The Florida offense put a lot of things on tape against Charleston Southern, some good and some not-so-good. That’s to be expected in the first game of a new scheme.
Here are three big takeaways I had from the opener that show some growth and some opportunities for improvement.
Offensive Line
Even the most optimistic takes on the game had to come with the caveat that the run game didn’t look very good in the first quarter. The offensive line simply wasn’t sharp to begin the contest, though it did get better as the game went along.
The easiest way to go over the issues are to focus in on the carries of Jordan Scarlett. With only 24 yards on six rushes, it was not the debut most imagined for him. He didn’t get more on his runs mainly because of offensive line issues.
On Scarlett’s first carry, Martez Ivey is not able to get off of his combo block quickly enough to get to a linebacker in the second level. The linebacker didn’t make the tackle because Scarlett avoids him, but it delays Scarlett enough for a defensive end and safety to clean up the play. On Scarlett’s second carry, it was Fred Johnson’s turn to be slow coming off of a combo block. Both that and Tyler Jordan getting beat by a defensive tackle keep Scarlett from getting more than two yards.
On the third carry, a CSU defensive lineman stands Johnson up to get the big guard off balance. That allowed the defensive tackle to get into Scarlett’s run lane, forcing him to cut back. Unfortunately for the play, Kemore Gamble doesn’t follow through on his block to the whistle, so the DT who beat Johnson and the DE who stayed with the play longer than Gamble did end up getting the stop.
Scarlett’s fourth run was done in by Ivey taking too wide an angle. The design of the play is for the back to run through the gap between Jordan and Ivey, and Jordan and center Nick Buchanan do a good job of sealing off the right side of that hole. Ivey goes too wide too quickly though, and the defensive end throws Ivey off balance before plugging the hole and making the stop.
I diagrammed these plays for you in a video:
Scarlett’s fifth and final carry of the first quarter is a repeat of the second where Johnson doesn’t get off a combo block quickly enough. It’s not until the second quarter on Scarlett’s final carry where the blocking up front is perfect. He gets seven yards before a deep safety who’s unaccounted for in the blocking scheme makes the tackle.
These are fixable things, and they’ll get plenty of practice at it since Florida only ran bread-and-butter stuff in this first game. These are the kinds of things the line has struggled with for years, though, so it’s unclear how much better these guys will get at these techniques.
Franks Making Decisions
One of the biggest changes from last year was Feleipe Franks making good decisions confidently. He never got flustered, and by Dan Mullen’s accounting, he only made one unambiguously bad read in the whole game.
One good example came from the Gators’ second drive. Charleston Southern tries a little delayed blitz, but Scarlett sees it coming and blocks a linebacker perfectly. I picked this play in part because I wanted to highlight that good pass protection from a running back. Lamical Perine had a good blitz pickup later in the game as well. Seeing those were a welcome sight.
Back to Franks. He is aware of the pressure from the linebacker and steps up in the pocket in case Scarlett isn’t able to finish the block entirely. No one is open downfield, but there is an immense green area in front of him. Rather than trust his arm too much and force something, Franks calmly takes off, gets what he can, and slides before taking a hit. It was exactly the right decision making process from start to finish.
On the very next play, a defensive tackle beats both Buchanan and Johnson with a swim move, though Buchanan stays with it and recovers. Franks doesn’t panic despite the pressure. He takes a step to the side, keeps his eyes downfield, and drops a perfect pass in to Freddie Swain.
Finally in the second quarter, we got to see Franks go through his progressions. At first he looks to his left, but the primary option, who I think is Swain but it’s hard to tell, is covered. He pump fakes to see what the underneath linebacker is going to do, and the linebacker obliges by jumping what would’ve been the passing lane for Swain and then taking a couple steps towards the second option of Trevon Grimes in the flat.
Franks stays with it. He doesn’t get happy feet, and he has time because of the pass blocking that was good all night from the start. Eventually he gets to Gamble, who is wide open in the middle of the field. Last year Franks might’ve stuck on the first option, who appears to be getting open on a double move on the near sideline. That’s a lower percentage throw than hitting the tight end for 12 yards and a first down, though, so Franks does the right thing by taking the easy gain.
We’ll see if this was a function of Franks feeling comfortable because it was only Charleston Southern. He might react differently against a better opponent who actually is able to harass him in the pocket from time to time. For a first game, though, it’s hard to ask for more improvement in the fields of composure and decision making than what we saw from Franks.
Trask’s bad read
Kyle Trask didn’t get to do much in his debut, not the least because the first snap sailed over his head and effectively killed one of the three drives he got. That said, the first play in his third drive may shed some light on why he’s behind Franks on the depth chart.
On this play, Trask will either give it to Iverson Clement to run to the left or keep it and run to the right. Brett Heggie from the right guard spot and Gamble as H-back will pull to the left to be lead blockers for Clement.
Prior to the snap, a safety runs up on the offense’s right side to provide run support. The defense is now unbalanced and heavy on that side. Trask should’ve seen that and recognized that it would mean a clearer path for Clement on the left. Instead, Trask keeps the ball and runs right into defenders.
Trask doesn’t get much help from right tackle Noah Banks, but the unaccounted for and unblocked safety is right in his face anyway.
We had a small sample size of plays for both guys, Trask especially, but on one night at least Franks was making better reads more consistently than Trask did. It’s decision making like that, both in the run game as well as the pass, that had Franks ahead on Saturday.