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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 10:37:35 GMT -5
Thomas Holley was no longer a DT. He dropped from 320 to 260 to see if he could play at DE. His chronically injured hip wouldn't let him do that as he had to drop out of spring practice. I anticipated the medical hardship. Holley had NFL written all over him coming out of high school. I really feel sorry for him.
Andrew Ivie came in with the reputation that he was going to be bigger and better than his now senior brother Joey. I noticed in the spring that Andrew had dropped his weight from 300 to 277 in the spring. I was curious and surprised, but nothing had been said by anybody about Andrew's injuries being serious enough to end his football career. After the 15 season, I expected Andrew to be ready to rock and roll at 300 this season. Yes, I'm surprised by the announcement.
UF is thin at DT by one player, Andrew Ivie. However, UF has played and won with less at DT in the past. UF has one player who I think will grow into a DT, Jackie Polite 6'2"/261, but he may not get there this season if he ever does. I remember Ray McDonald coming in at 250, but he was 295 when he went on to a successful career with the 49ers. This is the way it looks right now at DT heading into preseason camp:
Caleb Brantley RJR 6'2"/300 - He can be as good as anyone in the country according to Mac and Collins - needs to stay in his lane. Taven Bryan RSO 6'5"/293 - One of the strongest players on the team. I've heard he's bigger than 293. Khairi Clark RSO 6'2"/326 -Mac said he had a good spring. I'm expecting a breakout season in 16. Joey Ivie SR 6'3"/290 - UF's most experienced DT. He missed the last few games including FSU last season due to injury, but he's healthy and ready to go now. CeCe Jefferson SO 6'1"/275 - CeCe has been groomed to played the Jonathan Bullard role playing both inside and outside. He's a special talent.
I felt good about DT until the surprise Andrew Ivie announcement today. I'd much rather see UF rotating 6 DTs instead of 5.
I think you can get by with 5, assuming all those guys can give you quality minutes. One injury though and it could get ugly. I agree with you that you can get by with 5 in most seasons, but 4 gets shaky due to injuries. The 5 players listed have played and all will give quality minutes. UF also has a couple of 260-270 SDEs that can play rush DT in passing situations, but you have to be able to stop the run in the SEC.
I'll give you two examples that stand out to me where coming into the season 4 didn't work out yet 6 did:
1. In 2001, UF came in with 4 rotating DTs. By the end of the season, UF was down to 3 due to injury. That was the year UT at UF was played in December because of Hurricane delay. The vols came into The Swamp with a potent running game. The Gators D rotating 3 DTs did good in the first half, but UT ran over the Gators in the second half on the way to a 32-29 win. Those 3 DTs were dragging and beat by the end of the game. That was a very good Gator team that would have had one less loss had the UT game been played in September. That team proved to me that you need 5 DTs minimum and 6 DTs is perfect.
2. In 2008, UF came in with 6 rotating DTs. By the end of the season, UF played Oklahoma using 4 DTs that were the 1s and 3s on the depth chart coming into the season. The UF D stood tall and shutdown the best offense in the 2008 season. Having 6 DTs coming in made all the difference with UF having 2 out with injuries by the end of the season.
You can get by with 5, but I don't think you can afford to have more than 1 out with injury at a time. Rotating 4 actually works the best, but you can't start the season with that as somebody is going to get injured, almost always happens.
Charley Pell had it right, "God smiles on teams with good DTs." Give me 6 good DTs coming into a season and I can accurately predict that team will be awfully tough to beat defensively.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 11:11:42 GMT -5
Defensive report from UF media day on 8/3 - This from SEC Country:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Six defensive starters from Florida’s 2015 lineup are in NFL training camps this month, a seemingly exceptional loss of talent for any team to overcome.
And yet it doesn’t appear that way at all for these Gators.
Certainly not in listening to the comments of the players and coaches Wednesday during the team’s media day, but also not in looking at the legitimate potential of the guys slotted to plug those holes.
After holding opponents to 18.3 points per game last season — 11th best in the country — there’s plenty of reason to believe there might not be any drop-off for the Florida defense in 2016 despite its retooled lineup.
“The big thing is, we’ve talked about we don’t want to just start new,” Gators defensive coordinator Geoff Collins said on the eve of the team’s first preseason practice. “We need to build on where we were last year playing at a high level of defense and just bring these guys along and figure out which guys are really going to come in, step up and contribute in a big way for us. I think our guys have really embraced that. They have high standards for how we play defense and it’s not just a Jarrad Davis, Teez (Jalen Tabor); it’s all of them.
“This is how we play defense at the University of Florida. We have a lot of pride. We have an edge. We have a certain swagger that we play with and we want to bring those guys along and get them in play so they can be a part of that.”
Collins has earned his place as one of the highest-paid defensive coordinators in the country, and that comes with an expectation that there indeed won’t be a drop-off from year to year.
Even after losing a pair of first-round NFL draft picks in star cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III and safety Keanu Neal, along with fellow drafted players in defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard (third round), linebacker Antonio Morrison (fourth round) and defensive end Alex McAlister (seventh round) and an undrafted free agent in nickelback Brian Poole making an impact in Atlanta Falcons camp.
From the moment Collins arrived at Florida from Mississippi State after the 2014 season, building that needed depth has been paramount to his plan for the Gators.
“We have got some guys. The key is going (to be getting) those other guys in place, so you have 24 SEC players that can contribute and roll throughout a game in this league, and as we all know, the tempo keeps increasing from offenses across the country, offenses across the league,” he said.
“So the times of having 11 strong are long gone. You need to have 18, 22, 24 guys that you can roll through and play at a high level.”
Which means even with their high-profile personnel losses from last season, the Gators return plenty of top-end talent on the defensive side.
And confidence — no shortage of that either.
“I think we’ll be fine — more than fine really,” redshirt-junior linebacker Alex Anzalone said before listing off the guys primed to step into bigger roles.
Said Tabor, one of the top returning cornerbacks in the country, “It’s always hard when you’ve got to replace NFL talent. … The only way to replace NFL talent is to have NFL talent on your team and I feel like we (have) that.”
At cornerback, the Gators will replace Hargreaves and form another potent combo with junior Quincy Wilson — who made two interceptions last year and shined brightest in shutting down Ole Miss star receiver Laquon Treadwell — pairing with Tabor.
Fifth-year senior Marcus Maye returns at free safety after earning All-American honors from several media outlets last season, when he racked up 82 tackles, five forced fumbles and two interceptions.
He’ll likely pair with redshirt-junior safety Nick Washington, though Collins is also high on the progress made by redshirt-junior Marcell Harris and the potential of true freshman Chauncey Gardner. And junior Duke Dawson, who earned significant playing time a year ago, looks set at nickel.
Like Maye, the Gators got a boost when senior linebacker Jarrad Davis opted to return for his final season. He was second on the team with 98 tackles, third with 11 tackles for loss and tied for first with seven quarterback hurries.
He’ll partner with Anzalone, who says he’s back to full strength after missing all but two games last season with a shoulder injury. Coaches and teammates felt Anzalone could have been a breakout performer last year and are just as high about his potential this fall if he can stay on the field.
And the defensive line is stacked with returning starters in fifth-year senior Bryan Cox Jr. (10.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks in 2015), redshirt-junior Caleb Brantley (6.5/3) and senior Joey Ivie IV (4/3.5). Sophomore CeCe Jefferson (8.5/3.5) also started four games last season, played in all 14 and made the SEC Coaches All-Freshman Team.
Brantley, in particular, drew considerable praise from Collins on Wednesday, as he moves from the nose tackle to the 3-technique to replace Bullard.
“(The) defensive staff — and I think the coaching staff as a whole — feel Caleb could be as dominant a defensive lineman as there is in the country,” Collins said.
Again, confidence wasn’t lacking from the Gators as they prepare to build off a season in which they held eight opponents to 14 points or less. A 41-7 loss to Michigan in the Citrus Bowl didn’t help the overall numbers, but Florida still ranked eighth nationally in total defense while holding teams to an average of 310.2 yards per game.
“At a place like this, we’ve got great coaching and guys behind us are just as good as the guys that are in the game, so I don’t feel like there will be any drop-off,” Wilson said.
Added Davis: “We set a very high bar last year for ourselves, and we’re ready to do it again — we’re ready to go higher.”
Head coach Jim McElwain made special mention of Davis and Maye for helping to bridge the standard set last year and convey that to the younger players who will be stepping into bigger roles.
Collins hit on that too, spreading that responsibility out to all the veteran defensive players.
“The big thing for us, each position group that you look at on our defense, there are some guys, one or two at each position, that could be in the conversation for (being) as good of a player at their position (as there is) in the country, SEC, nationally.
“But the big thing for us is those guys developing the leadership ability to get some of the other guys to come with them so they can contribute.”
Davis said he chose to return for his final season instead of potentially joining those six former defensive teammates in the pro ranks this year because he wanted to be part of something special, and he’s embraced the leadership position that comes with that.
Really, though, it hasn’t been a hard sell, he said.
“With anything that you’re trying to convince anybody to do or to buy or sell or whatever, you have to get them to understand that this is something that they want. So we never tried to force it on them,” Davis said of bringing along the younger players on the defense.
“We just showed them with our play, with our dedication, with our passion that we have each and every time we step on the field, how we approach the weight room, how we approach the meeting rooms, everything. Those guys were able to see just how important this is to us and just how good that we can be if we just put that time in, and those guys bought in and bought in pretty quick.”
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 11:35:59 GMT -5
Offense report from UF media day on 8/3 - This from SEC Country:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Jim McElwain has a high expectation level for his offense, one the Gators didn’t come close to reaching in 2015.
Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier isn’t sugar coating it, either.
“We struggled a lot,” he said Wednesday. “When you look at it, let’s be honest about it.”
Statistically, UF had the third-worst offensive unit in the SEC last year and ranked 111th nationally in total offense. Despite those struggles, there’s a strong sense of offensive optimism coming from Florida coaches and players.
“At times, you saw five true freshmen and you saw guys competing, maybe in situations that weren’t ideal,” Nussmeier said. “They never backed down. They fought, they competed and that’s how you develop a championship-caliber team.”
As bad as things got for the Gators near the end of the season, there were positives to build on.
A young offensive line received valuable playing time. Kelvin Taylor eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards. Antonio Callaway set multiple school records.
Florida now has more weapons at wideout and a revamped quarterback group with pro-style passers suited for Nussmeier’s system. Despite losing Taylor, McElwain called running back the No. 1 team strength.
“We’ve got some really quality guys there that will compete, and I’m looking forward to see how that competition kind of comes out,” McElwain said of the backs. “I think the experience we developed up front is going to be very helpful.
“And yet, the parts around it, it’ll be interesting to see which one of these receivers kind of grows up early, and there’s a lot of talent to choose from. But I see it drastically much better in operations and getting it to the open guys.”
Florida’s offensive personnel appears to be better across the board, but unknowns still remain and the influx of new players have to prove themselves on Saturdays. For the Gators to be more productive, McElwain and Nussmeier pointed to several areas that need improvement.
“We want to be a situationally good offense,” Nussmeier said. “You look at things that really hurt us last year: Lost-yardage plays. Obviously the sacks are an alarming stat that stands out to you now.
“We have to become a better red-zone team. Obviously we had challenges there. Got to become a better third-down team. Those special situations are the areas we’ve really got to grow in as a group.”
Said McElwain: “I look at it as efficiency in staying on the field. Obviously being successful keeping your defense off the field by prolonging series. … The three-and-outs just kill you. And ultimately, the production of points, when you’re down inside that score area, is something that to me kind of defines it.”
UF ranked 124th in red-zone offense last season, but cornerback Jalen “Teez” Tabor believes the issue has been fixed.
“We were down there a lot (inside the 20), we just couldn’t get three,” Tabor said. “So it’s not just the offense … we just didn’t finish the drive. If we can get three in a lot of those games, it’s a different ballgame.
“We’ve got a kicker now (Eddy Pineiro). That’s going to be looked at as offense. When they get three, they’re going to say the offense is doing better, but really it’s just the kicking game.”
Regardless of how the Gators score points, Nussmeier is confident it will happen more often in 2016.
“Whatever you have to do on offense to win, that’s what you want to be,” Nussmeier said. “Obviously you want to score as many points and you want to have the statistical numbers and all that. But at the end of the day, sometimes you’ve got to play to the strength of your team.
“This group has worked extremely hard. To see the growth they have made over the last year, I’m really, really excited about where they are as we go into camp.”
Zach Abolverdi is the Florida beat writer for SEC Country and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 11:56:09 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 15:04:44 GMT -5
Johnny Townsend's brother Tommy transferred to UF from UT. If Johnny goes pro after this season, Tommy will get 3 seasons like Johnny did. If not, Tommy will have to settle for two seasons. This from SEC Country:
It looks like the Florida and Tennessee rivalry just added another layer of intrigue.
Florida updated its roster and former Volunteer punter Tommy Townsend is now a member of the Florida Gators.
Townsend redshirted in his freshman season at Tennessee. Townsend is also the brother of current Gator punter Johnny Townsend. Johnny was named to the Ray Guy Award preseason watch list. Tommy was one of the top collegiate punters in the class of 2015. Tennessee’s Trevor Daniel was also a member of the Ray Guy Award watch list.
Both brothers played at Boone High School in Orlando, Fla.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 15:14:24 GMT -5
The updated roster is out. There are changes aplenty:
floridagators.com/roster.aspx?path=football
The big one is it looks like CeCe Jefferson is staying full time at SDE as he dropped from 275 to 262. He isn't playing inside at that weight. Mac said the player that is going to play the Jonathan Bullard role is Caleb Brantley. He's down to 297 from 300 and he is cat quick for his size.
I'll go over other changes later, but the news on CeCe Jefferson has officially raised red flags of concern for me at DT.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 17:47:17 GMT -5
The good news today - nobody got hurt on the first day of practice.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2016 8:31:49 GMT -5
Khairi Clark dropped from 326 to 319. I'm expecting a breakout season for him. Mac said he had a good summer.
Caleb Brantley dropped from 300 to 297. Mac is now saying Brantley will play the Jonathan Bullard role.
Joey Ivie went up to 301 from 290. Ivie looked like a chiseled rock in a picture I saw yesterday.
Taven Bryan was a no change at 293.
CeCe Jefferson dropped from 275 to 261. My view of Jefferson is as a DE only at that size.
Jachai Polite went up to 271 from 261. As a true freshman, I think he's well on his way to growing into a DT; however, true freshman rarely contribute inside at DT and I doubt he does so in 16.
Bryan Cox went up to 269 from 260. Cox is a heckuva an athlete playing SDE, coming into block for the OL in jumbo blocking packages, and playing FB on the goal line. He could fill an inside role on the DL, but he's a senior now and has never played inside.
Bottom line is UF is down to 4 ready to play DTs coming into the season, see my comment on 4 DTs on the 2001 team in the above post to Trn. IMO, 4 DTs leaves no margin for injuries. It will be interesting to see what type of formations the Gators run to cover the deficiency at DT. As I told Trn yesterday, I think the most successful teams start the season with 5 DTs minimum and 6 DTs is perfect.
UF has 2 DTs already in the 17 class. One is a JUCO ready to go player who reports in January. The JUCO replaces SR Joey Ivie. You have to presume Caleb Brantley will bolt to the NFL after this season. Jachai Polite is the likely DT to replace Brantley after a year of experience and growth. Besides Polite, I keep seeing that Luke Ancrum, 6'5"/262 RFR, is a hopeful to grow into DT, but he still has far to go to be of any assistance inside in 17 and it looks more like 18, if then. UF is chasing at least one more DT, maybe 2, in the 17 class. I'm glad to see the staff is working to fix the DT shortage before 17.
Unless something new develops at DT, I may have to rethink my prediction that UF is going to win the SEC East.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2016 12:22:14 GMT -5
ESPN didn't report anything that I didn't expect on Treon Harris and Antonio Callaway. Huntley Johnson responded exactly as I thought he should have at this time. It'll come to a head soon enough now that it is out in the open. I'm guessing that UF is aware of the contents of the 1,000 pages on the case or Callaway wouldn't be practicing with the team as I write this.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2016 7:26:27 GMT -5
Good article on Alex Anzalone from SEC Country - If he stays healthy, we won't miss Antonio Morrison any at all. Anzalone was granted an extra year of eligibility after playing less than 2 games last season. He is a redshirt junior instead of being a senior:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Shortly after Florida coach Jim McElwain had said he would limit Alex Anzalone as a precaution through preseason camp, the redshirt junior linebacker made certain to clarify what that meant.
“I don’t think it’s as much about what I can and can’t do; I think probably he’s talking about the amount of reps and stuff like that,” Anzalone said Wednesday at Gators media day. “I can hit. I’m full go. I’ve been full go for a while, before spring, but they took that same approach for spring and same approach now.
