Position coaches rarely make Gator Gathering appearances for the Florida Gators, especially in the spring, but the football program obviously did not want to spread head coach Will Muschamp too thin this offseason. That is why it was new wide receivers coach Joker Phillips who was chosen to speak in front of the West Palm Beach Gator Club on Tuesday at Roxy’s Rooftop in front of approximately 150 paying attendees.

OGGOA was on-site for the event and though Phillips did not speak with the media, a few newsworthy notes and quotes came out of the event.

» On a conversation he had before going on stage: “I was back in the back. There’s a guy named Frank who spells his name F-r-a-n-c-k, OK? That’s an unusual spelling, but Franck said, ‘Hey, we love you. Go Gators!’ I said, ‘They loved me at the last place until I played a game. Hope Franck loves me after this season.”

» On why he chose to continue his career at Florida: “I’m excited about being a part of Coach Muschamp’s vision. They paid me a lot of money at other places not to coach, so I had to make a decision. There were three things I decided that I wanted. I wanted to stay in the South where I can get sweet tea. I wanted to be able to recruit some of the elite athletes across the country. Third, I want to win a national championship. Coach Muschamp gave me the opportunity to do all the things I wanted by coming to Florida.”

» On how he perceives his position on the coaching staff: “My job as a receiver coach is to get you to where you’re supposed to be at on-time. Period. Get you to where you’re supposed to be at on-time, whether it’s the weight room, meetings, classroom, or curl route, slant route. [I must] get you to where the quarterback knows exactly where you’ll be at on-time. If the quarterback is taking three steps, and you’re supposed to be at five yards, you have got to be at five yards. You can’t be at eight. So many of our problems… I went around and listened to a lot of people talk about, ‘[Jeff] Driskel this…”No, no, it’s a combination. It’s a combination of blocking, a combination of Jeff, a combination of receivers not being where they’re supposed to be on time. And that’s my job as the receivers coach.”

Continue Reading » Joker Phillips gathers Gators in West Palm Beach

Tags: Andre Debose, Jeff Driskel, Joker Phillips, Loucheiz Purifoy, Solomon Patton, Will Muschamp

Below is the 2013 post-spring practice version of the Florida Gators depth chart. Though some fans will be excited to see where the team stacks up below, head coach Will Muschamp cautions each year that feeling that way is not worth the energy.

Muschamp makes it quite clear that he does not put a lot of stock into depth charts, even those that are published after spring practice is over. In fact, back in 2011 and again on Wednesday, he stated it is “not worth the paper it is printed on.” In other words, the depth chart seen here is just a starting-off point for 2013 and plenty can change between now and the start of the season.

Nevertheless, below is the depth chart as it was presented on April 24. Notations marked with (») denote changes from the pre-spring depth chart released March 12. Players marked with (*) were out for all or most of spring practice.

OGGOA will update this post with more from Muschamp shortly.

OFFENSE

QB: 6 Jeff Driskel, 10 Tyler Murphy
» Murphy inches ahead of 17 Skyler Mornhinweg for the No. 2 job.
RB: 24 Matt Jones, 33 Mack Brown
» Brown understandably inches ahead of freshman 21 Kelvin Taylor.~
FB: 43 Hunter Joyer, 25 Gideon Ajagbe
» Ajagbe wins the second-string job over 29 Rhaheim Ledbetter.
WR (X): 1 Quinton Dunbar, 11 Demarcus Robinson
WR (Z): 13 Latroy Pittman, 4 Andre Debose, 83 Solomon Patton
» Debose switches from second X to second Z receiver though the players switch in those positions. Pittman takes over the top spot at Z from 15 Loucheiz Purifoy.
F Position: 8 Trey Burton, 13 Latroy Pittman
TE: 88 Clay Burton, 87 Tevin Westbrook OR 18 Kent Taylor OR 84 Colin Thompson

~ Muschamp on Brown edging past Taylor: “You’re not going to get through the SEC with one back. That’s not going to happen. Certainly Mack has distanced himself as a second-team back at this time, a guy that we’ve got a lot of confidence in, that we expect big things form in the fall to continue to progress. I think he’s done a nice job of running the football, and protections, catching the ball, finishing plays. Kelvin certainly has done some nice things and he needs to continue to progress – more than anything- mentally with the offense. Physically, he’s got some ability.”

