The defense dominated Saturday as the Florida Gators put on the pads for the first time this spring. The Gators looked like a poised, veteran defensive unit while Florida’s offense showed some rust and the inexperience that prevails at some positions.
The offensive line is a weak point right now thanks to an injury that will keep Mike Pouncey (right guard) sidelined for the spring and the fact that Marcus Gilbert and Carl Johnson are getting their first starting assignments as tackles. Gilbert started three games at left guard last year while Johnson started the other ten games at that position. With starters Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins graduated, Gilbert and Johnson have moved outside where they are getting their first action at tackle. Taking over at left guard is third year sophomore James Wilson. Filling in for Mike Pouncey at right guard is Maurice Hurt. Redshirt freshman Sam Robey took the snaps at center Saturday as Coach Urban Meyer gave starter Maurkice Pouncey some rest.
Another position that needs some work is fullback while wide receiver is breaking in a lot of new bodies now that Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy are gone and Riley Cooper is playing baseball this spring.
“The receivers, fullback and offensive line … offensive line is a weak point,” Meyer said after Saturday’s three-hour practice that ended with a goal line situational scrimmage. “(Matt) Patchan has got to get back (injured, out until next week) and James Wilson has got to be a player. It’s year three coming up. He had had decent day today. At the tackle position — Marcus Gilbert or Carl Johnson or Patchan or however we do that, it’s not the strength right now.”
At fullback, redshirt freshman T.J. Pridemore, third-year sophomore Steve Wilks and senior Rick Burgess, who played two years of football at Southern Illinois, are trying to lock down some playing time but Meyer says the situation at the position is far from settled.
“There are a couple of positions that we’re going to have to put an APD out and that fullback position now [is one of them],” Meyer said.
At wide receiver, the Gators are breaking in a lot of younger, inexperienced players so progress will be measured slowly at first although David Nelson, Carl Moore and Deonte Thompson have done a good job of getting open and catching the football.
Meyer wasn’t pleased with the overall results of Saturday’s practice but there were some players that caught his eye.
“One thing our staff does and our team does better than anybody is put them in competitive situations as best they can,” he said. “It’s amazing. You know who made the plays today? David Nelson, Aaron Hernandez and Will Hill, the same guys that made them for us in the SEC championship game and the national championship game. I was a little disappointed today in some spots.”
THE PERCY POSITION: Percy Harvin played the inside slot position like no player in college football. He was part running back, part wide receiver and all of the most explosive and dangerous player in the college game. Now that he’s gone to the NFL the question is who will play Harvin’s spot in the lineup. The Gators might find their answer in the fall in incoming freshman Andre Debose, who showed so many of Percy’s abilities while in high school in Sanford, or it might be a case where it’s position by committee.
What made Harvin so valuable was his ability to be a matchup nightmare. When he lined up as a running back he could swing out of the backfield and he was too fast for the linebackers and as a wide receiver, he commanded double coverage at all times. The Gators put Harvin in motion, ran counter plays with him at tailback and ran deep routes with him as a receiver. Replacing him is going to be one tough task.
“Maybe it’s Debose or maybe it’s Jeff Demps or (Chris) Rainey,” Meyer said. “We are not going to give up that position. Obviously I don’t think you just replace Percy but the people that I talk to who try to defend us, there are two issues that they have — Aaron Hernandez and Percy Harvin. Not just that they’re great players but the matchup nightmares that those two players create.”
THIN AT TIGHT END: Hernandez is having an excellent spring as expected. His backup, out of necessity, will be freshman Desmond Parks, nicknamed Bambi by Meyer.
“Des is going to have to play,” Meyer said. “Tate Casey (last year’s backup to Hernandez and goal line tight end) had a purpose last year and he helped us.”
SAFETY IS LOADED: Unlike last year when there were questions galore at the beginning of the season, the safety position is one of the strengths of the team with returning starters Major Wright and Ahmad Black (second team All-SEC, seven interceptions last year) and Will Hill, who picked off three passes last year as the nickel back. Now add to the mix Dorian Munroe, who was scheduled to start last year before he tore an ACL, and super freshman Dee Finley and it’s a position that has quality in terms of depth and playmaking ability.
“The way I look at it we have four starters at safety,” Meyer said. “Dorian was a starter, Will Hill is basically a starter and then you have the two who did start. So you have four starters at safety. The Finley guy is a tough dude. I was real impressed with some of his stuff today.”
Finley missed qualifying by one point last year so he spent the fall at Milford Prep in New York, got qualified and enrolled in school at Florida in January. He’s already made some big plays in just three days of spring football.
Finley is the first player Meyer has placed in a prep school, a situation that has worked out nicely.
“The people up at the prep school were fantastic and (safeties coach) Chuck Heater did a phenomenal job,” Meyer said. Three times a week conversations and monitoring him. Dee comes from a tough situation so that was not easy.”
