The pads came on for the Florida Gators on Saturday morning for Day 3 of spring football practice.
After two days of padless drills, coach Urban Meyer and his staff wanted to see how the team would respond to hitting. There was plenty during the workout, and the coaches seemed happy with what they saw.
After some stretching, Meyer blew his whistle and the team formed a circle around him for the “Circle of Life” drill. Meyer singles out two players – one from offense and one from defense – to go 1-on-1 against each other. Points are awarded to the winning players in this drill and others, and at the end of practice, the team with the fewest points runs.
It is difficult to see the drill from the spectator/media vantage points, but the few times the circle of players parted enough, you could see the competition. Freshman left tackle Jonotthan Harrison pancaked defensive tackle Omar Hunter at one point. But defensive lineman Jaye Howard saved the defense some face when he fared well in back-to-back competitions with offensive guard James Wilson.
Two freshmen who enrolled in January – tight end Desmond Parks and linebacker Jon Bostic – did battle, with Bostic getting the best of his fellow classmate. There was a scary moment when right tackle David Young came out of the circle holding his right knee, which he injured in high school. But Young later returned to practice.
DOWN AT THE CORNERS: Returning junior Joe Haden and sophomore Janoris Jenkins certainly would seem to be the starting cornerbacks in the Florida secondary in the fall. Another Jenkins, junior Moses, was working with the first unit, which says a lot about what he has been doing since the end of last season.
Senior Markihe Anderson seemed to be that third cornerback last season, but it’s obvious the Florida coaches are waiting for him to take the next step. During Oklahoma drills, Anderson got pancaked, which led Meyer to yell, “Come on, three years man!” This was obviously a reference to how long Anderson has been in the program.
Freshman safety Dee Finley (6-2, 211), who spent last fall getting his academics in order after being a member of Florida’s Class of 2008 recruits, also made his presence known. He pancaked T.J. Lawrence fairly easily. There aren’t many receivers who can match Finley’s physical play. He is incredibly strong.
The team’s No. 1 strong safety, junior Ahmad Black, made the play of the day, diving for a pass and intercepting it with only his left hand. He palmed the football so it didn’t hit the ground when he landed. The play drew a huge ovation from the crowd in attendance.
PLAYER EVALUATION: A few words now about sophomore defensive tackle Jaye Howard. He is listed at 6-foot-3 and 296 pounds and looks every bit of that. With Terron Sanders limited in spring practice, Howard is starting to emerge as the backup at the three-technique tackle. It would shock no one if Howard ended up pushing Sanders for the starting role.
Howard gives defensive line coach Dan McCarney a ton of flexibility on the line. He came in as a defensive end and can still play the position at his size. He might remind some of Ray McDonald. Howard has always had the top-level ability, and he is finally starting to show it.
During the goal-line scrimmage, Howard pushed his way through the middle of the Florida line in time to chase Emmanuel Moody and drag him to the ground behind the line of scrimmage on the far side of the field. He did that against center Maurkice Pouncey and guard Maurice Hurt, so it’s not as if he is doing it against freshmen.
IN THE MOOD(Y): Speaking of Moody, he had the best day of the running backs today. It would only make sense for him to do that since it was a day full of running between the tackles, where Moody flourishes.
On a goal line set from the 10-yard line, quarterback Tim Tebow handed Moody the ball and he started running for the left sideline. After about five steps that way, he cut back immediately and found the end zone. The cut back was so abrupt a few of the defensive players fell down on the move.
The crowd reacted with a few “ooos” after the cut and score, and Moody continued his production all day. On another play from midfield, Moody exploded through the line, shed two arm tackles and was barely brought down by safety Major Wright, who went along for a 5-yard ride. Clearly, Moody is running harder and faster than last spring.
RECEIVERS IMPROVE: The receivers had a little better day Saturday, with a particular nod to sophomore Frankie Hammond. At 6 feet and 175 pounds, you would think Hammond would be a little shy going across the middle. Far from it. He made a few catches Saturday over the middle, giving up his body, and he took a pretty good shot from Markihe Anderson, who put his helmet into Hammond’s chest.
Carl Moore ran some nice routes today, one of which resulted in a touchdown on the first red-zone play. It was on a slant and Tebow hit him in the chest. T.J. Lawrence also did some good things. He’s been running a lot of downfield patterns this spring, and Tebow keeps throwing him the ball because he is open. He is deceptively fast in the open field. This is going to be a big offseason for the 6-1, 196-pound Lawrence, though. He could use some extra pounds.
IN THE HOUSE: Class of 2009 signee Andre Debose was in attendance again on Saturday. He mingled with some of his future teammates and had a lengthy conversation with Deonte Thompson on the side of practice. Debose also seemed to hit it off with injured defensive end Carlos Dunlap as the two spent a lot of time together Saturday. During a few of the 7-on-7 and goal-line drills, Meyer spent time with Debose, explaining things to him.
On a recruiting note, there were plenty of prospects at practice Saturday morning. Class of 2010 verbal commitment Trey Burton, the Venice High School quarterback, was in attendance and spent at least 30 minutes with Ocala Trinity Catholic wide receiver Kadron Boone. Burton was joined by his brother, defensive lineman Clay Burton, who met with McCarney.
The two players who spent the most time together were easily Fleming Island High School offensive tackle Ian Silberman and Gulf High School lineman Leon Orr. The two were always together on Saturday. Tampa Catholic offensive lineman Chaz Green and athlete Christian Green were also in attendance and spent about 10 minutes talking with coach Meyer during practice. Hardaway athlete Marcus Smith also took in the practice.