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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2017 15:15:48 GMT -5
Look in a mirror ET. Use Google. CaneInsight had a blog a year ago about the new staff not wanting to keep your boy Gamble. And Twitter lit up when Henderson pulled his little stunt at the US game. Okay, you win. The candy canes coaching staff didn't want Kemore Gamble or CJ Henderson. Of course, that same staff didn't negative recruit against any UF recruits either. (shaking head)
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Post by canefan on Feb 13, 2017 20:25:36 GMT -5
Look in a mirror ET. Use Google. CaneInsight had a blog a year ago about the new staff not wanting to keep your boy Gamble. And Twitter lit up when Henderson pulled his little stunt at the US game. Okay, you win. The candy canes coaching staff didn't want Kemore Gamble or CJ Henderson. Of course, that same staff didn't negative recruit against any UF recruits either. (shaking head) Correction. I'm the one who says every school negative recruits to some degree. You are the only one I know that believes only your own school is squeaky clean, which, knowing how much money UF has spread around the Miami area trying to recruit the last few years, I find hilarious. But yes, the current staff did not want Gamble and yes, they did drop Henderson after he showed is ass at the UA game.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2017 12:24:05 GMT -5
Spurrier Interview As Reported By SEC Country:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Legendary former Florida football coach Steve Spurrier was the featured speaker in an event on campus Monday night, and as usual, he was very entertaining. Spurrier told stories from his coaching career and took questions from fans in the event at the University Auditorium. Here were some of the highlights: On his penchant for zingers and one-liners about opponents: “It was just in the offseason. … I remember in the offseason before we were getting ready to play Georgia up there at South Carolina and one of the writers said, ‘Do you still like playing Georgia the second game of the season?’ I said, ‘Yeah, they’ve usually got 2 or 3 starters suspended (that) got caught smoking pot or getting in fights or flunk out and you have to miss 20 percent of the season so they’ve always got 2 or 3 starters suspended.’ I said, ‘You can put that in the paper.’ So they put it in the paper and they asked the athletic director at Georgia, ‘What do you think about what Spurrier said? He said he likes it because you’ve always got a bunch of guys suspended.’ He said, ‘Well it’s the truth.'” “One thing I did try to do when I got to be a head coach, someone once said in life there’s two ways to be successful — you can do your job like your competition does it and try to outwork them or you can do your job differently than all the competition. So anytime I got a chance to be a little different I thought that was to our advantage. Somebody said ‘Why did you wear a visor all those years?’ I said, because nobody else was. I wanted to be the first one to do it, and so many other other things. Why are you going no-huddle offense? Because nobody else was. And coming out and throwing the ball all over the place was different. So I believe being different, learning new tricks, all the kind of stuff helped me as a head coach, without question.” On his longevity: “I think the biggest reason is what I learned after I got into coaching about how to treat people, motivational material, striving for perfection in practice all the time. So many things. In fact, I’ve got a packet of all kind of things that helped me in my own way — ‘Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun’ was always important to me. So I sort of had a blue print of what I wanted to do as a coach, and every situation had been covered before — not by a football coach but by maybe a philosopher or somebody.” On his interest in Attila the Hun: “Somebody sent me the book I think my first or second year here at Florida. I started reading it and I said, ‘Oh, this makes sense. It makes a lot of sense.’ So I picked out a whole bunch of the quotes and when situations came up I referred to Attila, king of the Huns. Now Attila was not a nice dude. He killed a lot of people back in his day. I think he roamed over there in Europe back in 800 or 900. It was way before Columbus came over here. And they didn’t have football back in those days. They didn’t have soccer. They didn’t have basketball. They had one game and it was life and death. It’s called war, and if you don’t win in war you don’t live very long. … But anyway, Attila, he just had a lot of good sayings in that book.” Such as: “The first one, ‘A chieftain, he doesn’t have to be brilliant to be successful, but he must have an exceptional hunger for victory, an absolute belief in his cause, an invincible courage that will enable him to resist those who would otherwise discourage him.’ It just goes on and on.” Spurrier retold the story of coming in his first year at Florida and putting a stop to the tradition of the older players shaving the heads of the freshmen. “I told them, ‘We’re not doing that. We don’t harass the freshmen. They’re on our team. Everybody’s on the same team.’ One guy said, ‘That’s a Florida football tradition.’ I said, ‘You know what is another tradition is going over to Jacksonville and letting Georgia kick out butts up and down the field. That’s a tradition too that we’re going to stop. So we’re going to start some new traditions here with Florida football.'” On his early coaching experiences: “First of all, I was fortunate just to get into college coaching. Doug Dickey hired me here at Florida. My first year we didn’t win enough games, he got fired and I was finished, we were all finished. I was out a month and the quarterback coach at Georgia Tech happened to get another job somewhere and Pepper Rodgers, the head coach was my backfield coach my sophomore year here at Florida. He knew me a little bit, not a lot, and he called and said, ‘You still want to coach?’ I said, ‘Yeah!’ I really thought I had a chance to be pretty good at coaching. … So I got a chance to coach the quarterbacks up there, and I remember one day we were practicing and we couldn’t hit a pass against the defense. He came over and said, ‘Spurrier, I thought you knew something about the passing game?’ I said, ‘Coach, we don’t have a pass play that’s any good against the defense they’re running. If you let me go back and draw up some ball plays and we’ll be OK tomorrow if you’ll let me do that.’ I wasn’t the coordinator then, I was just coaching whatever we had.’ But unfortunately, we all got fired there. But fortunately, God directs our paths, the summer before I met the head coach at Duke at a high school during spring recruiting, got to talking with him. Continued: “… Duke was looking for an offensive coordinator and I called up one of the assistant coaches there. I went up for an interview, and my third year ever as a coach I got to be offensive coordinator. And the head coach, I said, ‘What type of offense, what do you call your plays, what do I need to learn?’ He said, ‘Steve, we don’t have an offense. You can make it up. You can call whatever you want.’ That was an unbelievable opportunity.”
Steve Spurrier telling stories Monday night at University Auditorium. (Ryan Young/SEC Country) On the game he had to win if he wanted to become Florida’s next head coach: “A life changing game, my third year as head coach at Duke, were 1-3. We had lost three on the road, won one at home and Clemson’s coming to town and they’re 4-0, No. 7 in the nation, about 20-point favorites. Florida had Galen Hall, they fired him after the LSU game that Saturday, and anyway a booster from Tampa called me and he said ‘Steve we’d like to hire you at Florida, but if you go 4-7 or 3-8 there’s no way we can hire you.’ I said, ‘Listen, Frank, I can’t worry about the Florida job. I have to worry about these Duke guys.’ … Sometimes something happens you’ve just have to say, ‘Thanks Lord for letting that happen.’ … So we’re playing Clemson and we had a good rah-rah meeting. … Clemson comes in and two things happened that turned out to be wonderful. Two of our guys got hurt. We had a little tailback, he got the wind knocked out of him so we put the backup guy in and all of a sudden he’s running over people and through people and that inspires the whole team. And then one of our defensive guys hurt his shoulder so we put in a freshman redshirt kid and they couldn’t block him. He was making tackles all over the field, made 13 tackles. … We’re down 14-0 at the half, and sometimes it’s a mistake to get ahead 14-0 — Atlanta Falcons, Alabama — but we’re OK. Nothing good’s happening, but we all like each other in the locker room. So the third quarter starts, we get the ball, we’ve got 3rd and 30, we get sacked, we were way back there on about our own 20 yard line. Well back in those days when I was coaching if it was 3rd and 30, throw the ball 30 yards. We tried for first downs. So we have that play where all four guys run down the field. … A receiver ran a comeback and our quarterback thought he was going deep, so our quarterback threw a beautiful spiral. I mean I can still see it going through the air. It went about 55 yards and it hit the Clemson defensive back full stride, but he was going our way so he sort of circles to midfield on about his own 20-yard line, he decides to change field, change the ball in his hand, he drops the ball and our receiver whose hustling his tail off dives on it. We (score) so now it’s 14-7. Then it’s 14-14. They had a guy kick a 50-yard field goal so we’re down 17-14. … We’re down there on the 8 yard line, it’s third down, the play before we had a pass that was no good. Our fullback had no one to block so he snuck out and no one was near him. I’m looking around and I’m trying to find a play. I said, ‘You know what, they screwed up their coverage and maybe they’ll screw it up again.’ So we called a similar play, just hit the back out of the backfield. He caught the ball on the goal line and backed across for the touchdown and we beat them 21-17. … But what was important about that win was we won all the rest of them. The tailback Randy Cuthbert gained over 1,000 yards, the defense made enough stops that we were pretty good, we played two quarterbacks and they set all kinds of records and we won all the games and ended up winning the ACC championship. … We have our reunion every five years and last year one of those guys said, ‘Coach, that Clemson game was not just a season-changing game for us; it was a life-changing game.'” After the season Spurrier took the Florida job. On talking with former Alabama coach Gene Stallings at the SEC Championship Game this year: “He coached there 7 years, ’90 through ’96 and we beat them 5 out of 6 times. I said, ‘If we wouldn’t have beaten you guys all those times you guy would have won the SEC.’ He looked at me and said, ‘Yeah …’ He didn’t want to talk about it.” On the statues of Florida’s three Heisman Trophy winners outside the stadium: “Tim Tebow, when we were at the Florida-Georgia game this year … Tim said, ‘Coach, you’ve got the best statue. They’ve got me running sort of funny.'” “My path in life, I say a whole bunch of thank yous all the time. All the time.” On Tim Tebow playing baseball: “He loves it. He loves baseball, he loves giving a go at it. Whether it not he can make it, I don’t know. Gosh, I thought he’d make it in the NFL.” Spurrier likens Tebow to Danny Wuerffel in that Wuerffel didn’t always look good in practice but rise to the occasion in games. “I remember coming home one day and I told my wife, ‘I feel funny correcting Danny in practice’ because he sort of pushed the ball. I was always trying to tell him, ‘Danny, rotate your shoulders and get a little zip on the ball.’ My wife said, ‘If I were you I’d quit worrying about Danny Wuerffel. He throws for about 350 yards every game and 4 touchdowns.’ I said, ‘I think you’re right.'” On how he got to Florida initially as a college recruit: “My senior year of high school in Johnson City, Tenn., I was sort of a hotshot quarterback, all-state, had a lot of offers. My dad wanted me to go to Alabama and play for Bear Bryant, but they were already winning and they had some quarterbacks already there. My mother wanted me to go to Georgia Tech. She thought the academics there were helpful, get a degree from there, get a job. I told her I didn’t think I could pass calculus at Georgia Tech. I really thought I was going to Ole Miss. They were the best passing team in the SEC, they were a good pass offense, they were successful, but I wasn’t really sure. Back then there was no exact signing day. So I was playing high school basketball, so I said, ‘Ill just wait until basketball season’s over and maybe make a decision there.’ So in January Florida started recruiting me. … I visited on a day like about three days ago, 70-72 here, and it was about 30 back in East Tennessee. It was one of those days and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Florida and everything about it. … I signed with Florida and my buddies said, ‘You don’t know anybody in Florida do you?’ I said, ‘No, but I know the head ball coach down there. That’s all I need to know.’ … My path was directed from above somehow. I met my wife Jerri here and a lot of good things have happened.” “There’s so many qualities of people that are successful, but one I like the best is attitude. If you can smile, say yes sir and no sir and be friendly and non-argumentative you can go further in life. … Be a good person, have a wonderful attitude, be a fun person to be around and good things will happen.” Dream golf partner: “I would probably say my two sons.” Favorite golf hole: “Gosh, I’ve had six hole in ones so I can’t pick all six can I? I’ll pick the longest one. This is a good story … (crowd laughs).” Tells story about hitting a hole in one on No. 11 at Gainesville Country Club the week before National Signing Day his first year at Florida. “Here I am, I’m playing golf a week before signing day. No coach does that. I said, ‘Boys, we’ve got to keep this quiet.'” On ranking the best QBs in Florida history: “Danny Wuerffel is the best of all time. Four SECs and a national championship. … What Danny did was the best. Tim (Tebow) and Shane (Matthews), Tim is probably No. 2 and Shane Matthews is definitely the third best or he’s in the top-3. I’ll put those in the top 3 is probably the best way to say it.” On his favorite story from coaching Jadeveon Clowney at South Carolina: He noticed Clowney wasn’t in the game, asked his DL coach why and was told Clowney had lined up wrong on the last play. “I said I don’t give a damn where he lines up, put him in!” On his relationship with Gators coach Jim McElwain: “We have an excellent relationship, I believe. I’ve tried to help him a little bit. Obviously I didn’t help much this year. But I’m going to get with coach (Doug) Nussmeier a little bit in spring ball. He’s the offensive coordinator and hopefully we can help this offense.” On Florida redshirt-freshman QB Feleipe Franks: “I saw Feleipe Franks today. I was coming out of the weight room. I usually work out there every day and Feleipe was coming through. This kid’s got a chance to be very good. And Kyle Trask has got a chance also. Both of them can really throw.” On potential of reclaiming his old job in 2005 after he left NFL and how it transpired that Florida hired Urban Meyer instead:”There wasn’t an interview process. The president (Bernie Machen) had Urban Meyer ready to come, and history shows that a coach who is having a really good run, he goes somewhere else and if he comes back he doesn’t have near as good a run as he had before. And even Bernie mentioned, he said, ‘Coach, I don’t even know why you would want to come back because you can’t hardly top what you did. Right now people want to remember you for your 12 years here.’ I really could see both sides of it. Urban is pretty good. Urban is a heck of a coach. He wins more close games than any coach I’ve ever seen.”
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2017 12:50:24 GMT -5
GAINESVILLE, Fla.— For the second straight year, the Florida football team will conclude its spring camp with the Orange & Blue Debut spring game on a Friday night. The 2017 Orange & Blue Debut, presented by Sunniland, will be held April 7 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on the SEC Network. The conference office released the date, time and network for the SEC's spring football games on Tuesday.
Admission to the Orange & Blue Debut is free. More details, including promotions and events surrounding the game, will be announced at a later date. In addition, Florida's baseball game against Tennessee at McKethan Stadium will begin at 5 p.m.
The Gators open their third spring practice under head coach Jim McElwain on Feb. 28 coming off back-to-back SEC East titles.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2017 8:57:18 GMT -5
Look in a mirror ET. Use Google. CaneInsight had a blog a year ago about the new staff not wanting to keep your boy Gamble. And Twitter lit up when Henderson pulled his little stunt at the US game. Go on the record Darrell. Does scUM want Schwartz or not? Does he have a commitable offer? Will you say scUM didn't want him if he decides to be a Gator? UF has an elite and one of the best track teams in the nation. That should give UF an advantage: In-state battle for Schwartz The Florida Gators already have one receiver commitment in Jalynn Williams, but they’re trying to land a few more in the Class of 2018. One of their targets at the position is Anthony Schwartz, a 3-star wideout from American Heritage High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Schwartz visited UF for the first time Saturday. “It was great and I loved the campus,” Schwartz said. “We toured the student athlete education center, the locker room, and the field. (The coaches) were saying that they really want me up there and that they want to use me as a game changer. “They felt that I would fit right into their offense and that they’ll tell me more about it next time I come up.” The 5-foot-11, 175-pound speedster had three teammates sign with Florida in the Class of 2017 — linebacker James Houston, defensive tackle T.J. Slaton and cornerback Marco Wilson. Schwartz said having those familiar faces in Gainesville helps the Gators. “It would be good for me because I know that they would have my back,” Schwartz said, “especially because I’m close with all of them.” Schwartz currently has 16 offers and said he could make his decision in August. Two schools stand out to him at this time. “UF is at the top with Miami,” Schwartz said. “Mainly their facilities and they’ll both allow me to play football and run track. Florida has a really good track team, I do know that.”
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Post by canefan on Feb 15, 2017 13:30:40 GMT -5
Look in a mirror ET. Use Google. CaneInsight had a blog a year ago about the new staff not wanting to keep your boy Gamble. And Twitter lit up when Henderson pulled his little stunt at the US game. Go on the record Darrell. Does scUM want Schwartz or not? Does he have a commitable offer? Will you say scUM didn't want him if he decides to be a Gator? UF has an elite and one of the best track teams in the nation. That should give UF an advantage: In-state battle for Schwartz The Florida Gators already have one receiver commitment in Jalynn Williams, but they’re trying to land a few more in the Class of 2018. One of their targets at the position is Anthony Schwartz, a 3-star wideout from American Heritage High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Schwartz visited UF for the first time Saturday. “It was great and I loved the campus,” Schwartz said. “We toured the student athlete education center, the locker room, and the field. (The coaches) were saying that they really want me up there and that they want to use me as a game changer. “They felt that I would fit right into their offense and that they’ll tell me more about it next time I come up.” The 5-foot-11, 175-pound speedster had three teammates sign with Florida in the Class of 2017 — linebacker James Houston, defensive tackle T.J. Slaton and cornerback Marco Wilson. Schwartz said having those familiar faces in Gainesville helps the Gators. “It would be good for me because I know that they would have my back,” Schwartz said, “especially because I’m close with all of them.” Schwartz currently has 16 offers and said he could make his decision in August. Two schools stand out to him at this time. “UF is at the top with Miami,” Schwartz said. “Mainly their facilities and they’ll both allow me to play football and run track. Florida has a really good track team, I do know that.” The recruiting "experts" evidently expect us to take four wide receivers in 2018 and one is already on board. Schwartz I believe has an offer but I have no idea if it is committable at this time. Every list I found for Miami WR targets has him more as a Plan B guy who might get an offer as an athlete due to having elite speed. I did see that Lingard has been hitting him up on Twitter, but I have no idea if he knows who the coaches are recruiting. He said he was completely shutting down his recruitment and focusing on recruiting for his class at Miami, so who knows. One suggestion ET, maybe you should consider cutting back on the caffeine a bit.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2017 16:18:08 GMT -5
Written by Nick de la Torre, February 16, 2017
In two seasons as the head coach of the Florida Gators Jim McElwain has had to hire 14 coaches. Five of those hires came after a coach was either let go or they left for a job elsewhere. It’s something he’ll have to get used to at Florida, a place where assistant coaches can quickly climb the coaching ladder, catapulting themselves into raises or even head coaching positions — like Geoff Collins. When Collins accepted the head-coaching job at Temple McElwain didn’t panic. He promoted Randy Shannon to defensive coordinator for the bowl game and began looking for replacements. A month later Mike Summers left Florida to take the offensive line job at Louisville, leaving McElwain with two vacancies on his staff. Suddenly, McElwain was fielding calls. “It’s overwhelming and yet a little bit humbling as far as the interest that those spots garnered throughout the country from all levels of ball,” McElwain said of the interest he received in the openings on his staff. Still, McElwain didn’t rush the decision. “I think the important thing is making sure you’ve got the right fit for the organization and the guys in that organization,” he said. McElwain took heat from fans and media for not making staff hires before national signing day. The Gators’ class was ranked outside the top-25 and Florida was playing catch-up with a depleted staff. Mac’s staff was able to close strong, finishing with a top-10 class and he hired JaJuan Seider, a coach who the past two head coaches have coveted and recruited. McElwain had tried to get Seider on his initial staff in 2015 but Seider’s son — Jaden — had been diagnosed with cancer and the family was comfortable with the doctors they had in West Virginia. McElwain understood, but he made sure to let Seider know that it wouldn’t be the last time Mac would be calling his phone. “Family first. That’s how we run this program,” said McElwain. “I totally understood that that first time around more than most people do, having gone through something with my own son. So I know as I told him when we got that next opportunity, ‘I’m not going to stop calling you.’ And I’m glad he chose to come.” Shortly after Seider was hired defensive backs Torrian Gray left the program to assume the same role with the Washington Redskins. McElwain had already been working behind the scenes to replace Gray, who had informed his head coach of the interview and potential departure ahead of time. The same day that Gray was announced on Washington’s staff McElwain hired Brad Davis and Corey Bell to complete his own coaching staff. The process wasn’t as quick as some would have liked but McElwain believed it was important to do it the right way. “I want to say how excited I am that they chose to join this family and be part of something great,” McElwain said. “In each of their cases as we went through the process and looking for the right fit, I think the important thing is making sure you’ve got the right fit for the organization and the guys in that organization. That’s something we hit a home run on.”
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2017 12:08:27 GMT -5
Written by Nick de la Torre, February 17, 2017
With national signing day over North Texas offensive line coach Brad Davis thought he would be safe to take some time to himself. “After signing day, that’s typically when coaches have a chance to actually take care of their personal hygiene, perhaps get a physical, check your cholesterol, look at the all the weight you’ve put on during recruiting and that kind of stuff,” he said on Thursday afternoon. Davis, who asserted that he’s been cavity free since the fourth grade, was sitting in a dentist chair when his phone starting ringing. Luckily he didn’t let it go to voicemail because Jim McElwain was on the other end of the phone. “I was getting my teeth cleaned and I’m very fortunate my dentist was very understanding,” Davis said behind a pearly white smile. The Gators had a vacancy when former offensive line coach Mike Summers, the lone coach that made the transition from Will Muschamp’s staff to McElwain’s, left Florida for Louisville. McElwain voiced his concern of the offensive line play late last season. After the bowl game McElwain acknowledged that the Gators had an elite defense and that defense wins championships before pivoting and vowing to “become a lot more physical up front (offensively) than we were this year.” That message was received loud and clear. “I think he was just about that clear as you understood it,” Davis said when asked directly if McElwain had relayed that message to him. Davis’ name came out of the blue late in the coaching search. Davis played offensive line for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. He was on two Big XII championship teams, played in the Orange, Cotton and Rose Bowls, and was the team’s Most Valuable Offensive Lineman in 2002. He’s only 37 years old and the 2017 season will be just his 13th in the college ranks. After several years of serving as a graduate assistant at Wayne State, Texas A&M and North Carolina, Davis got his first coaching break at Portland State. That’s where he made his first connection to McElwain. Bruce Barnum. Davis coached the offensive line and was the run game coordinator. That elevated him to Portland State, where he served for one season as the Co-Offensive Coordinator before making another jump to East Carolina. That’s where he made his next connection to McElwain. Ruffin O’Neal. “(Davis) was with a good friend of mine in coaching and that speaks so highly of him in Ruffian McNeil, who I’ve got as much respect for as anybody in this profession,” said McElwain. This is Davis’ first big opportunity. He spent the 2016 season at North Texas and made the trip to Gainesville when Florida played host to the Mean Green. The world of coaching in college football can be cutthroat. Most coaches are looking to climb the ladder. It would be easy for a young coach to day dream, get lost in the moment surrounded by 90,000 screaming fans and wonder, if only for a second, what it would like to be on the other sideline. Not Davis. “I’ve never been one of those career-climbing guys that’s constantly trying to get to the next step. For me I’ve let God order every step that I’ve taken. I believe in walking by faith and not by sight,” Davis said. “So for me, my career has progressed or taken off so to speak, because of the values that I embody. I believe my job as a football coach, first and foremost, is to be a servant. It’s not about me, it’s not about my ego, not about walking around and saying ‘Look at me, hey I’m an SEC O-line coach’. It has never been and never will be about that for me. My job is to be a servant to the players that are here right now. I’m a vehicle to their success. Their job is to utilize me to help me enhance every aspect of their lives.” He isn’t blowing smoke. Davis is as genuine as they come. He’s only been in Gainesville for two weeks but the recruits that have visited campus or have had any interaction with him rave about him. They call him high energy, honest, funny and sincere. Most importantly he knows the work that is ahead and he’s on the same page as the head coach. “I think we embody some of the same values, which is family,” Davis said of McElwain. “That’s huge for me. You know I felt like I left a great family in North Texas, but I’ve walked into another great family. You know, so I think he’s thorough, I think he’s a professional, I think he offers me the opportunity as a coach to learn and grow, which are things that I strongly desire to do.”
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2017 10:06:09 GMT -5
By Robbie Andreu Staff writer Published: Sunday, February 19, 2017 at 8:00 a.m. Last Modified: Saturday, February 18, 2017 at 10:20 p.m. During Jim McElwain's search for a new offensive line coach, one name in particular kept popping up. Brad Davis. And the more McElwain heard about him, the more he liked. He played for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. He coached under Ruffin McNeil, one of McElwain's favorites, at East Carolina. And then there was this that really stood out: he worked for five years with Bruce Barnum at Portland State, and Barnum, a close friend and former college teammate of McElwain's, gave Davis a glowing recommendation. “The thing that kind of tipped it kind of over there,” McElwain said. “It's interesting, as you grow up in this profession, there's something that's great about being at some of those places that these guys had been. That isn't necessarily just the highest level of ball, but learning how to do a little bit of everything in affecting young men's lives. We're excited to have Brad.” Barnum was the offensive coordinator at Portland State the five years Davis was on the staff (2009-13). Barnum is now the head coach at Portland State, where his “Barny Ball” is an innovative and popular offense. “He was part of 'Barny Ball' out there,” McElwain said of Davis. Davis is now part of McElwain's offense, and what he's asking Davis to do is make the Florida offensive line tougher and more physical. Davis has accepted the challenge.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2017 1:21:31 GMT -5
From SEC Country - A look at the 6 DBs signed along with the high probality that 2 will play in the 17 season:
“It’s about developing the young guys and putting them in positions to be successful.” That was the overriding message from Florida’s press conference last week when the school introduced its newest assistant coaches. New defensive backs coach Corey Bell is the man charged with getting the Gators’ latest batch of top-level DB recruits up to speed in time for Florida’s Sept. 2 kickoff game against Michigan. And they best be ready. 2016 Starters Quincy Wilson, Teez Tabor and Marcus Maye are all headed to the NFL, leaving a void in the backfield. While the Gators have an array of talent returning, they have just six guys coming back: Chauncey Gardner, Nick Washington, Marcell Harris, Duke Dawson, Joseph Putu, and Chris Williamson. Given that Florida plays upwards of 80 percent of its defensive snaps in nickel or dime — though that may change slightly (but only with more nickel) due to the talent at linebacker and a new defensive coordinator — the Gators likely have to play one, if not two, of its six true freshmen defensive backs in 2017. Here’s a look at each and a projection on who’s most likely to see some playing time early. Brad Stewart, S/CB Of the six, Stewart is the most likely to start right away. He offers the staff the positional flexibility — capable of lining up at safety, in the slot, or on the boundary — which would allow them to stay in the same personnel package against tempo, or have cornerbacks pass off receivers prior to the snap without needing to move. That limits communication and helps prevent miscommunications and blown coverages. That kind of versatility makes him a plug-and-play type of player. Florida’s defensive backfield features a number of players who’ve lined up as middle-of-the-field safeties, or in the slot. Stewart would add to that and allow the staff to run whatever play it wants, irrespective of any pre-snap movement or motions from the opposing offense. Lining up outside, Stewart has had experience playing every technique, and has shown an innate ability to locate the ball. Here, he lined up outside in man coverage. He played with excellent inside leverage, and was able to turn, locate the ball and high-point it.
Although he’s smooth in press coverage, he’s not as refined when playing in a trail technique — dropping to a spot or being given free reign. However, he can make up for much of that with good eyes and an understanding of route combinations, something he consistently displays. If the Florida staff can clean up some of the mechanical issues — like his footwork in the example below — he can be an impact player in 2017 playing anywhere in the backfield.
Marco Wilson, CB The younger brother of Quincy, Marco Wilson has immense upside — perhaps the best in this class — if he fills out athletically. Already, he’s the best press-man corner of any of the incoming freshmen. He pairs that with fantastic eyes — not jumping on pump fakes, play fakes, or subtle receiver moves — and when he decides to cut it loose, he has sudden closing quickness.
Like many young corners who play a lot of bump-and-run coverage (which would be required if he plays early reps), he can be overly aggressive and get involved in too much hand fighting. But he plays with good technique and is advanced in his understanding of how to use different leverages vs. different releases.
Wilson’s willingness to fill and fight in the run game will endear him to Florida’s staff instantly and could be the tipping point in him getting some early playing time. Cornerbacks who are willing tacklers in space are of increasing importance against the pace-and-space attacks run throughout the country and the variety of screen plays that offenses now employ. Brian Edwards, CB Edwards is likely a couple of years away from really being able to contribute. He has an impressive frame but hasn’t yet filled out. He’ll need time to come up to the speed of the college game. Donovan Stiner, S/LB Unlike recent Gator box safeties Keanu Neal and Marcus Maye, Stiner is more of a safety-linebacker hybrid. He may carve out some snaps as a dime linebacker who still gives the defense some size against the run, but also a player who can cover a tight end or running back out of the backfield. However, that likely would be dependent on injuries in the linebacking corps. Christopher Henderson, ATH Henderson was Florida’s highest rated cornerback recruit in its 2017 class, though he was listed as an athlete and played the majority of snaps at running back. He’s an exceptional athlete with all kinds of upside. Year one will be a work in progress as he transitions full-time to cornerback . Being brutally honest, his DB tape was not overly impressive, but the athletic traits are certainly there. With his combination of size, speed, and length, he may turn out to be the best of the bunch. But he’s the rawest of the newcomers and is unlikely to provide many snaps early in the season. Shawn Davis, CB Davis is an excellent athlete who excels in off-coverage, particularly breaking and high-pointing the ball. However, right now he’s lacking in press-coverage, consistently struggling to locate his target and getting crossed up too often. He’s an exciting prospect but needs work before he can really fit into Florida’s system.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2017 19:13:36 GMT -5
Gators QB board may be changing:
DAVENPORT, Fla. — Florida still is seeking a quarterback for its 2018 recruiting class. Potential options were in action Sunday at the Orlando regional for “The Opening,” an annual summer combine for the nation’s top recruits at Nike world headquarters in Oregon. Justin Fields and Joe Milton don’t hold offers from Florida now, but that could change soon. Fields, a 4-star prospect from Kennesaw, Ga., was named the camp’s QB MVP and earned an invitation to the Elite 11. “It feels great,” Fields said. “It really shows how much hard work pays off. Of course, you have to come in with confidence, but I’m (not) going to lie, at first I was kind of nervous. Then I started having fun and getting into my groove.” At 6-foot-3, 221 pounds, Fields ran the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds on Sunday. He is the nation’s No. 3 dual-threat quarterback and No. 33 overall recruit. Fields is a Penn State pledge and said he’s “100 percent committed” now. However, Gators coach Jim McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier have heavy interest in Fields, and there’s mutual interest from him. “I’d like to check out Florida. They’re a good school,” Fields said. “Coach Nuss is doing great things on offense. I saw them play against Tennessee (last) year. I like coach McElwain. “He just got there, and they were the first coaching staff to make it to the SEC championship in their first two years, so I’m looking for big things in the future from them.”
Milton: Paradise found? Another standout on Sunday was Milton, a 3-star quarterback from Orlando, Fla. Miami (Fla.) offered him earlier this month, and he hopes to hear from two more in-state schools. “Right now I’m waiting on Florida and Florida State,” Milton said. “I’ve liked Florida since I was 3 years old. That’s always been my dream school. I fell in love with the colors at first. I’ve been to a couple games, and I see the coaching staff really loves the kids.” A 6-5, 222-pound prospect, Milton heard from McElwain last week, and the Gators came by his school twice in January. Milton also learned he’s related to Florida running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider. “He (texted) me a couple days after he got the Florida job and said, ‘Joe, I think we’re related.’ I was like, ‘How?’ Then my dad told me that’s our cousin,” said Milton, who is originally from Pahokee, Fla. “So that was surprising, but it’s a good thing. I see that he’s a great coach.”
Sitkowski situation It appears the Gators have cooled on 4-star quarterback Artur Sitkowski (Old Bridge, N.J.) of IMG Academy. He was offered by Florida last summer after Friday Night Lights. “I haven’t talked to coach Nuss in a while,” Sitkowski said. “I spoke to him when he stopped by IMG in January, but I haven’t talked to Florida much lately. I still love the Gators, and I should get up there for a visit this spring.” A 6-4, 220-pound prospect, Sitkowski said LSU, Miami (Fla.), Rutgers, UCLA and Wisconsin are recruiting him the hardest. With Florida backing off, the Hurricanes now are considered the team to beat in his recruitment.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2017 14:01:01 GMT -5
2.21.2017
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida head coach Jim McElwain announced Tuesday that seven-year NFL veteran and University of Florida graduate Ian Scott has joined Florida's staff as a defensive graduate assistant. A Gainesville, Fla. native, Scott has deep roots here at the University of Florida. After a standout career at Gainesville High School where Scott garnered First Team All-State (5A) and All-America honors following his junior (1998) and senior seasons (1999), he enrolled at the University of Florida to play for Gator Great, Steve Spurrier. On the field at UF, Scott played in 32 games and recorded 23 starts during his three-year career (2000-02). Among those starts, Scott started the 2001 Sugar Bowl and 2002 Orange Bowl. Statistically, he registered 120 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 18.5 tackles-for-loss, 21 quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and five pass deflections. For his efforts on the field, Scott was a two-time Second Team All-SEC selection and a two-time member of the Verizon Academic All-District III team (2001-02). Following his junior season in 2002, Scott decided to forgo his final season at Florida and enter the NFL Draft. His decision led to him being selected in the fourth round by the Chicago Bears with the 116th overall choice in 2003. After four seasons in Chicago (2003-06), Scott signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles but was placed on injured reserve before the start of the season and did not appear in a regular season game. He then spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the San Diego Chargers where he played in 16 games and recorded seven starts. Throughout his seven-year NFL career, Scott played in 65 games (47 starts) and totaled 112 tackles, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Following his playing days, Scott spent time as a Business Analyst for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and he worked as an Industrial Engineer for Michelin North America. Prior to joining Florida's staff, his lone coaching experience came as a Defensive Assistant for Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina. He finished his degree from UF in 2012 when earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering. Scott and his wife, Crystal, have two daughters, Skylar and Savanna, and two sons, Josef and Sean. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING Head Coach Jim McElwain: "We are excited to have Ian back home in Gainesville. His understanding of what it means to be a Gator and the plan needed to be successful will be invaluable to our players." Graduate Assistant Ian Scott: "I am extremely excited to be back in Gainesville and with the University of Florida family once again. The culture around this University and program is really special and I'm thrilled to work with Coach McElwain and his staff."
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2017 10:29:51 GMT -5
Zach A. at SEC Country thinks UF needs to do a better job at recruiting results earlier for the 18 class - Since it's still February, this seems like a bit of whining to me:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — National Signing Day 2017 was eventful for Florida Gators recruiting.
The Gators landed 6 recruits on Feb. 1 and 10 in the final 5 days of the 2017 cycle. That made for an impressive finish as UF signed a top-10 class and got fans excited.
Florida coach Jim McElwain and his staff can close strong when necessary. McElwain also landed 15 recruits in his 2 weeks of the 2015 cycle, including 7 commitments on signing day.
While that makes for great headlines on the first Wednesday in February, it isn’t the ideal way to recruit. A coach wants signing day to be stress-free and uneventful, even if that’s boring for fans.
Having the majority of a recruiting class in place by January should be the goal every year. McElwain made that happen in 2016 with a school-record 12 early enrollees and no commitments from Dec. 18 until signing day, when 2 recruits joined the class.
UF has two pledges for its 2018 recruiting class. There’s no reason to panic this early in the cycle, but the Gators must increase their commitment list in the coming weeks.
Team rankings are meaningless right now, but in-state recruits are plentiful and Florida’s rivals are off to a fast start for 2018. Miami has 11 pledges; Florida State is at 8.
Now, the Gators shouldn’t start accepting commitments just for the sake of having bodies in place. Scholarship numbers will be tight for Florida next year, so coaches should be selective in building their 2018 class.
However, with a stronger recruiting staff and recent success, the Gators must get top targets on board to create momentum and attract the attention. Prospects will take notice.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2017 14:51:29 GMT -5
2.22.2017 bit.ly/2kMVaJPSpecial to SEC Country GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida has selected HOK to design a new three-story, 130,000-sq.-ft. football operations project and a dining hall for all of the university’s student-athletes. The facility will be located adjacent to the existing Sanders Football Practice Fields, creating a hub of activity for student-athletes. “This football operations project will have a significant impact on the daily experience of our student-athletes and staff,” said Scott Stricklin, the University of Florida’s athletics director. “It represents a substantial commitment on behalf of Florida Athletics and Gator Boosters to ensure that our football coaches, players and staff are able to perform as efficiently as possible. And the new dining hall will benefit all 500 of our student-athletes.” “The University of Florida has a long history of developing champions,” said Algen Williams, a regional leader of HOK’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice. “This project will create a facility that supports the university’s mission of forming well-rounded student-athletes. We look forward to using design to help tell the story and define the future of the Gators’ celebrated football program.” The new training facility will consolidate the program’s football operations. Offices for coaches and staff will be relocated to the building, where players will have direct access to them. The site also provides easy access to the team’s practice fields. A branded entry lobby will reinforce the Gators’ brand and winning legacy and serve as a focal point for the building. The project includes a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning center that includes a “cardio balcony,” training room, hydrotherapy space and an immersive, 3D hologram training environment. A players’ lounge is adjacent to the team locker room, creating a space for student-athletes to unwind off the field with a nutrition bar, casual meeting spaces and games. The facility will also include a recruiting room. The project is scheduled to break ground in late December 2017, with an expected opening in 2019.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2017 14:47:43 GMT -5
2.23.2017
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida football coach Jim McElwain met with reporters Thursday to preview spring practice.
The Gators start their spring session Tuesday.
Here were the highlights from McElwain’s comments with full video below:
“First off, you always look forward. You’re optimistic, you’re pessimistic, you get nervous a little bit, just kind of what’s going to happen during spring practice? That’s the fun part of this and that never ends as a coach. And I think the excitement of it, every year is a new year — it’s a new group of guys. Obviously some old faces, but at the same time an influx of new guys that are going to be playing key roles in what we’re doing. The excitement for them. … We’re going to take those two practices before we go to spring break, come back, hit 13 more practices getting ready for our Friday night game.”
“I think the excitement and the momentum we’ve built continues to roll and go forward. The announcement with the architecture and the stuff moving forward with the new facilities is a game changer.”
“As we go around locally, regionally, nationally a lot of people understanding what we’ve overcome, what we’ve been able to build in the two short years we’ve been here has been outstanding. The excitement’s there.”
Injuries: Guys that are out all spring – OL Antonio Riles, WR Freddie Swain, QB Luke Del Rio, DE Jordan Sherit, LB David Reese, DB Jeawon Taylor and DB Quincy Lenton. Non-contact guys – WR Dre Massey, LB James Houston, DB C.J. McWilliams
Freshman Kadarius Toney will get a lot of reps at QB this spring as the Gators determine where he fits.
On the QBs: “You know, I think the biggest piece we’re looking for first and foremost is somebody to step up and say, ‘You know what, I’m going to take this and I’m going to lead this team and help the parts around me play better.’ Now with that, it can’t be forced — it’s got to be natural. And really the understanding of how and what we need to do is really what we’re looking for. As always, every drill is graded, everything that you do there is no such thing as a … whether it’s routes on air, the accuracy of the throws and where it needs to be and all those type of things and understanding the importance of every moment means something, take advantage of it.”
On adding a running element to QB spot: “Yeah, and it’s something we did a little bit with Austin, and yet this gives us a little bit more as we move forward. I mean, we also had those packages in for Dre Massey that we worked on extensively and were able to use it for one kickoff, right?”
On QBs progress: “It’s been great. And not only that, but their understanding the respect of the team piece in terms of how they go about their business has been great. Not to be overshadowed there is Luke’s involvement in helping those two prepare.” Position changes: Duke Dawson will move to CB full-time, Martez Ivey will settle in at LT, Richerd Desir-Jones moves from OL to DL, Camrin Knight moves from tight end to linebacker.
On Dawson moving from nickel to corner: “No, he’ll be corner full-time. Obviously his ability to play nickel is only something that is not only going to help us but help him in the future as it did Brian Poole. I think his ability to be able to show all that stuff is going to do nothing more than strengthen our depth, help the Gators get better and help him personally.”
McElwain says Nick Buchanan is a guy who could compete for a bigger role on the OL this year. He also wants Tyler Jordan to push himself to get to another level.
On Del Rio: “Here’s the exciting thing. He just got accepted into the sports management graduate program. That’s pretty awesome. Obviously he’s a competitor, he wants to play as bad as anyone wants to play, but he understand he has to get healthy to do it. But with that, the way he’s been around those young guys and organizing some of the things they do on their own, he’s been a big piece of that.”
On Franks’ progress: “I think the biggest thing there is understanding that it just doesn’t happen automatically. There’s a learning curve and there’s a lot that can be learned from when things don’t go well and how do you deal with that, but more than that, how do I learn from that to make myself better. And I’ve seen that from him.”
On the early enrollees: “If you point at maybe some of the guys a year a go, they were ready to play game 3, 4, 5 rather than probably game 7, 8, 9 from that standpoint. I think it’s invaluable. As I tell every guy, that’s a personal choice. I struggle with it a little bit because I can remember how much fun I had the spring semester of my senior year of high school. These guys should be going to the prom, but they’re out here banging their heads against guys who are (several) years older than them.”
On WRs: “I see it as a real group of strength for us. I think the big thing now comes the accountability piece and competition piece among each other, understanding where they need to be and why they need to be there in all the different parts of the passing game. I’m excited about that group and we’ve got great depth.”
On Dre Massey’s outlook for 2017: “That was a piece of the offense that we can put back in now. We’ll see what he can handle. We’re not going to overload him, as you can see he’s not in any of the contact stuff. But he’s also a weapon and a guy I’m looking forward to seeing on SEC Saturdays.”
On how much of the playbook was lost when he got hurt: “None of us will ever know.”
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