LT: 70 D.J. Humphries, 74 Trenton Brown
LG: 76 Max Garcia, 77 Ian Silberman*
C: 72 Jonotthan Harrison, 64 Kyle Koehne
RG: 67 Jon Halapio, 63 Trip Thurman*
RT: 73 Tyler Moore OR 75 Chaz Green*
» Brown (an incoming JUCO transfer) replaces Thurman, who moves from back-up LT to back-up RG. Silberman replaces Koehne at back-up LG.

Continue Reading » Florida Gators 2013 post-spring depth chart

Tags: Andre Debose, Antonio Morrison, Austin Hardin, Brad Phillips, Brian Poole, Bryan Cox, Chaz Green, Clay Burton, Cody Riggs, Colin Thompson, D.J. Humphries, Damien Jacobs, Dante Fowler, Darious Cummings, Darrin Kitchens, Demarcus Robinson, Dominique Easley, Drew Ferris, Gideon Ajagbe, Hunter Joyer, Ian Silberman, Jabari Gorman, Jaylen Watkins, Jeff Driskel, Jon Halapio, Jonathan Bullard, Jonotthan Harrison, Justin Vogel, Kelvin Taylor, Kent Taylor, Kyle Christy, Kyle Crofoot, Kyle Koehne, Latroy Pittman, Leon Orr, Loucheiz Purifoy, Mack Brown, Marcus Maye, Marcus Roberson, Matt Jones, Max Garcia, Michael Taylor, Neiron Ball, Quinton Dunbar, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Ronald Powell, Skyler Mornhinweg, Solomon Patton, Tevin Westbrook, Trenton Brown, Trey Burton, Trip Thurman, Tyler Moore, Tyler Murphy, Valdez Showers

If Saturday’s 2013 Orange & Blue Debut was any indication, the Florida Gators still have a long way to go to get their passing game on track for the start of the season.

Florida head coach Will Muschamp had plenty on his plate this spring as began to fill in holes created by the departure of 13 starters, but he and offensive coordinator Brent Pease have also been focused on ensuring that the Gators improve a passing offense that was ranked 114th in the nation a year ago.

During the 2012 campaign, Pease’s first year at Florida, the team averaged just 146.31 yards per game through the air. UF was only one of two programs in the country to average fewer than 150 passing yards and boast a winning record (Navy).

How poor was the Gators’ passing attack? Florida ranked 111th in total passing yards (1,902) and 110th in yards per reception (10.39). The Gators were also just one of two teams in the nation to rank in the bottom seven for passing offense and not boast a top-six rushing offense (Temple) to off-set the lack of yardage.

In other words, there is plenty of room for improvement.

Continue Reading » Room for improvement in Florida’s passing game

Tags: Andre Debose, Brent Pease, Demarcus Robinson, Jeff Driskel, Latroy Pittman, Loucheiz Purifoy, Matt Jones, Quinton Dunbar, Raphael Andrades, Will Muschamp

With the 2013 Orange & Blue Debut now officially in the books, OGGOA is here to take a look at what happened Saturday afternoon on Florida Field inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during the Florida Gators spring game practice and how head coach Will Muschamp felt about the team and his players after the conclusion of the day’s events.

OFFENSE: STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS
* Separate story on passing game (quarterbacks, wide receivers) to be posted Sunday.

