Gator Country

Dan McCarney works his defensive linemen/Gator Country Photo by Tim Casey

Dan McCarney might be 55 years old but he can get those rookie jitters just like any 18-year-old he coaches. Florida’s defensive line coach has been in the coaching business for 31 years and he’s been an assistant at a couple of prominent Big Ten programs and a head coach in the Big 12 but the thought of running out the tunnel at The Swamp on Saturday against Hawaii has him energized and excited.

McCarney who joined the Florida coaching staff in February after a year as the assistant head coach at South Florida, admitted after Monday evening’s practice that he’s already starting to feel it.

“America comes alive when college football season starts,” said McCarney. “We all know that. I can’t wait. We’ve been out here in the winter, the spring and summer and walk-throughs and I’ve never been here on game day. I can’t wait. This is what it’s all about ... the enthusiasm, the passion, the emotions, the students, the fans.  I’ve seen this place on television. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen Florida on TV and now I get to walk out here as a coach. It’s pretty special.”

It is only in the last few days that McCarney has had a chance to work with something that resembles a full complement of players. He’s lost freshman defensive end Earl Okine to mononucleosis and he’s only gotten limited work out of freshmen Matt Patchan (partially torn pectoral muscle) and Omar Hunter (sore back). Redshirt freshman John Brown has been slowed by a broken bone in his hand while sophomore defensive end Justin Trattou missed a few days with a concussion.

Hunter will definitely be in the rotation at tackle Saturday and there is a good chance that Patchan will, too.

“Omar is back practicing,” said McCarney. “Patchan practiced today for the first time and looked like he hasn’t missed a beat since spring ball. He looked fast and he looked physical. I got him in a little bit of everything. I’ll get him some more tomorrow. If he stays healthy this week and continues to improve he will definitely play Saturday. He won’t start but he will definitely play.”

Hunter will factor in the rotation at nose tackle. The starter is third year sophomore Lawrence Marsh. Junior college transfer Troy Epps is also in that rotation but Hunter will get his reps, too.

“Omar is in the rotation and Marsh will start,” said McCarney. “Epps and Omar will play Saturday. I’m planning on using all three of them.”

The Gators will probably spend much of Saturday in a three-man line since Hawaii is a run-and-shoot team that runs four wide receivers in its basic package. Right now the plan is to start ends Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham along with a nose tackle. 

The backups at the end positions will be Justin Trattou, Duke Lemmens and freshman William Green. Green has enough speed and versatility that it’s possible he could line up as a linebacker because he is capable of covering a back running a route as well as rushing the passer.

Having Green available to play somewhat of a hybrid role could be important because Hawaii does have a new play caller. June Jones is gone to SMU and there is a new offensive coordinator. While everyone expects Hawaii to stick with the same run-and-shoot, there might be some new wrinkles and that could mean some serious shuffling along the defensive line. McCarney has the improving Terron Sanders available and there is that chance Patchan will play a lot. At 6-6 and 275 pounds, Patchan could actually line up in Dunlap’s position or at tackle.

Held out except for conditioning drills for three weeks, Patchan went through his first real contact drills Monday and McCarney saw enough that he’s ready to see what Patchan can do in a real game.

“If Patchan makes it through the week and makes it injury free then he’ll definitely be in the mix too,” said McCarney. “I was really impressed with him at practice. He’s been doing lots of individual stuff but we got him into team stuff tonight. He brings another speed to our defensive line.”

Redshirt freshman nose tackle John Brown won’t be in the regular rotation Saturday and it’s questionable if he will play at all. He’s had a cast on his hand for the past two weeks and that has slowed his progress significantly. McCarney indicated that even before Brown broke the bone in his hand that he hadn’t made quite the progress that had been expected.

“He’s been practicing but he’s not in the two deep right now,” said McCarney. “He’s been available all camp but he hasn’t earned a spot in the two deep. He’s limited right now because he’s got a cast on because he cracked a bone in there and that obviously limits you when you can’t use that hand.”

McCarney said that Brown has to become more consistent and productive before he will see the field.  That seems to have been a problem for Brown since spring practice.

“He’s not in the two deep, wasn’t in the spring and he’s not right now,” said McCarney. “He’s got some work to do to get in the situation where he’s playing. I’m going to keep coaching the heck out of him and bring him along. That tells you pretty well where he’s at. He hasn’t put himself in position to help us on game day yet. I’m not giving up. I’m not going to kill his spirit but I’m not going to put him on the field unless he can show me he can be productive and consistent and he hasn’t shown me that yet.”

There was also news on the Torrey Davis front. Davis wasn’t on the 105-man practice roster for August so Monday was his first chance to work with the team. Davis spent the entire practice doing drills and conditioning work but McCarney said that there is a possibility Davis will be able to earn a position on the team.

“He’s got to work through the acclimatization period right now because he wasn’t with us at all and didn’t practice at all during camp,” said McCarney. “Won’t be available this week but he’s still on scholarship and we’re going to try to work him back into the program here and back on the team but he definitely won’t be available this week.”

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