FAST AND FURIOUS: That’s Deonte Thompson, who is coming on at every practice. Caught a nice deep out today and looked like he was shot out of a cannon after catching a slant in a situational drill. He’s caught just about everything thrown his way and he’s really learned how to use his speed to get some separation.
DEPENDABLE: David Nelson is playing like the David Nelson that came on strong at the end of the season to make five touchdown catches. He says he’s 215 now. It’s obvious he’s gained weight but the biggest thing he’s gained is a sense of practice purpose. He practices hard and has turned himself into a trustworthy and dependable target.
ALWAYS IN THE RIGHT PLACE: You watch Will Hill, who made a spectacular interception of Tebow in the end zone, Dee Finley, Dorian Munroe and Major Wright and you wonder how it is that Ahmad Black can hang with these guys. Then you watch him play and notice that he’s never out of position and always around the football. He made a one-handed interception in situational drills and then came up with an end zone pick of Tebow in the goal line scrimmage at the end of practice. He’s maybe 5-10 and a solid 185, hoping to play next year at 190-195, which isn’t ideal size for a safety but someone is going to have to make a ton of plays to get him off the field in the fall.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Urban Meyer getting on the case of Markihe Anderson, who let a freshman dominate him in Oklahoma drills, “You’ve been here three years! Three years!”
WORKING OUT FOR THE DOLPHINS: Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy worked out privately for the Miami Dolphins Saturday afternoon. Harvin seems to have moved into the top half of everyone’s mock drafts while Murphy seems solid as a high second, low third round pick.
SEEN AT PRACTICE: Last year’s starting tackles Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins were at practice Saturday. Watkins is looking like a late second day pick while Trautwein is probably going to get a free agent contract with someone.
Also seen at practice was former Gator running back Bo Carroll. He’s back in school to finish up his degree. He’s been seen helping Kenny Carter work with the running backs.
TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH:
1. JAYE HOWARD: He’s a legitimate 300 pounds now but still has the explosiveness off the ball that caught the coaching staff’s eye back when he was a 240-pound defensive end in high school. He had a sack and a couple of tackles for loss in a very productive day.
2. FRANKIE HAMMOND: He’s always had the speed but now he’s starting to show that he’s got the hands, too. Very elusive once he catches the ball but he’s got to get stronger to beat the jams at the line of scrimmage. He made a terrific catch of a Johnny Brantley pass along the sideline. Even though the referee ruled he came down out of bounds, he showed terrific hands on the catch.
3. LERENTEE MCCRAY: He showed up last August barely more than 200 pounds. He’s a solid 227 now. He still has the speed but now he’s got the added strength and it’s starting to show. He’s going to be on the field this year. He had a couple of nice plays in the eight-on-eight goal line situation drills.
4. JOHN BOSTIC: He’s got the look of a future middle linebacker and the speed of a weakside guy. Showed terrific closing speed on a couple of toss sweeps today and made a big hit in the middle of the line on an off tackle play. He’s 235 and looks like he will be seeing the field in the fall.
5. EMMANUEL MOODY: He scored on a couple of 12-yard runs in the eight-on-eight situational drills. The second was a toss sweep in which he put on the brakes and then cut back into the vacated space. He had another run where he broke one tackle and then dragged Major Wright another three or four yards. He’s looking like a confident player this year, something we hardly ever saw out of him last year, and showing some toughness too.
6. DESMOND PARKS: Bambi doesn’t know the plays yet and he’s still growing into his body (6-5, 233 and counting) but it’s pretty clear in watching him that he’s got the skills to become a big time player. Had a touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone of a Johnny Brantley pass and looked good in pass catching drills. He needs to gain some weight and strength, which was obvious in the Circle of Life when he got tossed around a bit but there’s no question he’s got talent and speed.
7. DEE FINLEY: Made a one-hand tackle of Emmanuel Moody that really stood out. He plays with great instincts and understands staying in position to make plays. Looked like a tough guy in the Oklahoma drills. It was only the first day in pads so there wasn’t one of his signature hits, but that’s only a matter of time.
8. OMAR HUNTER: He collapsed the pocket a couple of times and got his hands up on one of them to bat down a pass. He’s still not in great football shape, but he’s dropped 30 pounds since he came to UF and he’s starting to look like a real football player. If he gives his best efforts in the offseason conditioning program he should be a contributor in the fall.
9. ADRIAN BUSHELL: He’s looking like a corner that wants to get on the field in the fall. He breaks on the ball nicely and has very good closing speed. He made an interception in the end zone, the third straight day of practice that he’s come up with an interception.
10. JOHN JONES: It’s time for Jones to show up. This is his third year with the program and it’s time to start earning his keep. He had three nice plays Saturday morning and showed some toughness in the Circle of Life. He’s playing like someone that knows that if he doesn’t show up now, he’ll never get on the field at Florida.