Running Backs
A starter emerges: Sophomore Matt Jones did not see a lot of action on Saturday by design. Why? Because Jones has played so well throughout the spring that he has all but officially been named Florida’s starter in the backfield. “Matt has really had an outstanding spring. We have a good comfort level where he is as a player,” Muschamp said. “He’s a physical runner. He understands our protections. He’s got great hands in the throwing game. There’s no question he’s an all-around back. He can do everything for us and he’s shown it to us for 14-straight practices.”

Four-deep with a freshman shining: Behind Jones there are three other players competing for carriers – redshirt junior Mack Brown, freshman Kelvin Taylor and sophomore walk-on Mark Herndon. On Saturday, Brown barely got any carries with the vast majority of snaps going to the latter two players. Unlike Jones, it did not look like the coaching staff was resting Brown. Taylor looked dynamic and Herndon made it quite clear why the coaches have praised him throughout the spring with multiple nice runs including a touchdown scamper from inside the 10-yard line. Though Taylor started slow, he showed nice patience running between the tackles, looked decent in pass protection and showed shiftiness breaking a tackle and moving the ball to the outside. Late in the scrimmage, he had a 15-yard run off-tackle and later scored a red zone touchdown from eight yards out when he stuck the ball over the goal line.

Asked about Taylor after the game, Muschamp gushed about how impressive he has been just 15 practices into his Gators career. “Kelvin’s got a really strong lower body. He runs through contact extremely well. He’s got natural instincts in the run game. You get the turns and reps and [need to learn] the protections and all the things that you got to be able to do for us at running back, but [I’m] extremely pleased with his progress,” Muschamp said. “He’s a very talented runner. Some positions are easier than others to contribute as a freshman. That’s a natural instinct position. You get the guy the ball and let his natural instincts take over and run for daylight. And he can do that. It’s the other things we got to brush up on.”

Continue Reading » 2013 Florida Gators Orange & Blue Debut Review

Tags: Alex McCalister, Andre Debose, Antonio Morrison, Austin Hardin, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Brad Phillips, Brian Poole, Bryan Cox, Clay Burton, Colin Thompson, D.J. Durkin, Damien Jacobs, Daniel McMillian, Dante Fowler, Darious Cummings, Darrin Kitchens, Demarcus Robinson, Dominique Easley, Florida Field, Jabari Gorman, Jarrad Davis, Jaylen Watkins, Jeremi Powell, Jonathan Bullard, Kelvin Taylor, Kent Taylor, Leon Orr, Loucheiz Purifoy, Mack Brown, Marcus Maye, Marcus RObinson, Mark Herndon, Matt Jones, Max Garcia, Michael Taylor, Neiron Ball, Orange & Blue Debut, Tevin Westbrook, Trey Burton, Tyler Moore, Valdez Showers, Will Muschamp

Over the last week-and-a-half of Florida Gators spring football practice, a number of players met with the media to discuss their individual play and the team as a whole. Below are some of the stories, notes and quotes that have fallen through the cracks.

READY AND ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE

A lot has been made over the last two weeks about injuries to the unit, but a huge boon for Florida’s offensive line is newly-eligible redshirt junior Max Garcia, a transfer from Maryland who sat out the entire 2012 season and has accepted a position switch from tackle to guard. Garcia was listed as the starting left guard on the Gators’ initial spring practice depth chart and has received nothing but positive views thus far in camp.

Garcia, who missed a few days of practice with a sore back, explained last week that Florida’s depth concerns on the offensive line are legitimate but the players are doing whatever they can to make it work.

“This spring is tough with the numbers that we have. The coaches are telling us we’ve been doing a great job, but at the end of the day, it’s going out there and doing what we need to do. With the O-line, we’re the backbone of the team, so we just got to keep pushing forward and getting the job done,” he said.

Garcia also spoke about why he decided to transfer to the Gators, noting that he is sure he made the right decision. “I’ve had a lot of support with the coaches and the players. That’s the main reason why I came down here, just because of the players that were here, the players I interacted with on my official visit. We got a good O-line, great chemistry, so the transition has been going really well,” he said.

