Gators Football Returns Veteran OL Group For 2025

The Florida Gators have high expectations for the upcoming season thanks to the returning veteran offensive linemen.

The Gators finished on a four-game winning streak in 2024, led by freshman phenom QB DJ Lagway. The players tasked with keeping Lagway standing played a major role in the improvement between the 2023 season and the  2024 season.

Improvements in both pass blocking and run blocking grades allowed the offense to become more potent and efficient, which helped the late-season surge.

Returning Production

Two NFL draft-eligible seniors lead the way for Florida’s offensive line in 2025. Both tackle Austin Barber and first team All-American center Jake Slaughter announced their return to play, providing the Gators with not only depth but also experience at two very important positions.

“I didn’t realize it was, like, a thing you do where you say if you’re coming back or not,” Slaughter said. “I was just going to show up in January. But yes, I’m coming back for my fifth year.”

The Gators returning veteran OL group in 2025 will play a major role in the team’s success with four of the five starting linemen from last year’s team set to come back. Slaughter, who was PFFs highest graded center in 2024, is the leader of the group and provides the anchor up the middle that the Gators need.

“He’s helped that (offensive line) room, and as a whole, that room is as healthy as it’s been since we’ve been here,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “Not only the caliber of player, but just the culture in that room, and he’s been at the center of that.

Florida Gators center Jake Slaughter was named the top returning interior offensive lineman in college football, according to Pro Football Focus.

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— Nick Marcinko (@marcinko_nick) March 4, 2025

Returning production is what makes the group a strong point heading into next season. Of the eight players that started over 20% of snaps in the 2024 season, seven of those are returning with only right tackle Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson graduating.

Florida isn’t just returning bodies at the position though; they are returning top end talent and snaps. The four returning starting linemen have 5,390 career snaps between them. Ten of the returning linemen carried a 68.0 or better PFF grade last season which is the grade PFF uses to determine if a player is above average at their position.

Improvements Between Seasons

Florida has been one of the best rushing offenses of Napier’s first three seasons. What has held the team back on the offensive side of the ball has been the passing grade. In 2023, Florida ranked 63rd out of 133 in pass block grade at PFF. Quarterback at the time Graham Mertz was only able to hold onto the ball for an average of 2.46 seconds, which ranked 113 out of 165 quarterbacks.

In 2024, however, the Gators grew all across the board. Their pass blocking PFF grade went up 14.2 points, which moved them up 52 spots to 11th in the nation according to PFF. Time to throw also increased for both starting QBs with DJ Lagway getting 2.76 seconds now to scan the field, which ranked 32nd amongst FBS Quarterbacks.

Although the run game was already good in 2023, that also improved in between seasons with the Gators going from 26th in 2023 to seventh in 2024.

55 yards to the HOUSE

A look back to this touchdown by true freshman Jadan Baugh against LSU! #GoGators | @1vibesjay pic.twitter.com/dnXJgiCD2F

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) December 9, 2024

This made the Gators one of the top three teams in the nation with a PFF grade in the top 12 for both passing and rushing.

Positional Breakdown

The Gators have a mix of both veteran players, but also young highly talented recruits at each position giving them much-needed depth. Left tackle and center are anchored by two seniors who have both earned All-SEC awards in Barber and Slaughter, respectively.

The two guard positions are held by returnees Knijeah Harris and Damieon George Jr. Both saw improvements in their PFF grades from the 2023 season to the 2024 season. George finished 19.2 points higher than the year before.

The one position that does not have a returner is right tackle. Brandon Lovett was the reserve for the position in 2024 and logged the most snaps there besides starter Crenshaw-Dickson. He was also the starter in the Gasparilla Bowl, which could give an idea that he’s the favorite to win the starting job in 2025.