“They just want me to play in some games,” he added with a laugh.
Indeed, it’s easy to understand why the Florida coaching staff would want to take every precaution with the talented linebacker after his promising 2015 season was derailed in the second game by a shoulder injury.
A highly-coveted 4-star recruit out of Wyomissing, Pa., who drew interest from a slew of premier programs and ultimately changed his commitment from Notre Dame to Florida, Anzalone has battled injuries since arriving in Gainesville — including a torn labrum in his shoulder back in the spring of 2013 prior to his freshman season.
But McElwain, too, is confident that he and Florida fans alike might finally get to see the full potential of what the 6-foot-3, 241-pound middle linebacker can do this season.
“You know, all indications on the strength numbers, on the things you do to measure how tight those things are — that’s the medical term, how tight they are — everything says it’s stronger than it’s ever been on both of them. So that’s a good thing,” McElwain said Wednesday.
“You know, you can never predict what can happen. But obviously having him on this football team is huge, and (we) expect big things out of him.”
Defensive coordinator Geoff Collins went a step further.
“I think going into last preseason or going into the season last year, there was debate or even conversation that he might be one of the best players on our football team,” Collins said. “I think through the first two games, he showed that. He was all over the field making plays, making calls. He makes the people around him better.”
Anzalone says those two games he did play at the start of last season serve as a “little preview” of what he hopes to do this fall.
He had logged five tackles in the season-opening win over New Mexico State before injuring the shoulder the next week against East Carolina.
He stresses it wasn’t a serious injury, though — at least nothing like the torn labrum from a couple years earlier. As he felt his strength coming back in the weight room this offseason, specifically on overhead lifts that depended on that shoulder, he knew he was going to be ready to make an impact this year.
And he wants to make clear that he doesn’t expect to be at any extra risk for re-injury.
“I don’t want to get technical, but my shoulder is structurally perfect. It wasn’t before,” he said. “It’s not something that was a big injury last year. It was just something that was small and just something had to get fixed and (then) taking the precaution route. It was a really short recovery, but Coach Mac and (linebackers coach Randy) Shannon decided to take the cautious route and not put me at any further risk of injury.”
Anzalone expressed his appreciation for the coaches’ caution and for looking out for his long-term well-being, but that didn’t make it easy to sit and watch as his expected breakout season was effectively sidelined.
“You can imagine what it felt like,” he said.
Game days were the worst, of course.
“Just knowing that they’re going to be playing Ole Miss in front of 90,000 fans and I can’t be out there with them. I know I was supposed to be. Those times were tough, but I never really got too low,” he said. “I didn’t miss one meeting, didn’t get down on myself and miss a workout or anything like that.”
That left a big impression on the new coaching staff.
Although Collins, in his first season with the Gators, couldn’t evaluate Anzalone as a player beyond those first two games and what he had seen in the preseason, he was learning plenty about him nonetheless as the fall progressed.
And that also plays into his excitement to have the middle linebacker now back in a full capacity.
“There are some things about Alex you guys might not have seen, but during the season, home games, whenever we would be on the sideline during a timeout or between quarters, change of possession, whatever, Alex Anzalone was right there in the middle talking to the guys, encouraging the guys,” Collins said. “At times, in the past places I’ve been, some of the guys might not would have listened to someone who is not playing. But Anzalone has such great respect from his teammates, such great respect from his coaches; they embraced him and listened to him and kind of were urged on (by) him.”
Those teammates are just as eager to see what he can do now, as well.
Florida lost its leading tackler in Antonio Morrison, who is now with the Indianapolis Colts, but if Anzalone is indeed the player everybody expects him to be, if he can indeed fulfill the potential of the guy who was so coveted coming out of high school in Pennsylvania a few years ago — and, again, if he can stay healthy — then the Gators have a ready-made solution to filling that void.
“This is a guy right here that’s going to light it up this year. I hope you guys are ready to see what he’s going to do,” senior linebacker Jarrad Davis said Wednesday, seated next to Anzalone at the team’s media day. “Last year, he was really set to do some big things. He went down with an injury, but I’m really excited to see what he’s going to do. He’s going to make my job a lot easier and I’m going to make his job a lot easier as well.”
Said junior cornerback Quincy Wilson: “He’s going to be real good for us. I remember last year around this time we were excited about him. He just got a full year to get back right so we’re real excited about him.”
