The Under Armour game will take place on Friday in St. Petersburg, Florida but for the last four days the players have been participating in practices at Disney’s World Wide of Sports.
A number of Florida targets and also one of the Gators’ commits were in action and Gator Country.com was there to watch practices.
With practices done GC is going to recap everything happened at practices as well as give everyone our opinion on how each of the Gators’ prospects performed.
Cowart was the MAN
Defensive end Byron Cowart was by far the best player during practices this past week as he dominated pretty much every day and every drill. Cowart really stood out during one-on-one drills where he was going one-on-one with offensive linemen. Cowart was using his quick speed to get off the line but was also strong enough to get off of a block if the tackle engaged him.
The one thing that stood out to me the most for Cowart was his leadership and how vocal he was with getting his teammates fired up for practices. Cowart was seen multiple times yelling and screaming congratulations when his teammates would make plays.
Francois stood out
Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois in my opinion had the best week of practice as far as bringing it everyday. Francois was very consistent in his throws and showed off his great footwork for a quarterback. Francois throws a very good ball and continued to do that this week despite the bad conditions.
Linebackers in the game
Linebacker Jeffrey Holland showed, in my opinion, why he should be recruited as a BUCK or a hybrid defensive end in college. Holland is explosive off the line of scrimmage but he just isn’t very good in coverage. Holland is more physical then I expected and he looks like he is leaning out in a good way. Holland looks to have shed some baby fat and added muscle since I last saw him in person at Friday Night Lights.
Linebacker Adonis Thomas was the most impressive linebacker size wise and also showed good coverage skills. Thomas is athletic and quick for a guy his size and he showed me that he can play any of the linebacker positions in college. I could see Thomas playing the WILL linebacker in college.
Linebacker Tevon Coney was very physical this week and he showed me good coverage skills. Coney’s coverage skills were something that I had wondered about all year.
Florida commit earns respect
Florida offensive line commit Tyler Jordan is often overlooked as a prospect but he progressed every day during practice. Jordan struggled on Monday but as the week progressed he started to hold his own. Jordan is adjusting to playing center so this is a good sign for both he and Florida. Jordan also had a little skirmish with defensive tackle Daron Payne on Wednesday and Jordan wasn’t backing down from it. You love to see a little bit of an edge and attitude from an offensive lineman.
St. Louis performs well
Offensive lineman Tyree St. Louis arrived on Tuesday and instantly made his presences known. St. Louis is very talented and athletic and his upside is very high as he’s new to the game. St. Louis is also very coachable and was taking what he learned back to the field this week. Overall St. Louis was one of the top guys there but my biggest question is whether or not St. Louis grows into a guard or stays a tackle.
This and that
Defensive tackle Daylon Mack is a monster who eats offensive linemen for lunch. Mack is going to be a force at the next level.
Clemson athlete commit Ray-Ray McCloud had a solid week but didn’t see a ton of action from the slot receiver position. During drills McCloud flashed his quickness and soft hands but overall McCloud didn’t get a lot of balls thrown his way. McCloud is a guy that you sign and just figure out where to play him once he gets on campus.
Good buzz about Florida
Overall I will say that there was a lot of positive buzz about head coach Jim McElwain and the staff he’s putting together. I talked to several people and players and the overall impression and thoughts I got where that Florida would finish strong in the Class of 2015.
Good stuff ! Spivey, where do we stand with damien harris now with the coaching hires. You have to think his interest in bama is due to guys like ingram, richardson, and lacy and we just got the guy who coached them into the league. We also got coach nuss which harris had originally committed to while at Michigan. Also, has UF made up any ground with campbell since the hiring of Nuss and the Phillips commitment to fsu? Thanks
Harris isn’t interested in Florida and he had already committed to Michigan when Nuss got there. GeorgeCampbell was the same way and he’s early enrolling at FSU next week.