Welcome to Gator Nation Micah Mazzccua! (Photo By: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
The Florida Gators’ attack on the college football transfer portal has continued with the addition of Baylor’s former offensive lineman, Micah Mazzccua.
The interior offensive lineman started ten games last season for the Bears, primarily playing at left guard. That’s great news for the Gators, because Florida will now have to replace both starters at the guard position in All-American O’Cyrus Torrence and transfer Ethan White. Both players contributed toward Florida being one of the more potent rushing attacks in the SEC last season; Torrence was named a first-team All-American and White was named a second-team All-SEC selection.
While Florida recently added another offensive lineman in Caden Jones, there is no doubt that Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton will need some veteran help to ensure there isn’t a major drop-off with this unit in 2023. They got it in Micah Mazzccua.
Mazzccua was originally a three-star prospect from Baltimore, MD in the class of 2020. Initially committing to Jim Harbaugh and Michigan, he eventually flipped that commitment to Dave Aranda and Baylor. After taking a redshirt in 2020 and sitting out the season, Micah Mazzccua cracked the lineup and appeared in nine games during the Bears’ run to a Big 12 Championship in 2021 and earned an even larger, more consistent role in 2022.
This addition certainly gives Billy Napier more depth along the offensive line next season. The Baylor transfer will look to compete with incoming freshman and highly rated four-star prospect Roderick Kearney as well as Kamryn Waites (who started the Las Vegas Bowl) and veteran Richie Leonard.
(Note: if you are a regular podcast listener, Dustin’s padlock stat of 210 rushing yards for the Florida offense in 2022 was nearly undefeated at 6-1. So that’s a good gauge to follow.)
Needless to say- and because this is pretty much the key for any team to be successful- one of the main keys to Florida having any success in 2023 will be a strong offensive line. Billy Napier has made no secrets about his intentions to stock up on bodies on the lines of scrimmage, and while he did so on the defensive line with five signees from the high school ranks- all of which were of consensus four-star caliber- the offensive line was perhaps the even greater need with so many departures.
Now, with yet another quality addition to that offensive line, Napier and Florida are that much better off in their quest to build a new offensive line.
The addition of another player through the transfer portal and four high school prospects indicates this. While five new players on the offensive line is good for any class, Florida lost several players via the NFL and transfer portal. Don’t be surprised if Napier and his army add even more bodies to fortify this unit before or even after spring practice begins.
