Practice wasn’t supposed to begin until 6:10 a.m. Thursday but the Florida Gators were on the field and ready to at least 30 minutes before the official starting time, a sure sign that a productive offseason has energized the veterans who return from a national championship team. A crowd of about 200 was there before 6 a.m. and by 7 a.m. the crowd had swelled to perhaps 400.
“It was just like Christmas to come out with the Gator Nation out here watching,” said All-American middle linebacker Brandon Spikes. “I knew it was going to be a big deal today.”
The Gators were in shorts and helmets on day one, which is divided into two practices. Freshmen will hit the field in the afternoon for their practice.
While it was a typical first day with lots of drills to get players back into the practice routine, there were a few highlights.
RILEY COOPER: Cooper, who signed with the Texas Rangers Monday, practiced Thursday morning. His future is in professional baseball but the senior wide receiver said the opportunity to play for another national championship was too good to pass up.
“This is really a special team,” Cooper said. “I really wanted to be part of it.”
Cooper said he’s in decent but not football game shape quite yet after spending the summer playing baseball. His chronically sore feet, he said, will always be an issue but “that’s all about pain management. I can deal with it.”
IN THE PIT: Starting safety Ahmad Black and backup tailback Emmanuel Moody were in The Pit. There was no mention of any specific injury with Black, but the media was told “he’s just not 100 percent right now.” Moody is thought to be recovering from a sprained ankle.
QUOTE OF THE MORNING: The Gators were just practicing lining up right for the punt team but when Chris Rainey made a lazy effort and fumbled a Chas Henry punt, Urban Meyer yelled, “Catch the ball! What the hell are you doing? Catch the ball!” It was obvious that Meyer isn’t going to tolerate anything that is half-hearted even for guys just shagging punts.
LOOKING BEASTLY: Florida’s defensive linemen look very big and mobile. Starting tackles Lawrence Marsh (295) and Terron Sanders (300) both look larger than the weight listed on the practice roster. Backup Jaye Howard is listed at 296 but looks a good 10-15 pounds heavier. Brandon Antwine is wearing a knee brace, but he moved well. He’s listed at 299 but an informed source said he’s closer to 320.
All of the defensive ends looked bigger. Carlos Dunlap is listed at 6-6, 290, but certainly looks a lot bigger. Senior Jermaine Cunningham looks every bit the 257 he’s listed. William Green, who was about 220 last year, is much thicker in the upper body and listed at 245. Both Duke Lemmens and Justin Trattou are listed at 265, which is more than last year’s official weight but both look like they weigh in the 270s.
NELSON, THOMPSON STAND OUT: David Nelson and Deonte Thompson both ran sharp routes and were consistently open. Nelson had the catch of the day on an inside slant. Thompson burned Janoris Jenkins on a deep route and then woofed all the way back to the huddle. Aaron Hernandez also made a nice catch on a deep ball from Tebow.
LINEBACKERS ARE IN SHAPE: It’s obvious that guys like A.J. Jones, Lerentee McCray and Lorenzo Edwards had terrific summers. Jones is in the best shape of his career and Edwards finally looks the part of a football player. He was overweight as a freshman and not in great shape all last year either. That’s changed this year. McCray is 230 pounds. He showed up about 205 last season.