with a broken bone in his left foot, will have to be a concerted group effort, coach Billy Donovan said Friday.

Some of the burden will fall to Casey Prather, Bradley Beal and Scottie Wilbekin, but the 11th-ranked Gators (22-6, 10-3 SEC) are also going to need a significant contribution from Cody Larson. Based on what the 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman forward/center has done over the past few weeks, Donovan is confident Larson will be able to help on defense.

"He gave us some good quality minutes at Alabama," Donovan said. "I played him on the road at Arkansas when Erik [Murphy] and Patric [Young] were in foul trouble. One thing I have total trust and confidence in is he knows what he’s doing defensively, and he's pretty good, and he'll physically battle and he'll do some things inside."

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Four-star defensive tackle prospect Montravius Adams (Vienna, Ga./Dooly County) plans to visit Florida this weekend.

Adams, who has already visited Clemson and Auburn for their junior days, will visit Florida and then Georgia the following weekend.

ESPN.com's Southeast Recruiting Analyst Jamie Newberg talks extensively with Adams about his recruitment in this Friday update.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Four-star quarterback prospect Cooper Bateman (Murray, Utah/Cottonwood) said in this ESPNHS update that he is hoping to visit Florida in the near future. In addition to Florida, Bateman said he is planning to visit Arkansas, Alabama and LSU, but he is unsure of exact dates.

As a junior Bateman threw for 2,484 yards and 25 touchdowns with only seven interceptions. Auburn, Arkansas, Boise State, BYU and Utah are just some of the schools that have already offered Bateman a scholarship.

Now that you've seen what to watch in the SEC Western Division, let's check out the East:

FLORIDA

Spring practice start date: March 14
Spring game: April 7

What to watch:

Finding offensive playmakers: Year 2 of the Will Muschamp era begins with the team trying to find someone who can make a few plays for this fall. New offensive coordinator Brent Pease has a host of unproven offensive talent to work with. Wide receiver Andre Debose was Florida's best deep threat last year, and the coaches raved about receiver Quinton Dunbar's potential, but neither was consistent enough in 2011. Maybe Florida can finally turn to bigger backs Mike Gillislee and Mack Brown in the playmaking department.

Toughening up the offensive line: The Gators' line struggled throughout the 2011 season. It wasn't always at 100 percent, but Florida's line also just wasn't tough enough -- mentally or physically. The Gators couldn't get the tough yards on the ground and didn't exactly protect quarterback John Brantley enough. The line should get a boost with early enrollees D.J. Humphries, who was the top offensive line prospect in the 2012 class, and Jessamen Dunker, but Florida will have to get improvement from players who return to a line that lost just one starter from last season.

Quarterback battle: Brantley is gone, leaving rising sophomores Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel and Tyler Murphy. Brissett replaced Driskel as Florida's No. 2 quarterback last year, while Murphy has yet to take a college snap. Brissett and Driskel had plenty of down moments last fall but should get a chance to reinvent themselves this spring with new leadership and more practice reps. This spring will be extremely important for all three quarterbacks as they try to improve a position that struggled mightily the past two years.

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