With spring practice now in the books, Gators’ fans got an inside look at what they can expect from this defense heading into fall camp after Thursday night’s spring game.
This team still has work to do in many aspects, but the energy of Coach Austin Armstrong is contagious, and these players feed off that. The defensive front created problems on the line of scrimmage all night long which made it hard for the offense to succeed at times.
“We just went in tonight, just wanted to cap off this spring,” Tyreak Sapp said on the defensive performance. “As a whole, as a defense on both sides, we had an amazing spring. Even with the new guys they came in and they got acclimated, and we just wanted to be that group, that impactful group. We’ve just been working towards that, and today was a great day for both teams. The D-line as whole, we had a great day and we had guys doing great things. So, I think that this is just a great step towards moving on to the fall.”
Coach Armstrong does a great job of putting his players in the best position to succeed on the field. The scheme suits their traits and allows the defense to play freely.
“Armstrong does have a lot of great calls, and he understands how to play us to our ability, and he helps us make plays, he puts us in positions of course. But then he lets us be ourselves too, lets us be what you were recruited to be, what they brought you here for,” Sapp said on Armstrong.
It was clear that Coach Armstrong was in full control of the defense with the number of unique scheme calls made in the spring game.
Both Coach Billy Napier and Coach Armstrong have noticed better execution from the group in recent weeks which allows Armstrong to mix things up defensively.
“I think we did pressure tonight,” Napier said on the defense. “I think that’s the personality and temperament of the play callers. That’s their decision. It’s one thing good about this game is you’ve got four guys calling plays, so it creates opportunities. But, yeah, there is some agreement in terms of the number of variables that you present. I mean, offensively, small menu for both sides, and certainly the same on defense. It’s going to be more about the execution of the call than the call. I think tonight was a good indication of that.”
Throughout spring practice, multiple newcomers have made lasting impressions early on. Recent Michigan linebacker transfer Deuce Spurlock was everywhere Thursday night leading the team with eight total tackles (one solo) and one quarterback hurry.
The Gators finished the night with a total of 11 quarterback hurries recorded by ten different players. Junior defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen led the team with two.
“Obviously they’re going to have things as far as to clean up with the playbook, but as far as their athleticism, and their want to, and their will to play football, I don’t have any problems,” Sapp said on the newcomers. “There’s no question that they are some hungry guys that are ready to go. You get to know the playbook a little bit more, you get more experience playing in these types of environments and just understanding the more ins and outs of the game as a player in this system then you’ll see bigger improvement and bigger steps in playmaking.”
The level of competition these players create at practice has brought the best out of each room. Coach Napier has kept a close eye on the defense with so many players fighting for spots.
“We’ve been observing that group,” Napier said. “I think that there’s talent there, but there’s also — it creates competition and that dynamic, that new energy, 27 new scholarship players. So, I think they not only bring talent and upgrade their roster, but they also create competition and urgency in each room, and they’re making the players around them better because they’ve got to fend for themselves and they’re competing for a spot and playing time. I don’t think there’s any question anybody watching that game could see that this group of newcomers is going to make our team better.”
As we approach fall camp, it’ll be interesting to see how this group continues to grow and adapt to different rush and blitz schemes implemented by Coach Armstrong.
With what we were able to gather from the spring game, this defense clearly has the potential to see major improvement in 2023.