Top Ten Returning Argos
There is officially less than a week before UWF kicks off against McKendree for their week one tilt in Pensacola. I’ll be dropping some team previews and a game preview between now and Thursday night so stay tuned, but lets start by getting refamiliarized with the top returning talent from the 2023 team. You’ll notice this is a defense heavy list, and that has a lot to do with the fact that the Argos return a TON of top end talent from that side of the ball. Offense is going to be rebuilding following the losses of three starters on the OL, starting QB, three of five top receivers, and two of the top three backs from last year.
Will Breland – LB
If you look back at last year’s season previews from 2023 and 2021, you’ll know that I have long been high on Senior MLB Will Breland. He was one of the top returning defensive players in the GSC going into 2023 and was the unquestioned leader of the defensive rebuilt last offseason. Unfortunately he was was injured against McKendree and never came back last fall. Despite the truncated season, his presence was felt finishing with 10 tackles 2 TFL 1 hurry and 1 PBU in less than 8 full quarters of play. If we flash back to ’22, he was the third leading tackler in the GSC (94 tackles 6 TFL 2 sacks 2 INT) and was playing some of his best ball in the playoffs. By the end of the Argos semifinal run Breland had tallied 30 tackles 2.5 TFL 1 sack 1 INT in four games and landed on the All-Region 2 Team. Breland brings 144 career tackles as an Argonaut and returns looking to reclaim his spot as a top linebacker in the GSC.
Byron Puryear – EDGE
Byron Puryear came into Pensacola last year from the Junior College ranks, where he was an All-American in 2022 for DuPage. He wasn’t a mid year enrollee, but quickly became a key piece on a rebuilding defensive line. Right out of the gate he flashed, compiling 2 sacks and 6 hurries in the first four weeks of the season. Eventually he finished 2023 with the team lead in hurries (10), second in sacks (5) and TFL (10), and 36 total tackles, while missing the Mississippi College contest. For his efforts he was 1st Team All-GSC in 2024 and a preseason All-GSC going into this fall. With the departure of consensus All-American John McMullen, Puryear is poised to step into that playmaking role in what is now a veteran defense, and was recently been named to the D2 Football Top 100 watchlist in recognition of his talent. As a Senior he is going to be one of the elite pass rushers in the conference again in 2024, and an easy projection as a starter at the EDGE position.
Ben Freeman – OT
Coach Steve Saulnier didn’t really need any bodies going into 2023, they were returning a few starters and had a bunch of guys who had been in the system and were eager to fill those now-open starting jobs at center and guard. However it didn’t seem like there was going to be much movement at the tackle spots, because UWF returned both starting LT Jacob Bruce and starting RT Nymonta Docure. Despite no immediate need, the coaches were able to secure a transfer from a guy in Freeman who had played at a great program and seen game action, plus had multiple years of eligibility left, so they took a shot. By the fourth game of the year that began to pay off big time for UWF, as Freeman was able to step up allowing for Doucure to slide inside to the RG spot, allowing Colton Beesley to move to left guard. In his first year he played in all 12 games and started 9 games last year for the Agros. His ability to take over the RT spot during the season solidified that position, and in a testament to coach Saulnier’s desire to get the best five on the field, allowed UWF to move players around the line to find the group of starters. Freeman was the chosen player representative for GSC Media Day last month, so he’s clearly asserted himself as one of the leaders on that team and he had great things to say about the cohesiveness of this OL group going into the fall. I’d expect Freeman to be one of the top OL in the GSC this year, continuing a tradition of high level tackle play for the Argonauts.
Donovan Barnes – S
Its tough to break into a starting job as a Freshman, especially at safety which is one of the most demanding positions in football. Not that any of that mattered to UWF’s returning starter at safety Donovan Barnes. He was one of the under-the-radar stories in the Argonauts defensive renaissance last fall, that saw UWF go from 95th to 19th in total defense and 72nd to 25th in scoring defense. The Tallahassee native came in for fall camp 2023 and beat out a handful of DBs who had been around the program making the start week 1 alongside Quincy Milhomme. He ended up having a Defensive Freshman of The Year level season, if not for the next name on this list, finishing with 33 tackles (lead all secondary players) 3 PBU and an interception for the second best pass defense in the GSC. Now he’s got a full season/spring/offseason under his belt, so you expect he’s going to be a little bigger, a little faster, a little stronger and he’s going to be fully comfortable in the scheme. I have high expectations for a second year jump.
Ralph Ortiz – OLB
The biggest splash of any freshman last season came from RS freshman OLB Ralph Ortiz, the 2023 Gulf South Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year. Ortiz came to Pensacola from Lake Minneola High School in the class of 2022 and took a redshirt that fall, seeing no action. With the coaching change and a significant change to the defensive scheme, Ortiz flourished in the revamped OLB position and lead the team in PBU (7), INT (3), and was 3rd in TFL (7). All of that and 40 total tackles (28 solo) landed him three conference Defensive Freshmen of the Week acknowledgements and the end of the season award for the same category. He was a perfect fit for the OLB spot in the new system because he could make impact plays in all three phases (run defense, coverage, pass rush), and was able to really step up with the season long absence of veteran OLB Kode Lowe. The RS Sophomore will enter the season in one of the most stacked positions on the team, which boasts essentially four returning starters, but I expect he will be one of the most disruptive defenders the Argos have this fall.
