79 Days to Toledo: OL Quinteze Williams

Over the next 79 days, GatorCountry will preview the players that make up the 2013 Florida Gators football team as we inch closer and closer to the season.

Each day we will count down using the player whose jersey number corresponds with how many days there are left until Florida kicks off against Toledo in the Swamp on August 31.

Today we take a look at redshirt freshman Quinteze Williams.

History

Williams was a four-star rated defensive tackle in high school who chose Florida over other scholarship offers from schools like Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Williams took a redshirt his first year on campus and impressed the coaching staff enough to be named scout team player of the week twice (South Carolina, Louisiana Lafayette).

He made the switch from defensive tackle to offensive tackle over the offseason.

Player Evaluation
Strengths

Williams is a physically strong player who is adjusting to a new position. Williams used his hands well as a defensive lineman and that carried over to offense where we saw him use his hands well at tackle.

At 6’4”, 280-pounds, Williams has good size for the position and has a frame that could stand to hold an additional 20-30 pounds.

Weaknesses

Williams made the move to offensive tackle this offseason and the transition has been a slow one. Williams is learning a new position and players like Jonathan Bullard, Dante Fowler Jr., Dominique Easley and Bryan Cox Jr. didn’t make the transition easy this offseason.

The biggest thing Williams needs to work on is his footwork. This should come with time and experience at the position but he struggled this spring to maintain the edge and stay in front of Florida’s quick defensive ends.

What to Expect

When it comes to the 2013 season, I wouldn’t expect much from Williams on the field. He is still learning a new position and there are other players on the roster (D.J. Humphries, Chaz Green, Trenton Brown, Tyler Moore) who are all ahead of Williams on the depth chart.

He’s only a redshirt freshman, so Williams has a lot of time to make an impact at the University of Florida. He is a hard worker who impressed the coaching staff with his work ethic last year in practice. He’ll get an opportunity, it just won’t be this season.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC