No. 2 Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp and No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt made appearances Wednesday on the Southeastern Conference‘s weekly coaches teleconference and touched on a number of topics surrounding their respective teams and the game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

INJURY UPDATES

Though he was expected to be questionable for this weekend, freshman wide receiver Latroy Pittman (ankle) practiced on Tuesday and is expected to be able to play on Saturday, Muschamp said. He also added that junior defensive tackle Damien Jacobs (hamstring), who was supposed to return to practice Monday, will instead try and return Wednesday but is questionable to play.

Richt noted during his portion of the teleconference that starting defensive end Abry Jones (ankle) will be out of action. Though he is a starter, Jones does not make many impact plays for Georgia.

NO SPECIAL APPROACH FOR FLORIDA-GEORGIA

Muschamp has explained all season long that his approach to the team this year is to remain even-keel heading into every game and that no one opponent is more important than another. He expanded on that general thought on Wednesday.

“We approach all games the same. I know no one wants to hear that but that’s the way we do it here,” he said. “I think that when you consistently approach things the same way, you promote consistent performance in your players and you don’t get a lot of peaks and valleys with how they play and how they approach it.”

So while the coaching staff may not be riling up the team in any special way, Muschamp said that the Gators know they are playing the Bulldogs and are well aware of what is on the line – a trip to the SEC Championship.

“We understand what’s at stake. When you got on the practice field on Monday, our guys were excited. You don’t need much pep talks to get them going. You don’t need to find different ways to try and motivate them this week. They will be excited to play,” he said.

Muschamp also addressed Florida’s turnaround this season and noted that, while he did make a few adjustments to his coaching style, his belief system in how to properly run a team and be a successful coach has remained the same.

“The things that we didn’t change is philosophically our core values in the program and what we believe and what we want to be as a football program. That’s what you can’t do,” he said. “It’s one thing to tweak something, but you can’t start changing every time it doesn’t work for sake of change. We never wavered. I never wavered on the path of the program and where we were headed.”

Tags: Damien Jacobs, Georgia Bulldogs, Latroy Pittman, Mark Richt, SEC, Will Muschamp

No. 2 Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp met with the media on Monday to review the team’s big 44-11 win over the then-No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks and preview Saturday’s game against the No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs.

INJURY UPDATES

Muschamp said that junior cornerback Cody Riggs (foot) and redshirt junior tackle Matt Patchan (pectoral) are once again out for Saturday’s game. Freshman wide receiver Latroy Pittman (ankle) will return to practice Monday before being evaluated again, and junior defensive tackle Damien Jacobs (hamstring) will sit on Monday but return to practice on Tuesday (probable for Saturday).

PLAYER AWARDS

Offensive Player of the Game: junior running back Trey Burton
“Trey does a lot of things for our football team offensively, special teams, really a lot of things go through him. We have a package for him in every game, and we certainly were able to use it Saturday and it was very efficient.”

Big Plays: redshirt junior tight end Jordan Reed, redshirt sophomore WR Quinton Dunbar, junior WR Solomon Patton

Scrap Iron: redshirt sophomore right tackle Chaz Green

Defensive Player of the Game: junior defensive end Dominique Easley

Ball Hawks: Burton (two), Patton, sophomore CB Loucheiz Purifoy (two), redshirt senior Buck linebacker Lerentee McCray, junior DT Sharrif Floyd, sophomore CB Jabari Gorman, sophomore RB Chris Johnson

Special Teams Player of the Game: Purifoy and sophomore punter Kyle Christy
* Christy was also named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Big Plays: Burton, Patton and Johnson

Scout Team Players of the Week: Special Teams – freshman LB Jeremi Powell, Defense – freshmen DL Alex McCalister and Quinteze Williams, Offense – freshman walk-on RB Mark Herndon

Read the rest of what Muschamp had to say…after the break!
Continue Reading » 10/22: Muschamp on injuries, awards, turnovers

Tags: Alex McCalister, Chaz Green, Chris Johnson, Cody Riggs, D.J. Durkin, Damien Jacobs, Dominique Easley, Georgia Bulldogs, Jabari Gorman, Jeff Driskel, Jeremi Powell, Jon Bostic, Jordan Reed, Kyle Christy, Latroy Pittman, Lerentee McCray, Loucheiz Purifoy, Mark Herndon, Matt Patchan, Quinteze Williams, Quinton Dunbar, SEC, Sharrif Floyd, Solomon Patton, South Carolina Gamecocks, Trey Burton, Tyler Murphy, Will Muschamp

With the 2011-12 athletic season now in the books and the 2012-13 season about to begin, the focus has shifted to the return of Florida Gators football. For the second-straight year, OGGOA will take a look at every player of substance on the roster, counting down by jersey number, in this series: The Countdown.

9 – Josh Evans (Irvington, NJ)
Senior safety
6’2” 201 lbs.

Quick Bio: One of only five true seniors on the roster, Evans was a four-star recruit coming out of high school who appeared in 21 games over his first two seasons. He was forced into a reserve role because of the Gators’ extreme depth at safety but bided his time until his junior season.

Career Stats (34 games): 71 tackles (52 solo, 2.5 for loss), sack, fumble recovery, two interceptions, pass defense

2011 Season: Evans started eight games his junior year but played in all 13 contests, registering 51 total tackles including a career-high 11 against South Carolina. Arguably his best game of the season came in his last, the Gator Bowl, where he notched five tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.

