Spring Practice Observations

Offensive Observations

  • Ahmad Fulwood beat walk-on Ben Peacock on a fly route. Driskel put the ball right on the money for the biggest passing play of the day.
  • Chris Thompson was used mainly on special teams last year but the sophomore had a very nice practice today. Thompson looked good on day one but stepped up even more for practice No. 2.
  • Tevin Westbrook also put together another nice practice. Westbrook led the tight ends with three receptions for 30 yards last season and looks to have improved his hands dramatically. Westbrook is being used both his his hand in the ground as well as being split wide and has caught everything thrown his way the past two practices.
  • Quinton Dunbar continues to lock down the No. 1 spot at receiver. Dunbar doesn’t do anything overtly impressive but he is consistent and reliable.
  • The starting offensive line still appears to be (left-to-right): D.J. Humphries, Trip Thurman, Max Garcia, Tyler Moore, Chaz Green. Trenton Brown is working closely behind Green at right tackle and Rod Johnson is right behind Thurman at guard.
  • Jeff

Defensive Observations

  • True freshman Jalen Tabor had a very good practice. In 1-on-1 drills between the receivers and defensive backs, Tabor made a great play to breakup a pass intended for Quinton Dunbar. Tabor was able to go up and swat the ball away at its highest point.
  • Vernon Hargreaves makes everything he does look easy. He’s so fluid in positional drills and stand out no mater what he is doing on the field.
  • It was nice to watch and really pay attention to how Will Muschamp was working with the safeties today. He was particularly hard on Marcell Harris during one rep but he really knows what he’s talking about when working with the safety group.
  • Jabari Gorman and Marcus Maye are holding down the starting safety spots. Keanu Neal did not participate today after tweaking a hamstring injury yesterday.
  • Jalen Tabor and Vernon Hargreaves appear to be ahead and the likely starters at cornerback but Duke Dawson has been getting a lot of reps as well. Dawson has played both nickel and cornerback while Tabor is working strictly outside.
  • Nick Washington will play all over the secondary but has been mainly working with the safeties.
  • Joey Ivie, Caleb Brantley and Jay-nard Bostwick are all getting a lot of work with the first team.

Punting Observations

  • At the end of practice the punters took turns sending punts down the field as the team worked on punt blocking and punt coverage.
  • Kyle Christy looked better today than he did at any point of the season last year. Christy was booming punts well over 50-yards down the field and high. I overheard players talking about Christy, noting that they haven’t seen him look that good in a long time.
  • Johnny Townsend struggled to keep up with Christy today. Townsend sent some low knuckle balls down the field today and didn’t have anywhere near the distance that Christy did.
Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC