It’s no secret that offensive line play is critical to success at the collegiate level. Teams that make deep playoff runs are almost always dominant in the trenches. For Florida, that’s one of the biggest question marks entering Jon Sumrall’s first season as head coach.
The Gators lost three starting offensive linemen, including All-American center Jake Slaughter, who’s projected as a top 100 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. It’s already a rebuild from that standpoint, but Florida still has a way to go in terms of physicality to field an offensive line that can truly dominate on Saturdays.
There’s no clear-cut starting five through the first five practices of spring camp, but Sumrall is pleased with the depth of the unit and the competition that’s emerging.
“What I like is we have competitive depth,” Sumrall said. “There’s just a lot of guys playing good football. But I think the depth of that group is the strength of it right now. We need to see who’s gonna rise, who’s gonna elevate.”
Florida returns two-year starter Knijeah Harris, along with a pair of redshirt juniors in Caden Jones and Bryce Lovett, who split time at right tackle last season. But one theme that’s remained consistent across the staff is that it’s a clean slate for everyone. No one is guaranteed a starting spot under offensive line coach Phil Trautwein.
“It has to be a competition,” Trautwein said. “We need guys to step up. And just because they were a starter last year does not mean they’re a starter this year. That’s kind of my mindset.”
Redshirt freshman TJ Dice Jr. is someone who’s making noise in his second year in Gainesville. He played guard last season but has been getting reps at right tackle early in spring camp.
“His athleticism. Dice is athletic. He has the length,” Trautwein said on why Dice Jr. is playing tackle. “Dice needs to gain a little bit of weight. He’s probably holding around 290, 295, so he has to get up there. But he’s athletic enough to play out in space. That’s the big thing. Can you block the speed rush and you block the edges? Inside, you have to be powerful. You have to be able to move the big D-tackles. So for me, he’s a tackle because of his athleticism and his length.”
Another tackle in the mix is Stanford transfer Emeka Ugorji, who started eight games as a true freshman last season. He primarily played guard, allowing seven sacks.
“He was 17 years old last year. He’s 18 now. He’s a great kid,” Trautwein said on Ugorji. “He had a lot of struggles last year as a true freshman playing, but he grew from it every single game. And I think that’s why he wanted to go and he wanted to go somewhere to compete, and he wanted to do the SEC to do that. So, I’m excited to have him. He’s gonna, he’s gonna play for us. You’ll see him on the field. Don’t know when, don’t know where, but I know that he will because of his mentality and his mindset. And he’s helping me build the culture. He’s every day attacking and doing everything we do to get on the field.”
The competition at center will be worth monitoring throughout spring camp. Florida added Georgia Tech transfer Harrison Moore, who started nine games last season at both guard and center.
“He’s doing good. He’s competing,” Trautwein said on Moore. “He knows the offense probably better than guys, but guys are really working to know it. He was with Coach Faulkner at Georgia Tech, but my technique is a little bit different in what I teach him. But he’s doing well. He’s doing good. You know, he’ll be on the field. I don’t know who’s the starting center, again, but he’s competing for it.”
Redshirt sophomore Jason Zandamela is also in contention for a starting spot at center. The former five-star prospect has continued to develop and is pushing for significant playing time this spring.
“He’s doing a heck of a job. I’m really excited about him. He’s going to be a future center,” Trautwein said on Zandamela. “I think he has and I feel like he has the ability to play in the NFL one day. He just has to keep grinding, keep working. But he has the tools, and I really like who he is, and I’m excited about being able to coach him, and happy he’s here. Right now, he’s doing everything he can to take that starting spot.”
There’s competition across the offensive line. At tackle, you have Caden Jones, TJ Dice Jr., Emeka Ugorji, and Eagan Boyer, along with Fletcher Westphal, who is currently out with a wrist injury. At guard, the group includes TJ Shanahan Jr., Knijeah Harris, Roderick Kearney, and Bryce Lovett. And that’s without even mentioning nine other offensive linemen on the roster.
Florida’s offensive line will play a major role in determining the team’s offensive success in 2026. While the personnel is still very much in question, you have to trust that Trautwein’s experience as a recruiter and developer will pay off. It certainly helps that he’s a former Gator who knows what it takes to succeed at this level.
“I’m gonna do everything I can for the University of Florida and to build this offensive line,” Trautwein said. “Everyone wants to be dominant, and we have to be dominant every single day of practice.”