Florida’s offense had plenty to celebrate in its season-opening 66-21 win over FAU, but one area stood out above the rest: the perimeter blocking.
It’s one thing to get the football into your playmakers’ hands in space; it’s another thing to block for them. Florida did both at a high level all game long.
“I will tell you the thing I’m most proud of tonight offensively is our perimeter blocking,” head coach Jon Sumrall said postgame. “Our receivers blocked their ass off.”
The Gators completed all six of their screen passes for 76 yards and a touchdown, an average of 12.6 yards per completion.
On the first possession of the game, Philo threw a quick pass to wide receiver Vernell Brown III, who took it 49 yards to the end zone behind a perfect block from Eric Singleton Jr.
The perimeter blocking showed up in the running game, too. On Jadan Baugh’s 61-yard rush in the third quarter, Brown III got enough of his man to pave the way for the star running back.
In the second quarter, Micah Mays Jr. made a block in the end zone that allowed Baugh to flip the field and find the end zone for six.
Mays Jr. came through with another key block on a 25-yard run by Baugh, helping the Gators set up a fourth-and-short that they converted before eventually finding the end zone again. The senior receiver posted the second-highest run-blocking grade of the game.
“The run game we created tonight at times on the perimeter, our receivers were competing to make blocks,” Sumrall said.
It wasn’t just the wide receivers, either. Tight end Amir Jackson had several nice blocks, including one on a screen to Brown III early in the game. He recorded a team-high run-blocking grade of 83.4. Tight end Lactoa Dippre displayed his skill set throughout the game as well, posting a run-blocking grade of 73.6, the third-highest mark on the team.
“That says a lot about who they are,” Sumrall said postgame. “The character of a football player sometimes isn’t revealed by when they’re getting their opportunities production. It’s what you’re doing to serve your team. Those guys I thought really blocked with edge and competitiveness.”
“But that makes it fun. Competing is fun. And so I think it was a fun brand to watch tonight. We need to keep it up,” Sumrall added.
You don’t have to be perfect when blocking for Baugh or any of the Gators’ offensive weapons. But seeing Florida find that level of success on the perimeter is a reflection of this team’s attitude and commitment to winning.
“It was great. I tell them all the time, if I’m out there I’m going to block my butt off because I want to see them guys do great,” Baugh said of the perimeter blocking. “So to see them just do on screen like they did today just felt so great and made me more happy just to see them put what they can do out there.”