Though he is now fully in the mix, Garcia had to sit out the entire 2012 season, watching the team from afar as it completed an unexpected turnaround under head coach Will Muschamp. He discuss how that affected him as a competitor.

“Honestly, when we were winning, it wasn’t really hard. With a great season, you’re just happy to be part of the team, happy to contribute. It was good getting recognized at the end of the year as the Scout Team Offensive Player of the Year. The hard work didn’t go unnoticed. The coaches did a good job just telling me I’ve been doing well. I was really excited. It wasn’t really a burden on me. I was just happy to be a part of the team.”

“It was tough on the away games sitting in front of the TV, wishing I could be out there trying to help the team. But for the most part we had a really successful season, so it wasn’t really that tough.”

Continue Reading » Florida offense: Quick hitters on Garcia, Jones, Brown, Ajagbe, Andrades and the offensive line

Tags: Andre Debose, baseball, Brian White, Demarcus Robinson, Gideon Ajagbe, Hunter Joyer, Joker Phillips, Kelvin Taylor, Kevin O'Sullivan, Latroy Pittman, Mack Brown, Matt Jones, Max Garcia, Quinton Dunbar, Raphael Andrades, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Skyler Mornhinweg, Solomon Patton, Tyler Murphy, Will Muschamp

Now in the third week of 2013 spring football practice, Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp met with the media on Tuesday to discuss some of the latest developments surrounding the team and provide updates on specific players.

ORANGE & BLUE DEBUT SPRING GAME PRACTICE FORMAT

Instead of a full scrimmage like the Gators normally run for the Orange & Blue Debut, this year’s event will be more like an open practice that also includes limited scrimmage snaps. Florida will mix approximately 40 scrimmage snaps between individual and team position drills. The format change is being made because the Gators currently only have six healthy offensive linemen and Muschamp feels it would be unfair to ask them to participate in 60-100 snaps over the course of a single afternoon.

“It’s not fair to go into a spring game situation and ask these guys to take 60-70 snaps in a row,” he explained. “That’s not healthy. That’s not good, it’s not good for our team.”

Muschamp also detailed what the team will be doing during the practice/scrimmage (in order): (1) Field goal/point after touchdown drills, (2) punting and individual drills, (3) one-on-one work with the secondary and receivers going head-to-head while the quarterbacks throw the ball, (4) one-on-one work with block reaction for the offensive line, (5) linebackers and running backs picking up blitz protection and coverage responsibilities, (6) two series of scrimmage with the ball on the 35-yard line, a total of 8-12 plays, (7) red zone one-on-one, (8) offensive and defensive line two-on-ones, (9) two series of scrimmage with the ball at the 35 yard line, a total of 8-12 plays, (10) two full cover punts and a punt/punt block drill, (11), two series of scrimmage from midfield, (12) two full cover kickoffs and a kickoff/kickoff return drill, (13) two series of scrimmage from midfield, (14) red zone 7-on-7s with the ball at the 18-yard line, (15) additional drills including pass rushing, (16) backed up punt drill, (17) one-minute scrimmage drill.

“It’s about getting good-on-good work. It’s about getting your best players going against your best players. … You get better when you’re going good-on-good,” Muschamp said. “This is good work. It’s good special teams work. This is a normal scrimmage-type situation for us as far as our football team is concerned. It’s good-on-good and that’s all I’m concerned with.”

Additionally, Muschamp announced that the coaching staff will be wearing microphones so fans in attendance can get a better idea of what is going on throughout the event. Coaches will be explaining each session before it begins and Brady Ackerman will be on the field to ask the coaches questions.

Due to the new format, Florida and the sponsors of the Orange & Blue Debut have made it completely free to the public. Anyone who pre-purchased a ticket for the event will have it refunded in full (special passes are still needed for the premium areas).