Virgil Lemons – CB
In today’s high flying football, having trustworthy cornerbacks is one of the most important aspects of defensive game planning. Following the 2022 season and coaching change, the Argos just didn’t have that. In fact, the new coaching staff was looking for an entirely new secondary. They had a lot of pieces on campus, but took to the road to bring in some talented guys who made big impacts in their debut seasons as Argonauts. One of those guys was Virgil Lemons a Deerfield Beach native who came to the Bay after three seasons at coach Pete Shinnick’s old stomping grounds, UNC Pembroke. He was a two year contributor at cornerback as well as a kick and punt returner, and earned a 2nd Team All-MEC selection in 2022. Upon arrival he quickly asserted himself as one of the top DBs on the team and ended up a week one starter at corner. Never looking back Lemons started all 12 games at CB, finishing the year with 2 INT and 3 PBU to go along with 24 tackles (18 solo). Going into his senior year, Lemons was tabbed as a pre-season All-GSC selection at CB, and I’ve got high hopes he will live up to that billing.
Jakobe Quillen – WR
Of everyone on this list the super senior WR had the quietest 2023 season, finishing with 19 receptions 157 yards and 3 TD in his second year in Pensacola. Despite not being one of the top 3 pass catchers in either of the last two years, he’s just a guy who seems to make good things happen. Of his 30 receptions as an Argo he has 7 TDs. As one of the bigger WRs from the last two seasons, listed 6’4” 210, he has been a great target for jump balls and in the redzone because he’s just bigger and stronger than most DBs trying to cover him. I’ll be very curious to see if that rate of production, about a score per every four receptions, can scale with what is likely to be an increased workload as one of the more experienced returning pass catchers. He was a breakout candidate of mine last year, which ended up being a tough year to break out at WR with John Jiles coming in and Caden Leggett returning, but he has a huge opportunity early this year to grab a starting spot with a pretty wide open WR room and a lot of new faces getting to know the offense still.
Kode Lowe – LB
Kode Lowe was a favorite of mine as a breakout player in 2023 following a solid initial campaign back in 2022. He was a consistent presence that year finishing with 50 tackles 2 PBU and an INT and started every game of the year at the hybrid OLB/S spot in the old 3-3-5 scheme. Despite going into 2023 with three other major contributors returning (Breland, Gael Laurent, Willie Jordan), I thought he would be a natural fit as an athletic multi-purpose OLB a little bit closer to the ball but somewhere that still utilized his athleticism, similar to what played back at South Sumpter High. Unfortunately, he missed all of 2023 with an injury, which ultimately paved the way for Ralph Ortiz to ascend into that job. Now coming into 2023 Lowe is healthy, but once again returns with three significant returning contributors at the position (Breland, Ortiz, and Walker Robinson) and big questions about how they’ll manage the workload at the three LB spots. He’s probably going to get a shot to play all three roles throughout the year, but I see him as a likely starter at the WLB spot that Laurent played from last year.
Aidan Swett - DL
The certified grandpa of the team, Swett is entering his seventh year and sixth playing season with the Argonauts. Unlike many of the older players we have had in recent memory, Swett is totally home grown, coming to Pensacola in 2018 out of Bishop Kenny High in Jacksonville. In what was supposed to be his final season, he was injured in game 2 of 2023 and never returned. Despite that truncated season, he ended up with 3 TFL and 2 sacks as the starter at DE, pretty good production for a guy who didn’t even play eight full quarters of football. Swett has mentioned at UWF media day that he is still recovering from surgery, so it is unclear if he will be available at kickoff on Thursday. However, once healthy this fall, Swett is going to play an inside/outside role on the defense, and is expected to be one of the top players along the line. Listed at 6’3” 260, that kind of flexible role is a good fit for his size and skill set as more of a power rusher. Plus with all the talent the Argos have at DL, the easiest way to get your best players on the field at the same time is to have positional flexibility among your depth chart.
Jamontez Woods – RB
For the second year in a row the Argonauts are looking to replace their top RB option but were again able to hold on to their RB2. Jamontez Woods came in as a complimentary back last year to what they had in CJ Wilson after he had an interesting career at Troy. He was a solid contributor for two seasons and finished his four year career with the Trojans with over 600 yards and 7 TD, he even lead the Trojans in rushing TDs one season. Unfortunately for Woods, but fortunately for UWF, he happened to share his career with three of the most prolific runners in school history, including Troy all time leading rusher and 2024 6th round pick Kimani Vidal, so Woods was never able to ascend to a full time starting role. His first year in Pensacola was a great bounce back for the senior, leading the team with 5 rushing TDs and finishing second in rushing in yards with 565. He’s a powerful runner, a solid pass catcher, but most importantly he brings really valuable experience to a room that includes four freshmen (true or redshirt) and only one other player with more than 10 career carries, Notre Dame College Transfer Jay Sharp.
