The next group of players we’ll take a look at on Gators Wire’s positions preview series are the linebackers.
Florida has some talented linebackers for this upcoming 2024 season with a mix of new and returning names. Although Scooby Williams, who played in all 12 games last season at linebacker for the Gators, transferred in the offseason to Texas A&M, Florida won’t have a problem filling that hole.
Shemar James is expected to be the leader of this Florida defense while first-year Gator Grayson “Pup” Howard will be lined up next to him as the other starting linebacker.
Head coach Billy Napier did an excellent job in bringing in some very talented linebackers this past offseason and this is one of those position groups that is very deep for the Gators.
Let’s take a look at every linebacker on Florida’s roster. Check out Gators Wire’s other position previews for the 2024 season below.
Starter: No. 6 Shemar James (Jr.)
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
| Year | GP | Solo | AST | TOT | TFL-YDS | Sacks-YDS | INT | PD | FF |
| 2022 | 13 | 18 | 29 | 47 | 2-9 | 2-9 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2023 | 8 | 24 | 31 | 55 | 5.5-13 | 1-7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 21 | 42 | 60 | 102 | 7.5-22 | 3-16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
James is coming into his third and most important season at Florida. Looked at as the focal point of the defense, James will be in charge of listening in on what the coach on the sideline is saying through the new coach-to-player helmet communication system.
Last season, James started the first eight games before missing the final four due to a knee injury. In 2022, James won Freshman All-SEC honors after finishing the season with 47 total tackles in 13 games.
James’ biggest strength at linebacker is his pass coverage, as he was graded at 75.2 out of 100 in that category according to Pro Football Focus. His biggest weakness is his pass rush and he’ll be looking to improve that area of his game this season.
Starter: No. 10 Grayson “Pup” Howard (So.)
Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun
Howard comes in as a transfer from South Carolina and is…
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