Schedule of Events:
9:00 a.m. – Gator Locker Room Yard Sale (outside Gate 9)
10:00 a.m. – Verizon Fan Fest in North End Zone Lawn
10:30 a.m. – Gator Walk
11:30 a.m. – Gates Open to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
11:30 a.m. – Warm-ups begin on the field
12:30 p.m. – Alumni Flag Football Game
1:00 p.m. – Orange & Blue Debut

Continue Reading » 4/2: Muschamp on spring game, injuries, updates

Tags: Andre Debose, Austin Hardin, Brad Phillips, Brent Pease, Clay Burton, Cody Riggs, Damien Jacobs, Darious Cummings, Darrin Kitchens, Demarcus Robinson, Dominique Easley, Francisco Velez, Gideon Ajagbe, Hunter Joyer, Jabari Gorman, Jaylen Watkins, Jeff Driskel, Jeremy Brown, Joker Phillips, Jonathan Bullard, Kelvin Taylor, Kent Taylor, Latroy Pittman, Leon Orr, Loucheiz Purifoy, Mack Brown, Marcus Maye, Mark Herndon, Matt Jones, Orange & Blue Debut, Quinton Dunbar, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Trip Thurman, Will Muschamp

Covering both Florida Gators basketball and spring football this week naturally forced some news, notes and quotes to fall through the cracks. Saturday’s spring football practice update covers everything that was not touched on previously this week on OGGOA. Be sure to check out the posts linked below in case you missed anything.

3/19: Three Gators injured, others progressing | Story: Brown ready for last go-around | Story: Dunbar coming into own | 3/22: Practice notes, Morrison, kicking

TAKING THE NEXT STEP ON OFFENSE

Though most fans chose to blame junior quarterback Jeff Driskel for all of Florida’s passing game struggles in 2012, offensive coordinator Brent Pease looked at the entire situation another way. If Driskel has no one to throw the ball to, how can he be blamed for being protective of it and not forcing it into windows that were simply not there?

“Looking back and seeing what they faced on a week-to-week basis from defenses, knowing the picture that he had to see at times for throwing, it’s a struggle when there’s nobody there for you. Guys got to get open,” he said.

To that end, Pease expects the Gators offense to continue its evolution in 2013 and noted two specific reasons why he thinks Florida will be able to move the ball better.

Continue Reading » Gators offense improving; various team notes

Tags: Andre Debose, Antonio Morrison, Brent Pease, Clay Burton, Colin Thompson, Dante Fowler, Dominique Easley, Jabari Gorman, Jaylen Watkins, Jeff Driskel, Jonathan Bullard, Kent Taylor, Loucheiz Purifoy, Quinton Dunbar, Trey Burton, Tyler Moore, Will Muschamp

For a team that has lost three of its top four pass catchers from a year ago, the Florida Gators sure are confident that the passing game will be much improved in 2013.

With junior quarterback Jeff Driskel entering his second year as Florida’s starter and a bunch of talented young receivers jockeying for position in spring practice, offensive coordinator Brent Pease has a lot more to work with now than he did in 2012.

While hopes seem to be pinned on junior Loucheiz Purifoy becoming a reliable part-time offensive playmaker, freshman Demarcus Robinson breaking out as a first-year player and will-he-or-won’t-he redshirt senior Andre Debose finally coming into his own after years of accomplishing little on the field, it is actually redshirt junior Quinton Dunbar who has been standing out the most early on during spring practice.

“They want me to be that guy. They want me to be the leader of the group and they want me to lead by example, so I’m looking forward to taking that role,” Dunbar said on Tuesday. “It’s just a humbling experience. I want to continue getting better each and every day, continue to work hard and lead by example.”

Continue Reading » Florida WR Quinton Dunbar coming into his own

Tags: Andre Debose, Brent Pease, Demarcus Robinson, Jeff Driskel, Joker Phillips, Loucheiz Purifoy, Quinton Dunbar