Florida wrapped up spring practice No. 10 this morning at 5:50 a.m.
Jelani Jenkins, Matt Elam and Josh Evans joined the team for workouts the day before the Gators will take the field for their second scrimmage of the spring with a better weather forecast than last week when half of the scrimmage was canceled due to lightning.
It’s a big week for Florida. Saturday marks the one-week left point for spring and the Orange and Blue Debut. The Gators’ coaching staff will also be hosting a dozen top-tier recruits this weekend to take in the campus and practice.
Injury Updates
- Johnny Townsend had a pin placed in his wrist this week. The injury wasn’t described as being serious, just wear and tear over the years and Townsend should be able to return in 8-to-10 weeks.
- Muschamp is hopeful to get Rod Johnson back Monday from his head injury. He says the call to release Johnson is a doctor’s decision.
- Keanu Neal is back at practice but he’s participating in a limited capacity.
- Gideon Ajagbe will be out the rest of spring with a shoulder injury.
Depth on both lines an issue
- Trenton Brown was credited for doing an outstanding job this spring. Muschamp and the coaching staff are talking about bumping Brown inside in an effort to get the best five linemen on the field at the same time.
- The centers continue to struggle snapping the ball and it has moved from just being new to snapping from the shotgun to something that is concerning.
I’m extremely concerned about some snapping issues that continue to occur. I think the first couple of practices and some newness in there I can kind of get that. After a while we’ve got to move past that.”
- Antonio Riles worked out at offensive guard today. It isn’t a permanent move at the movement but the defensive tackle did do some “good things” there today.
Antonio Riles is a guy that we’ve looked at at guard today as a matter of fact. That’s not a permanent move. That’s something we wanted to create some depth. I told Antonio he’s a good football player, he’s a great kid and he doesn’t need to be standing by me come fall. We need to get him on the field and get him in an opportunity.”
- Muschamp praised freshman Taven Bryan for his technique and fundamentals. The coaching staff isn’t ready to trust him assignment wise but they are pleased with the progress he has made.
- Muschamp is still looking for more of a pass rush.
We need a little more pass-rush. Dante’s a guy that can win one-on-one rush on the edge right now. Don’t feel totally comfortable that there’s another guy out there. Neiron Ball may be another guy that will figure into that who has done those sort of things before. Again, those are, I think there’s some potential there, but potential can be a bad word there for you at times.”
Running Backs/”B” Back
- Muschamp is very hopeful to get Brandon Powell back some time this week. He would be in a no contact situation but Muschamp wants him to get some punt reps and pass skeleton reps.
- Matt Jones is a candidate to work not only as Florida’s “A” back but also as the “B” back, which is like the “H-back” position Florida had with Urban Meyer. Jones is a great pass catcher out of the backfield and it’s a way to get both Jones and Kelvin Taylor on the field with three wide receivers.
- Florida is still searching for someone that can fill that role.
We’re kinda still searching a little bit there. That’s a position we need to have a guy to be able to seal the edges. We’re not asking him to be dominating blocker, but we need to be able to have a guy that can match up on a linebacker or safety and win in coverage. That’s something we need to continue to improve.”