Bryce Lovett Emerging at Right Tackle
GAINESVILLE, Fla.– The Florida Gators will enter the 2025 season with four of its five starters on the offensive line returning from last season. Although the team will technically have a competition for the starting right tackle spot, head coach Billy Napier last week made it clear who is the likely candidate to replace the outgoing Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson.
“Bryce (Lovett) will be the right tackle today, but Bryce could play all five. We have a ton of confidence in him,” Napier said before the team’s first practice on March 6.
The 6-foot-5, 320-pound redshirt sophomore’s emergence as the leader for the right tackle spot shouldn’t be a surprise, though. Lovett emerged as an instant-impact player in the offensive line rotation last season after recorded the 10th-most snaps of any UF offensive player in 2024.
He eventually earned postseason recognition by being named on the SEC’s All-Freshman Team.
While most of his in-game experience comes at guard, Lovett has consistently cross-trained on every position on the line. In the team’s bowl win over Tulane, Lovett recorded 72 snaps at right tackle and was named to the AP’s All-Bowl Team after a strong performance.
Although spring camp is still in the early stages, all signs point to Lovett building off his performance and taking advantage of the opportunity in front of him. He was recently named a practice standout by Dream Finders through Florida Victorious, the university’s official NIL partner.
“Yeah, he’s had a first good three days and had another good day today,” offensive line coach Rob Sale said Tuesday. “We gotta watch the tape, but I expected that for him. You know, he’s come a long way from high school to now. You know, he’s growing up, getting better every time he gets out there on the field. So I’m real proud of him.”
While he mostly played guard in 2024, Lovett showed strong potential, especially in pass protection. The Rockledge (Fla.) native recorded a PFF pass-blocking grade above an 80 in six of his 10 appearances. As a whole, Lovett’s 78.5 pass-blocking grade ranked third on the team among offensive linemen who recorded at least 100 snaps.
Sale explained that Lovett won’t be cross-training much as he focuses on the right tackle spot, but his history training at the position and his recent in-game success provides hope that he can provide a seamless transition from Crenshaw-Dickson.
“Bryce is one of the most special athletes I’ve been around, especially as an offensive lineman,” center Jake Slaughter said. “I truly mean it when I say he can play all five positions, but he just has great movement skills. He bends, he wants to do it, he’s getting better in the weight room, he’s getting better on the field. So, we’re all super excited for him.”
That being said, Lovett hasn’t necessarily completely locked up the starting spot despite being the favorite. Sale explained both Devon Manuel, who is coming off an injury-riddled 2024 campaign, and third-year backup Caden Jones have both been working at the position.
“As this thing goes, how are we going to get the best five? What’s the best five combination? What’s the long road going to look like? So, we have options, which is a really good thing,” Sale said.
As it stands, though, the position appears to be Lovett’s to lose as the Gators, which would ultimately round out its offensive line unit with returning starters Austin Barber at left tackle, Knijeah Harris at left guard, Slaughter at center and Damieon George Jr. at guard. And all signs point to Florida not only replicating its strong 2024 performance with Lovett in a new role but possibly improving in 2025.
“He has taken the strides he’s taken from year one to year two, it’s unbelievable,” offensive coordinator Russ Callaway said. “He has worked his tail off. He’s another one. Good kid. About the work. He don’t care about all the extra stuff. He just wants to play ball. He deserves everything that’s coming his way. I’m super excited to watch him this year and that whole unit.”
