The Florida Gators held its first spring scrimmage last Thursday before Jim McElwain gave his football team a long weekend to go home for Easter. Florida ran over 100 plays, not including special teams reps, and it was the first chance the coaching staff was able to see how the team responded to live reps in a game like atmosphere.
McElwain met with the media on Monday and gave a report of what he liked and didn’t like from the Gators’ first true scrimmage of spring camp.
Injuries:
Cam Dillard (broken nose), Jordan Scarlett (hamstring), Jalen Tabor (hamstring), Thomas Holley (hip), Ahmad Fulwood (hamstring) and Dre Massey (leg) all missed the scrimmage with injuries. Duke Dawson sustained a thumb injury, but was able to return and is expected to practice on Monday.
Quarterbacks
Luke Del Rio and Austin Appleby took reps with the first team during Thursday’s scrimmage but Del Rio has yet to create separation at the position battle, according to McElwain.
“I think both those older guys had their moments,” McElwain said. “I think both of the young guys really threw the ball well. I was impressed with how they handled a lot of situations. But, you know, no clear-cut one way or the other.”
Receivers
Antonio Callaway’s absence this spring has created opportunities for all of Florida’s receivers. Fulwood and Massey missing the scrimmage meant even more reps for the position group, including some older players that haven’t made much of a splash yet in their career.
McElwain praised Alvin Bailey, who has dealt with a back injury this camp, as well as Ryan Sousa and Chris Thompson. Thompson had just five catches a year ago, but is making the most of his opportunity heading into his senior season.
Running backs catching on
There’s more to playing running back than just running the football. McElwain was pleased with the way the three running backs he had available on Thursday blocked in pass protection and how they caught the ball out of the backfield, something Florida didn’t do a good job of last season.
“Mark Thompson, he started out as a wide receiver and outgrew the position. He’s got real natural hands and that was good to see,” said McElwain. “To see those guys kind of compete and get after it, I was really happy and would be remiss to say that I thought we caught the ball really well in the scrimmage. Even our running backs out of the backfield. I guess I knew this and didn’t really realize it but Mark Thompson started out as a wide receiver and outgrew the position. He’s got real natural hands and that was good to see.”
Additional Notes:
Kicker Eddy Pineiro had a good scrimmage other than mishitting one kickoff that went out of bounds.
Early Enrollee Chauncey Gardner was moved to safety almost immediately and he’s making an impact at the new position, forcing a turnover during Thursday’s scrimmage.
The offense came out early and moved the ball effectively, but did turn the ball over several times. The defense did a good job when the scrimmage went into red zone situations and on third downs. Florida will scrimmage again on Friday this week.