Both Florida and LSU suffered heartbreaks last week with tough SEC losses last week. 

The Gators battled Arkansas to the very end, but lost when the Razorbacks made an overtime field goal. 

LSU fell to its rival Alabama in a 42-28 loss, which ended the Tigers’ SEC Championship and playoff hopes. 

It’s never easy to bounce back after a loss from an SEC foe, but the Gators and Tigers will face off in Death Valley on Saturday, aiming to show resilience. 

Here’s a look at the Florida players who could impact LSU’s chances for a comeback. 

Offensive players

Ricky Pearsall

With 55 receptions for 773 yards, Pearsall leads the Gator offense in multiple receiving categories. He had a breakout game against South Carolina in Week 7 with 166 yards in 10 receptions and one touchdown.

Pearsall is fourth in the SEC for receiving yards. While he only has four touchdowns, Pearsall is crucial in Florida’s ability to drive up the field.
Graham Mertz

In his first year with Florida after transferring from Wisconsin, quarterback Mertz has 2,409 passing yards and 17 passing touchdowns. With 50 carries and three rushing touchdowns, Mertz also can give the Tigers’ defense trouble with short runs. 
He had constant connection to the Gator’s wide receivers against South Carolina, racking up 423 passing yards in 30 completions, which was his single-game record and earned him SEC Player of the Week. 
Montrell Johnson Jr. 

Johnson started his collegiate career at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and returns to his home state this Saturday. He was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in 2021 and made the move to Florida from UL-Lafayette with head coach Billy Napier in 2022.

This season, Johnson is Florida’s leading rusher with 106 attempts for 555 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He also has 159 receiving yards. 
Trevor Etienne
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Brother to star NFL running back Travis Etienne, Trevor also follows in his footsteps as a talented NFL bound running back. In his first year with Florida in 2022, Etienne was named to the Freshman All-SEC Football Team and SEC Freshman of the Week in week 11 of 2022. 
Splitting carries with Johnson, Etienne offers extra rushing talent for Florida and adds another threat to the Tiger’s run defense. Johnson is more of a power back while Etienne has more speed.
He has 529 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Similar to Johnson, he can catch passes out of the backfield and has 131 receiving yards. Together, Etienne and Johnson are a double-threat running back duo. 
Eugene Wilson III

This wide receiver has been impressive in his freshman season. Wilson was named the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Week for his back-to-back touchdowns after the Gators trailed Arkansas 14-0. He also had a career-high of 90 yards. Wilson is second to Pearsall in receiving yards with 416, but also has four touchdowns. 

Defensive Players

Princely Umanmielen

With a Florida defense that has performed poorly this season, Umanmielen has shined as an edge rusher for the Gators. Against No. 2 Georgia, he had a career-high nine tackles and six solo tackles with 1.5 tackles-for-loss and two quarterback hurries.

In total, Umanmielen has 5.5 sacks, 10 tackles for losses and 12 quarterback hurries. He will be Florida’s main playmaker on defense and threat to Jayden Daniels in the pocket.
Jordan Castell

This safety was named SEC Freshman of the Week in Week 3. Behind injured inside linebacker Shemar James, Castell has the most tackles with 51. He has two pass breakups and one interception.

Against Arkansas last week, he had six tackles, one interception and one breakup. Now against LSU, he will look to stop the Tigers’ talented receivers who seem to constantly defeat defensive backs on many routes. 
Scooby Williams

When Florida was losing to Arkansas 20-17 in the third quarter, inside linebacker Williams forced a fumble. The next play, quarterback Mertz found receiver Pearsall in the inside to take the lead.

Williams makes critical plays for this Gator defense. He has four tackles for losses and five quarterback hurries. Williams also has 44 total tackles and one sack for 12 yards.

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