As for Anzalone’s own expectations, well, he’s not setting any specific goals for himself. He just wants to win.
And as much as anything right now, he just wants to get back on the field again.
“I’m honestly really excited. Sept. 3 really can’t come soon enough,” he said. “And really every day, I just try to attack every day and not take anything for granted, even if I’m tired. Eighth practice of camps, I’m exhausted, but this could be all gone in a second. A lot of people don’t appreciate that and it’s just a lesson I definitely learned.”
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2016 10:23:24 GMT -5
Recruiting update from Zach A. at SEC Country:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Six months away from signing day, Florida is close to meeting its major needs in the 2017 class.
Coming into this cycle, the priorities for UF were cornerback, defensive tackle, tight end, linebacker and offensive line. The Gators have hit their needs at tight end with Saturday’s commitment of Zech Byrd and Kemore Gamble already in the fold.
By the end of this month, they also could be done at two more positions. A pair of Florida’s top cornerback targets have decision dates set for Aug. 17 (Brad Stewart) and Aug. 26 (Shawn Davis). Following a recent weekend trip to UF, 4-star defensive tackle Fred Hansard plans to decide any day now.
Those additions would give the Gators four cornerbacks and three defensive tackles in their class. They could use a third linebacker and a couple more offensive linemen, which they’ll likely land, but the aforementioned positions (CB, DT, TE) are the biggest priorities this year.
With 14 commitments and more scholarships available after the team’s latest attrition, Florida is able to add about eight or nine additional recruits to the class. Expect those spots to be filled with a wide receiver, two more O-linemen, another defensive tackle and end, a linebacker, two more cornerbacks and a safety.
For fans who care about star ratings and recruiting rankings, the Gators are doing well in both areas. Nine of their 14 commits are rated 4-star recruits by at least two recruiting services, an improvement from where last year’s class was at this time.
Of the Gators’ five consensus 3-star commits, four of them hold offers from at least two of these schools — Alabama, Florida State, Ole Miss and South Carolina. Houston, who committed at Friday Night Lights, has Auburn, Clemson, LSU, Michigan and Tennessee as well. He is also Florida’s only in-state pledge with offers from both FSU and Miami.
UF coach Jim McElwain and his staff made in-state recruiting the “first and foremost” priority in this cycle, and the results have been impressive thus far.
Excluding three IMG Academy players, none of whom are from Florida, the Gators have the state’s No. 1 quarterback, running back, tight end and strongside defensive end. They also have the No. 4 cornerback, No. 5 wide receiver and No. 5 offensive tackle in the Sunshine State.
UF has continued expanding its national recruiting footprint as well, landing two prospects from Alabama (both with Crimson Tide offers) and California cornerback Elijah Blades, who recently picked up an offer from Southern Cal.
So the Gators are not only meeting needs, but they’re doing it with quality recruits who are wanted by other big-time programs.
Gators commit attends Florida practice
One of those players at a position of need is Jordon Scott, a 3-star defensive tackle who committed to UF over the Seminoles on May 25.
He visited Florida shortly after his decision and got an exclusive look at the new academic center during his trip.
Scott was scheduled to attend Friday Night Lights last month, but his ride fell through. Instead, the 6-foot-1, 350-pound prospect made it to Gainesville on Saturday.
He was the only recruit on campus and spent several hours around the team, eating lunch with players and watching practice in the evening. Scott came away feeling completely sold on his college decision.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2016 14:01:58 GMT -5
The case against Antonio Callaway is all about a future civil suit by the title IX claimant. This from SEC Country:
The sexual assault accusations levied against Florida star receiver Antonio Callaway and former teammate Treon Harris have warranted a ton of attention in recent days, but according to Florida state’s attorney William Cervone, the evidence presented in the Title IX case is not nearly enough to warrant criminal charges.
That is at least in part because the accuser reported the incident to Florida’s student conduct office, and not university or Gainesville law enforcement.
“Based on what I knew then, I didn’t think there was even a remote possibility of criminal charges. It would have been totally un-prosecutable based on the facts given to me. It would have never risen to sexual assault or sexual battery,” Cervone said to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach.
Late last week, a female University of Florida student who accused both players of sexual assault boycotted the school hearing on the matter because, per ESPN, a booster was overseeing the case. The man in question — 68-year-old Florida law grad Jake Schickel — was a former Gators track and field athlete who contributed upwards of $4,800 to the school’s football program in the 2014-15 academic year.
