What's up with the linebacker position?

Heading into the fall, Florida had the makings of what should be at least a pretty group at the linebacker position. My interpretation of the depth chart:

WILL

11 – Neiron Ball (6-3, 235, R-Jr.)

49 – Darrin Kitchens (6-2, 235, Sr.)

28 – Jeremi Powell (6-1, 205, R-Fr.)

MIKE

3 – Antonio Morrison (6-1, 230, So.)

51 – Mike Taylor (6-0, 231, R-Jr.)

34 – Alex Anzalone (6-3, 230, Fr.)

40 – Jarrad Davis (6-2, 225, Fr.)

SAM

7 – Ronald Powell (6-4, 240, R-Jr.) (also BUCK)

13 – Daniel McMillian (6-1, 227, Fr.)

9 – Matt Rolin (6-3, 221, Fr.) (Injured)

The Gators stand to lose one senior (Kitchens) after the season, and with anything resembling a good junior campaign, I expect Powell to move on as well, considering all he's been through at UF. While the number requirements of linebacker units have lessened with the move to a wide-open passing game by many schools, there is still a need for 10 or so players on scholarship at the position. Florida would stand at eight, with the potential loss of Kitchens and Powell.

Curiously, Florida has been rather finicky about the linebackers they've chosen to recruit so far. The board essentially stands as follows:

Clifton Garrett (6-1½ , 224, Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South)

Raekwon McMillan (6-1½, 243, Hinesville, Ga./Liberty County)

Nyles Morgan (6-1½, 225, Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee)

Dwight Williams (6-1, 201, Gardena, Calif./Junipero Serra)

And that's really about it. And of those guys, Florida really should only feel confident about their chances of landing Williams, a West Coast native, at the moment. Garrett is high on LSU, McMillan appears to favor Clemson and Ohio State, while Morgan has been relatively quiet – but appears prefer Ole Miss and Vanderbilt right now. The Gators will likely have a shot to host all three players at least once this fall, but there is a lot to ground to make up in each scenario.

The Gators are also being mentioned in connection with a few committed players as well (most notably, FSU pledge Jacob Pugh), but we'll have to see how things play out in connection with Pugh and others.

I do believe that current pledge Justus Reed (6-2, 220, Clearwater, Fla./Central Catholic) – listed as a defensive end by all of the recruiting services – is very likely to get a look at the SAM linebacker spot. He brings a versatile skill-set to the group, not unlike former UF player Lerentee McCray – who also bounced between end and linebacker during his time at Florida.

Aside from that, I'm as curious as anyone as to which prospects Florida will drum up at the linebacker position, and I do expect there will be a few new additions. Three in-state prospects whom intrigue me greatly are Xavier Preston (6-2, 220, Jensen Beach), Randy Ramsey (6-3, 205, Ft. Lauderdale/Dillard) and Sharieff Rhaheed (6-2, 205, Ft. Pierce/Central). Ramsey camped at Friday Night Lights, and would make a transition from safety to outside linebacker at the next level. Rhaheed as been mostly used as a stand-up end coming off the edge at the high school level, but would appear to have the athleticism and explosiveness to play in space at the college level. Preston is a versatile, all-around threat at the high school level, and would figure to be comfortable wherever he's asked to line up on the field.

In any case, I'm really intrigued to see what develops with this unit over the path from now until February. I expect that the group Florida signs to play linebacker on National Signing Day, will likely continue to bolster a unit that finally played up to expectations last year, and now has raised the bar heading into the fall of 2013.