3 Florida Gators named to preseason Coaches All-SEC squad
Three Florida Gators have been named to the preseason Coaches All-SEC Team.
Running back Trevor Etienne (third team), defensive back Jason Marshall Jr. (third) and edge Princely Umanmielen (third) were honored. Each player also earned preseason All-SEC honors at SEC Media Days from the media.
Etienne, a sophomore, was an All-SEC freshman pick in 2022. He is considered to be one of the top young running backs in the game.
Etienne had 118 carries for 719 yards and six touchdowns in 2022. He also caught nine passes for 66 yards. And, he returned 17 kickoffs for 421 yards with a long of 48 yards.
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He was the SEC freshman of the week in Week 11.
He was on the SEC Academic Honor Roll and recently was named to the Paul Hornung Award watch list for 2023. Per a Gators release, Etienne’s 85-yard touchdown run last season was tied for the sixth-longest by an FBS running back.
Two of the Florida Gators honored play defense
Marshall Jr, a junior, has 19 starts for the Gators, including all 13 in 2023 when he led the team in pass breakups (eight). According to a release, he “allowed zero touchdowns in over 300-plus coverage snaps according to PFF.”
Marshall has been stellar in Gainesville. In his two previous seasons, he recorded 52 tackles (35 solo), 11 pass breakups, 3 tackles for loss and 3 picks.
“It definitely is a chip on the shoulder,” junior cornerback Jason Marshall told On3’s JD Pickell. “It’s a chip on the shoulder for not only myself and how I want my season to go but as well as the team.”
Umanmielen, a junior, is coming off his best season at Florida.
He led the Gators in tackles for loss with 9.5 and sacks with 4.5 in 2023 — and was second on the team with five quarterback hurries.
Umanmielen has been named to the watch lists for both the Bednarik Award and Lombardi Award. Per Florida, “the two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member returns as the top-ranked SEC EDGE by PFF with a grade of 82.1.”
Umanmielen switched from defensive end to outside linebacker this year.
“I love it,” Umanmielen said recently. “I always felt like my body type and how I play football, I was going to end up being an outside linebacker. Even though these past years I was playing four eyes and hand in the dirt.
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