Florida may be just seven days into fall camp but there has already been a ton of news coming out of fall camp. Andre Debose and Matt Rolin suffered season-ending knee injuries, Jeff Driskel had an emergency appendectomy and Matt Jones had a viral infection.
It hasn’t all been bad news, Florida has several position battles going on in camp and there have been plenty of players stepping up and getting ready to take Florida to the next level in 2013 – Atlanta.
Will Muschamp met with the media on Friday to update just how the team is doing after the first week of camp.
Injury Updates
- Muschamp said he was very disappointed to hear about Andre Debose’s knee injury. He said that Debose had turned the corner in his progression and was doing things the right way. He said that Debose was very upset.
- Muschamp said that he and Debose talked about him coming back for a sixth year but that they’re very early in that stage right now and he hasn’t made a decision about his future just yet.
- Matt Rolin tore his left ACL – the same one that he had surgically repaired in high school. Muschamp said that Rolin was on pace to be a backup SAM linebacker and would have started on special teams if not for the injury.
- Muschamp said he really hurts for both Debose and Rolin.
- Damien Jacobs has a sprained knee. He doesn’t need surgery and is expected back in 10 days.
- Jaylen Watkins has a sprained foot. He is also expected back in 10 days on August 19.
- Rod Johnson had a meniscus injury from high school flare up and will have surgery on his knee today. He is expected to miss 3-4 weeks following the surgery.
- Brad Phillips has a pulled groin that hasn’t kept him out of practice, but has slowed him down.
- Jon Halapio is meeting with doctors on Friday to get an update on his pectoral injury.
- Max Garcia has been cleared for individual work and has been doing just that.
- Trip Thurman will be cleared to play on the 12th.
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- Muschamp said it was nice to have Jeff Driskel back leading the team last night. He said that Driskel has great command of the offense.
- They started practice off with a one-minute drill and Driskel led the team down the field for a “game-winning” field goal that Austin Hardin kicked.
- Muschamp said that the defense is taking advantage of being in the same system for three years now. They are able to work more on situations rather than having to teach new concepts and schemes.
- Antonio Morrison returned to practice as well but Muschamp said that he is still working through some stuff with Morrison. Morrison is still suspended for the first two games but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that reduced.
- Jeremy Brown – a sixth year senior – is graduating on Saturday.
- Florida will scrimmage on Saturday and the team will give each group about 50 snaps.
- Austin Hardin has taken a slight lead on Brad Phillips due to his injury but Muschamp made it clear that nothing has been solved and the competition is still wide open.
- Muschamp said he has been very pleased with Quinton Dunbar and said he continues to be a leader at his position.
- Muschamp singled out Ahmad Fulwood and Demarcus Robinson as two young receivers who have stepped up. He said both are players that can help the team stretch the field.
- Muschamp said that the team is benefiting from having Joker Phillips on staff. He said Phillips’ knowledge has really helped the receivers and the offense as a whole.
- Muschamp was asked about Driskel saying he was confident that Florida could get to Atlanta this season, “Talk is cheap. You’ve got to do it on the field,” Muschamp said. “We’ve got some depth in some positions, but anytime you want to talk about a run to Atlanta, you’ve got to have things fall your way”
- Will Muschamp said that the SEC is a line of scrimmage league and he doesn’t want his defensive linemen to play more than 6-8 snaps in a row. Depth is key.
- Muschamp said that he is very confident in both Loucheiz Purifoy and Marcus Roberson. He is confident in their ability and puts a lot of pressure on them because of that confidence. “They are going to earn a scholarship every Saturday,” Muschamp said.
- Muschamp said that Dominique Easley leads by example, rather than what he says in the locker room or off the field.
- Muschamp said that as far as quickness and change of direction, he feels that Ronald Powell is back to his pre-injury level.
- Muschamp is making sure to keep a close eye on Powell during camp. Powell is the kind of player who wants to go full-out, 100 MPH at all times but Muschamp said it is important to have him fresh on August 31, not during camp.
- Muschamp said that he thinks players will eventually earn a “stipend” or some kind of compensation. He certainly thinks that the players need some kind of stipend.
- Muschamp said that the staff tries to educate the players on NCAA regulations regarding autographs. He said it’s hard to say no to a little kid when they come up to you asking for an autograph after a game but that the players just need to be smart about it.