Since things are slow I had a chance to paraphrase what Coach Napier said for those who don't have 18-minutes to watch: Coach Napier in italics . . . Scrimmages are very valuable . . . down and distance and position played real time. Effort for the most part was very good. There was toughness there. Physicality. The challenge in scrimmages is to go play with the basic fundamentals. Communication is important because coaches are on the sidelines. A LOT of different combination of players. No major injuries. Asked about Mazzucca . . . A lot going on behind the scenes. He was injured and had a prior injury that was uncovered. Had surgery a few days ago and this will set him back later in his career. Hope to get him back by training camp. Any carry-over regarding improvement? We're in a different place. Like they're teachers and moving up with their class. They're a lot further along. Bringing in Billy Gonzales . . . Coach has always respected Billy G. Recruited very well and developed players very well. He's a good man, has character, cares for the players and is an expert at what he does. He works hard in recruiting. He has been at Florida and part of very successful teams and knows this place well and everyone can learn from his experience. How does Billy Gonzales fit into the offense and what about the Year 1 to Year 2 jump at Louisiana? Year 1 is a blender. Everything is new. It's personal . . . it's what they do: teach -- coach -- evaluate -- recruit. Most important part is leadership. Concerning Mertz . . . Mertz is in competition for the job. He has been impressive. He's an experienced player. Comfortable. Started 32 games at an established program with high expectations. There's no price you can put on that. His approach since getting to Gainesville has been exactly what Coach would want from a veteran QB. What else was good about the scrimmage? It was good because it wasn't one-sided. Good on both sides. Some younger players were a factor while veterans played well. The most important thing for him is getting the situational work. A lot of good but not quite game ready. QBs . . . They did a lot of good things. Can learn from situations and turnovers they can clean up. Overall, situational football and game management . . . and being on the same page as the play-caller . . . all good. O-Line . . . Probably the hardest thing to assess walking off the field. Could see better if he was standing out there but they're making progress. Impressed with both newcomers and young players. The competition between the O-Line and D-Line is really good now. Good players up front on both sides create a healthy practice environment. They have a ton of confidence in the center-guard group. TE group . . . Caught the ball well, ran after the catch well. Still need to see blocking game. Several made plays and there was a lot of positive from the group. New DC . . . It's going really well. Hot and cold at times today. However, they're playing new combinations of players. They want each player to get in certain reps and to teach each player. Coach Armstrong has hit the ground running. The personnel has improved. Newcomers are making a difference. Any "WOW!" players . . . Boone has shown maturity and Coach likes his practice habits and leadership. Antoine Powell and Princeley . . . Princeley's practice habits have really improved. He's much more consistent. Jason Marshall has been lights out. Shamar James has momentum. He's leaving out a few but those are on the defensive side in particular. What about the NCAA rules initially allowing analysts to work on-the-field, now looks like it won't happen . . . The big thing is the need for prep prior to that. That's huge. For them to spring that right now . . . is that healthy? He doesn't know. It will probably get announced and then programs will have about 6-months to prepare for that. Coach thinks it will ultimately be beneficial for all involved. There has been a lot of size added on the lines, so how would you characterize the size on both sides and are you getting closer to your vision there? There's no question height, weight, verified speed with the 27 new players . . . he wouldn't trade any of them. We have a lot of folks working together as a team in the evaluation process. They use "objective evaluation and team recruitment." So far so good. Zipperer . . . Has a knee injury. Has had surgery and it will be a "significant amount of time for him to return to play."
NICE recap! Thanks! Disappointed in the injuries but nothing you can do about that. Nothing on RBs tho....prolly too early.
It is encouraging that spring practice reports are positive. Let's hope that positivity carries over into the season.
Positive news about Maz. Initially the word was out for the year. If he can be back for fall camp he can work his way back into the line up. Will provide quality depth early.
Well they haven't been all positive since we've learned of two potentially season ending injuries to projected starters.
