Can Florida football get back on track? Here are 5 players the Gators must rely on

Florida football returns home to face Vanderbilt in an important homecoming matchup on Saturday afternoon (4 p.m., SEC Network).

The Florida Gators (3-2, 1-1 SEC) will look to build some momentum in October after a flat effort in a 33-14 loss at Kentucky last Saturday. Not much went right on offense, defense and special teams as UF fell behind 23-7 at halftime and failed to mount a second half rally.

"At this point it’s all about action, and it’s about our attitude, right," Florida coach Billy Napier said. "We can talk about all these things until we’re blue in the face, right, we want to see actions and we want to see the right attitude, and ultimately Saturday at 4 o’clock we play Vanderbilt and it presents that opportunity."

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Florida returns home, where it is 3-0 at The Swamp this season and 21-1 against Vanderbilt dating back to 1960.

Here are five players to watch for the Gators entering Saturday's matchup against the Commodores:

Graham Mertz, QB

Mertz has thrown for 1,220 yards on the season with 6 TDs to 2 interceptions. His completion percentage (110-139, 79.1 percent) still leads the SEC. Mertz should get more opportunities to throw the ball downfield against a suspect Vanderbilt pass defense (12th in SEC, 261.0 yards per game) and needs to take advantage of those opportunities against the Commodores.

Montrell Johnson Jr., RB

With Trevor Etienne questionable, the bulk of the carries against Vanderbilt could fall upon Johnson, who has rushed for 253 yards and 3 TDs on 4.5 yards per carry.

Andy Jean, WR

A speedy freshman from Miami, Jean will get more opportunities moving forward due to a leg injury to WR Caleb Douglas that will sideline him 4-6 weeks. Against Kentucky, Jean had 4 catches for 33 yards. "Andy's role will definitely grow here," Napier said. "It was good to see him be able to execute and to get some experience. I think that's going to help his confidence."

Jason Marshall Jr., CB

Marshall will get the primary job of covering talented Vanderbilt wide receiver Will Sheppard, who has 32 catches for 443 yards and 3 TDs on the season. It's been an up and down season for Marshall, who is still seeking his first interception of the season and dropped a potential momentum-changing interception last week against Kentucky.Marshall has 9 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and a pass breakup on the season.

Princely Umanmielen, DE

It's been a quiet start to the season for Umanmielen, who has 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks on the season and was completely shut down last week against Kentucky. Vanderbilt has allowed 11 sacks in six games this season and has struggled finding consistency on the offensive line. That opens the door for Umanmielen and other pass rushers to affect the quarterback on Saturday.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: 5 players for Florida Gators to watch against Vanderbilt Commodores