9-16-14 Kurt Roper Notebook

Gators offensive coordinator Kurt Roper held his weekly press conference Tuesday as the Gators prepare for an Alabama defense that has a staunch defensive line. Last week Florida showed their ability to put points on the board, scoring 36 in three overtimes against Kentucky. Florida ran 94 total, with 81-83 of those in regulation. The passing game, which was much talked about coming into this season, was centered around Demarcus Robinson, who had 15 receptions for 216 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Jones had a big night on the ground, running for 156 yards on 29 carries. Jones also scored the game-winning touchdown in the third overtime.

Roper on how much running he wants to see from quarterback Jeff Driskel:

“You know, I think it all depends of the structure of the defense. It’s something that obviously he’s go the ability to do. The more you see him run, the better he gets. Later in the game, he was behind his pads more, protecting the football more, not just running straight to the sideline but trying to get up-field and get some yards. I think he’s a guy that obviously possesses that ability to use him. We still want to be smart.”

Driskel’s comfort level with the offense:

“I think it’s pretty good, right now, I do. I think he’s a guy that’s worked hard at trying to learn this. He’s got really good command at what we’re doing. Just like that the last touchdown, or I should say the touchdown in the first overtime when we were struggling getting lined up he took complete control of that. And a guy that doesn’t have an understanding in that situation couldn’t have gotten done what he was able to get done. That was really, shoot, saved us all. That was a big-time play and I think it was a big-time understanding on his part. Hopefully, it speaks to his understanding at what we’re doing.”

The defensive challenges Alabama presents:

“These guys do a great job of contesting every pass. They like to press the receivers and pattern match a lot of things. They’re running with a lot of receivers. When we looked at the explosive plays, in a four-game breakdown, there were like 15 explosive passes, which are 16 yards or more for us. A lot of them, they’re just big time plays by wide receivers with DBs right on them. They don’t give you a lot of layups. They’re hard to get separation from. They add the ability to rush the passer on top of that, shortening the time.”
Muschamp being a resource for the offense having been Saban’s defensive coordinator:
“Obviously that’s helpful to have those conversations to maybe clarify some things as we start watching film, saying, ‘OK, why are they doing this? What’s going on here?’ So, you know obviously that is an advantage of things that are going on.”

Avoiding negative plays against the Tide:

“That’s a good question. Long down and distances with these guys are going to bring a lot of issues on third down. So you definitely want to stay on schedule, as everybody likes to say. But at the same time, you ‘ve got to try to be aggressive and make plays down the field, too. It’s a balance. It makes third down more of a challenge if you don’t stay in good situations that way. But it’s important.”

Memories of playing Alabama in 2010 when Roper was offensive coordinator at Duke (Alabama won 62-13):

“We were actually in Durham against Alabama. That was a long day. 13, I think we had.”

“That was an interesting ballgame. If I’m remembering 100 percent correctly Mark Ingram it was his first game back from a knee or something like that. So he had actually sat out a couple of games. And it was Marcell Darius’ first game back. He had sat out a couple of games. So early in that game they give it to Mark Ingram and he scores. Next thing Julio Jones scores. You’re talking about first-rounders here.”

Ryan Randall
From Melbourne, Florida, Ryan has lived in Florida since he was three, becoming a sports fan around that age. His passion for journalism rivals his love of sports. Shortly out of high school he covered prep and community sports for his hometown paper in Brevard Country, before moving to Gainesville, where he covered the Gators in the pros as well as prep sports for a few publications. A Telecommunications major at UF, Ryan now interns at Gator Country and ecstatic to showcase his talents for the publication. When not working on stories, Ryan enjoys playing basketball, music, as well as art. Follow Ryan at @_RyanRandall_

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