The 2021 season was a pretty bizarre one statistically for the Gators’ offensive line. They paved the way for a rushing attack that ranked among the nation’s leaders a month into the season and finished the season ranked 23rd in the country.
And yet, they turned in games of only 138, 82, 93 and 139 yards over the final seven games of the campaign. They also gave up multiple sacks in five of their final seven games.
The way that they tailed off as the season progressed drew the attention of coach Darnell Stapleton when he arrived at UF in December. Getting them to play well on a more regular basis is his goal.
“That’s one thing that we challenged them [about] – not to have too many highs, too many lows but to play good football on a continuous basis and continue to get better,” Stapleton said. “‘Every day, get better in all aspects of life. Let’s get better, whether it be academics, athletics, socially, spiritually. Let’s go out there and get a little bit better,’ and, hopefully, at some point, that adds up to the wins.”
As the Gators prepare to put a bow on spring practice with the Orange and Blue Game on Thursday, Stapleton sees a group that is embracing the high standards established by himself and fellow offensive line coach Rob Sale.
“They’re a hard-working group,” he said. “Coming in, you always kind of try to feel a group out. These guys, they put their head down, they go to work. They want to be pushed; they want to be challenged, and that’s what we like about them. Every day, we come, and we set a tone and a tempo.
“I think our attitude as coaches rubs off on them. No-nonsense. We’re going to try to be bullies in the right way, be physical upfront, and these guys, they’ve rose to that challenge of being sound both mentally and physically. So, I’ve enjoyed working with these guys so far.”
Stapleton said that he loves working for Billy Napier because the way he runs his program puts the big guys up front in an excellent position to have success. His scheme is simple enough that the linemen can execute their blocking assignments without having to think much. They can just play free and let their natural abilities take over.
It’s also a benefit to have two offensive line coaches, which is extremely rare at the college level. The players will get more individualized instruction, and it’ll be more unlikely for any potential issue to slip through the cracks.
“We get together, we brainstorm quite a bit, and we bounce ideas off of one another,” Stapleton said. “It’s something I think that benefits the young men that we coach, to be able to split up and spend time where you can give more people individual attention and help them in developing on and off the field. I think the product turns out a lot better than if you just have one coach around the group.
“I think it’s good for the kids to hear different tones, different voices but the same message if that makes sense. Because at the end of the day, everybody learns a little bit different. Even though we’re saying the same thing, somebody may hear it differently from me than they do from Coach Sale, but that’s all right. As long as we get our guys to go out there and play and understand exactly what we’re trying to get done, we’re being successful.”
Having the extra coach also allows them to be more efficient in practice. There are usually around 15 scholarship offensive linemen on the roster, and, depending on the drill, no more than five of them will be doing something at a given time. So, if they only had one coach, 10 of the players would just be standing around waiting for their turn.
One of the keys to developing players is repetition, and having two coaches allows them to basically get twice as much work done in the same amount of time.
“A lot more reps,” guard Ethan White said. “In individual [drills], there’s not as much standing around while another guy is going. We can split it up. We can get more work for each guy. So, there’s a lot more reps for the older guys and the younger guys.
“There’s definitely high expectations, but I think it’s kind of a higher sense of accountability with the players because there’s no excuse. You’re not getting less reps than the next guy. Everybody’s getting about equal reps.”
White isn’t the only one to express his pleasure with the new coaching structure. Tackle Richard Gouraige and center Kingsley Eguakun said similar things as White earlier this spring. Several of the recruits who have visited UF in recent weeks have mentioned the extra attention given to the position as something that intrigues them.
Stapleton said that he thinks the players and recruits have responded well to the dynamic between he and Sale because of their honesty with them.
“We keep it real,” he said. “We don’t sugarcoat it. We’re not going to tell you something’s going to be easy because that’d be a lie. College football in general is hard. Playing in the SEC is even harder. This is the NFL with academics. So, if we sit there and sugarcoat it and tell young men that ‘Hey, everything’s going to be flowers, cupcakes and cotton candy,’ then we’re lying to them.
“We want them to understand that we’re going to challenge them on and off the field. It will not be easy, but it’ll be worth it. And I think when they see the transparency that we provide early in recruiting and not sugarcoating it, they have much more respect for what we’re doing.”
As the offensive line attempts to put together a complete season, Stapleton and Sale are emphasizing the importance of staying together and working toward a common goal. Stapleton wore a T-shirt with the phrase “5=1” on it to his press conference on Tuesday.
“It’s the offensive line understanding that we represent more than just ourselves,” Stapleton said. “So, those five that go out on the field for us on Saturdays and represent Florida Gators offensive line play, represent not just themselves but the whole entire unit. So, we may send five out there, but they represent all 20 guys in our room.
“With that extra responsibility, they understand there’s a standard of expectation to go out there and play ball at a high level the way we want to play ball – physical, smart, with some style of toughness to it that is not replicable. We’ve got shirts, we’ve got hats that the guys are wearing to represent it, but it means something. It’s not just fashion wear. It’s a mantra that we live by.”