On Friday, the accuser’s attorney disputing the decision to appoint Schickel, to which Callaway’s attorney and UF have responded.
Schlabach also reports that Callaway, who has been allowed to resume practicing with the Gators, should receive a decision regarding his case “in the near future.” He has yet to be fully reinstated, meaning his playing status for the season opener and beyond remains up in the air. Harris has transferred from Florida.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2016 7:25:18 GMT -5
If CeCe Jefferson can play the 3 and 5 techniques at 6'1"/267 because he's strong, has good hands and first step, and was a talented recruit, I don't see why we can't do the same with Jachai Polite at 6'2"/272 because he's strong, has good hands and first step, and was a talented recruit. Jefferson played as a true freshman and I'm guessing Polite will too. Hopefully, the two of them combined can give us the production inside Jonathan Bullard gave us last season. Yeah, I know, I'm looking for a ray of sunshine. My biggest concern coming into the season is Hurd, Fournette, Chubb, and Cook gashing us up the middle, the coaches cheating the safeties up to help stop the run, and we get beat deep over the top enough to lose games. To me, it's like deciding if you want to die slowly or die quickly.
Mac's Monday presser from SEC Country:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If anybody was hoping for a formal resolution on Florida’s quarterback competition anytime soon, well, it doesn’t seem like that is in the works.
Gators head coach Jim McElwain was asked Monday after practice if it was too early to assume that redshirt-sophomore Luke Del Rio will be the starter.
“Yeah, I think so. Let’s see, we’ve had two practices in underwear, two practices in some shoulder pads and one in a torrential downpour. So, yeah I don’t think it’s there,” McElwain said. “I’d say the last two practices he made a couple mistakes that were unacceptable for the way that we expect the position to be played. And so, we’ve got a ways to go. Good thing we’ve got practice.”
Del Rio is competing with Austin Appleby, a graduate transfer from Purdue, for the job after both 2015 quarterbacks, Will Grier and Treon Harris, left the program.
McElwain’s response to that direct question was predictable, as it would not be in his style to give anything away this early.
But more interesting, perhaps, was what else he had to say on the topic.
Pressed further if he wanted to avoid going into the start of the season with the position unsettled as it was last year, McElwain indicated that wouldn’t bother him much.
“No, I’m fine. Get somebody in there and go move the ball,” he said. “Quite honestly, I’m more worried about the people around (the quarterback). We’ve got to play better in the o-line. We do. We’ve got to play better at receiver from a consistency standpoint. And we’ve got to give the opportunity for those running backs to go make some plays. That’s my big concern right now.”
The Gators will ramp up preseason camp Tuesday with the start of two-a-days.
Injury news
Redshirt-junior offensive lineman Antonio Riles Jr. went down with an unspecified leg injury in practice Monday.
“I have no idea how serious it is,” McElwain said.
Riles played in 11 games last season, starting the first six at right guard.
Senior wide receiver Chris Thompson sustained a hip injury Monday.
“It doesn’t seem serious. He just pulled himself out in the middle of practice,” McElwain said.
Thompson played in 13 games last season with two starts while totaling five catches for 48 yards.
“Other than that, we’re doing OK,” McElwain said on the injury front.
Playing through the weather
McElwain took the team outside in the rain Monday to see how the Gators would respond to a different challenge.
The outcome? Mixed results.
“We wanted to get outside and play in the elements a little bit. It’s kind of interesting when there’s distractions,” he said. “One of the things we talk about quite a bit, and we talked about it last year, is trying to create chaos where there’s other things going on that force you to focus on the details that help you with each individual play. And today, execution was not great at all.
“However, it was a great learning experience to understand you can’t allow external distractions in anything that you do (to) hinder your performance. I thought there was a little bit of that going on. I will say on a positive note, the guys … straining through practice and playing with energy was something that was really good.”
Other highlights
McElwain again offered praise for freshman offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor, along with sophomore Martez Ivey.
It’s clear, though, that he feels the unit as a whole still has a ways to go after giving up 46 sacks last year — the most of any FBS team.
“I think there’s some guys really starting to stand out, some guys that are not afraid to step up and kind of let the defense take it to them,” he said. “I think Martez Ivey is one of those guys. It’s a long ways to go, but (Jawaan) Taylor has proven that, you know what, he doesn’t care, he’s just going to go play hard. And we need to get some other guys up there to say, you know what, it’s okay to come off the ball and play with pad level and not maybe be passive, if that’s a good word.”
On the other side of the ball, McElwain touched on the potential he sees in sophomore defensive end CeCe Jefferson.
“He has been playing both spots, and he is a guy that you love being around him. He has a great smile and he is quick-witted. I just love that,” he said. “He is actually really playing well. I worry a little about his weight, because he is only really, yesterday he was 267. This guy is naturally really strong. He has really strong hands and a great first punch. There is no doubt why he was as highly recruited as he was. He has proven that to be true.”
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2016 9:45:19 GMT -5
I like our LB depth better than Robbie.
Lamicael Perrine will push to play. He's going to be UF's next great RB to wear #22.
I think Khairi Clark who has reshaped his body this spring/summer should be on the breakout list. He is now 311 after coming to UF at 340 and playing at 328 last season. Khairi has more work to do physically, but he's going to be a big time player at NT where he is now:
Robbies Playbook Grind under way for Gators Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 8:43 by Robbie Andreu With Florida’s preseason camp now in full swing with the pads coming on and scrimmages on the upcoming agenda, here are some early observations of the Gators:
•Forget what you’re hearing about the quarterback battle being over and Luke Del Rio being the starter. The competition between Del Rio and Austin Appleby is just getting underway, and Jim McElwain appears nowhere close to naming a starter. From what I’ve heard, Appleby had a great summer and is a serious threat to win the job. At this point, the race is too early to call.
•Mike Kent and the strength staff appear to have done a great job with the players this summer. Many players are noticeably bigger and stronger, and some who needed to shed pounds and reshape their bodies have. Here are some guys I’d put on the All-Airport team: Mark Thompson, Ahmad Fulwood, C’yontai Lewis, Martez Ivey, Fred Johnson, David Sharpe, Caleb Brantley, Cece Jefferson, Brian Cox Jr., Joey Ivie, Antonneous Clayton, Alex Anzalone, Jarrad Davis, David Reese, Chauncey Gardner, Marcell Harris, Nick Washington and Quincy Wilson.
•Here are some players who have put themselves in position to have a possible breakout season: Jordan Cronkrite, Fulwood, C.J. Worton, C’yontai Lewis, Brandon Powell, Martez Ivey, David Sharpe, Caleb Brantley, Alex Anzalone, Duke Dawson, Quincy Wilson and Eddy Pineiro.
•The offensive line should be bigger, stronger, more experienced and better than last season. But it still remains a huge question mark heading into the season. McElwain has expressed some early concern about the line being able to get adequate push in the running game and in pass protection. The Gators have capable quarterbacks and more playmakers at the skill positions, but for those guys to be effective and for the offense to work, UF has to find a way to get it done up front.
•UF’s depth at linebacker still isn’t all that great, but it looks a lot better now with the emergence of two young players — former safety Kylan Johnson and true freshman and early enrollee David Reese. Johnson had an excellent spring game and Reese is starting to show the benefits from being mentored by Davis and the other veteran linebackers.
•It’s hard to envision a scenario where UF’s top three tailbacks — Cronkrite, Thompson and Jordan Scarlett — don’t end up sharing playing time and carries. The Gators likely won’t have a dominant tailback, but the position could turn out to be the strongest it’s been in a while.
•True freshman defensive end Antonneous Clayton is a beast and should have an immediate impact on the defensive front, which is looking to improve its pass rush.
•The true freshman wide receivers, especially Tyrie Cleveland, are going to play a significant role in the passing game.
•Thanks to the addition of place-kicker Eddy Pineiro, the special teams have a chance to go from a weakness to a team strength in 2016. Pineiro is a confident kid with a huge leg, but he’s going to have to come through in actual games, something he has yet to experience, before the Gators become complete in special teams.
•The starting secondary has a chance to be just as good as last year’s, but depth at cornerback is a huge concern.
•The vibe I’m getting from the players is they don’t mind at all that they’re being overlooked by many in the East while Tennessee is getting all kinds of love. They are highly motivated by it.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2016 13:38:05 GMT -5
Antonio Riles RJR OG who was slated for the OL 2 deep injured his knee in Monday practice, will have surgery, and is out for the season.
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