2012 Outlook: Evans made additional strides this offseason, according to defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who said his communication and confidence has improved. Now making more plays than ever in the defensive backfield, he is once again listed as a starting safety and should hold down that position all year. “I think Josh has improved tremendously, and it has nothing to do with athleticism, it has to do with communication and being on the same page and anticipation. The safety position, a lot of it is anticipation for the communication,” head coach Will Muschamp said recently. “That’s where I think Josh has taken the next step, and he certainly has done that. And he’s been very good in camp, and he was very good throughout spring as far as taking the next step.”

8 – Jeremy Brown (Orlando, FL)
Redshirt junior cornerback
5’10” 184 lbs.

Quick Bio: A four-star prospect, Brown was sidelined by back problems for two full seasons and earned a redshirt as a freshman. He made it a point to rehab his back as much as possible during and after the 2009 season and sought to earn a starting role when Joe Haden declared early for the NFL. Brown succeeded in that goal in 2010, winning the job across from Janoris Jenkins and starting 10 contests. He missed the final two regular season games with a hamstring injury but played in the Outback Bowl.

Career Stats (11 games): 15 tackles (11 solo, one for loss), three interceptions, five pass defenses, touchdown

2011 Season: Brown suffered a knee injury right before the season began and was expected to only miss a few weeks of action. Many accused Muschamp of misleading the public as to the severity of Brown’s injury, but the coach explained in the spring that was not the case. “Our medical evaluation was he was going to be out for a week,” Muschamp said. “That’s what I was told. [...] Jeremy was a situation where he rehabbed, it didn’t work, we rehabbed a different way, it didn’t work. We continued to progress, we tried to work him back in practice as the season was going, and he just never responded to rehab, so eventually we had surgery.”

2012 Outlook: Returning to practice this summer, Brown fractured his wrist and had surgery on July 18. He was reevaluated on Aug. 28 to see if he could return to practice though the result of that check-up is not yet known. Brown would have had an opportunity to start at cornerback for Florida this season, but his injuries allowed four other players to jump ahead of him in the pecking order. He should see the field eventually if he can get back healthy but may have to focus on 2013 (his sixth and final season) to regain his starting job.

Check out 11 more players in this edition of The Countdown…after the break!

Continue Reading » The Countdown: Florida Gators roster (9-1)

Tags: Andre Debose, Brent Pease, Damien Jacobs, Dan Quinn, Dante Fowler, Dominique Easley, Frankie Hammond, Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel, Jelani Jenkins, Jeremy Brown, Jon Bostic, Josh Evans, Loucheiz Purifoy, Marcus Roberson, Quinton Dunbar, Ronald Powell, Trey Burton, Will Muschamp

Though things could still change over the next five days, the Florida Gators on Monday morning released the team’s first official depth chart for the 2012 season. As was noted by head coach Will Muschamp last week, sophomore quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel will both play against the Bowling Green Falcons though who will take the first snap has not yet been determined.

Florida omitted players who are not participating in the season opener, therefore the below depth chart is not the “best case scenario” version. A list of those players can be found at the end along with some additional explanations.

QB: Jeff Driskel OR Jacoby Brissett
RB: Mike Gillislee, Mack Brown
FB: Hunter Joyer, Trey Burton
WR (X): Frankie Hammond, Jr., Latroy Pittman/Andre Debose
WR (Z): Quinton Dunbar, Solomon Patton
F: Trey Burton, Omarius Hines
TE: Jordan Reed, Clay Burton

LT: Xavier Nixon, Kyle Koehne
LG: James Wilson, Ian Silberman
C: Jonotthan Harrison, Sam Robey
RG: Jon Halapio, Jessamen Dunker
RT: Chaz Green, Trip Thurman

Click to expand and check out the rest of the week one depth chart.

Tags: Andre Debose, Antonio Morrison, Bowling Green Falcons, Chaz Green, Clay Burton, Damien Jacobs, Dante Fowler, Darrin Kitchens, Dominique Easley, Drew Ferris, Frankie Hammond, Hunter Joyer, Ian Silberman, Jacoby Brissett, James Wilson, Jaylen Watkins, Jeff Driskel, Jelani Jenkins, Jessamen Dunker, John Crofoot, Jon Bostic, Jon Halapio, Jonotthan Harrison, Jordan Reed, Kyle Christy, Kyle Crofoot, Kyle Koehne, Latroy Pittman, Leon Orr, Lerentee McCray, Louchiez Purifoy, Mack Brown, Michael Taylor, Mike Gillislee, Neiron Ball, Omar Hunter, Omarius Hines, Quinton Dunbar, Sam Robey, Sharrif Floyd, Solomon Patton, Todd Fennell, Trey Burton, Trip Thurman, Tyler Murphy, Xavier Nixon

Florida Gators defensive coordinator Dan Quinn had plenty to say just over a week before the 2012 regular season is set to begin and did exactly that on Thursday afternoon. Quinn discussed the team’s reserve linebackers, how the secondary is shaping up and who is stepping up in the pass rush.

VERSATILITY IN THE MIDDLE

Not every defensive coordinator is lucky enough to have two terrific inside linebackers like senior Jon Bostic (Mike) and redshirt junior Jelani Jenkins (Will). According to Quinn on Thursday, his embarrassment of riches extends to their reserves as both redshirt sophomore Michael Taylor and true freshman Antonio Morrison are making themselves known during practice.

Taylor, the primary back-up to Bostic in 2011, said recently that he has been switching between Mike and Will in practice in order to become more versatile. That is good news considering Quinn somewhat revealed that it will be Morrison behind Bostic this season.

“This guy is really coming on,” he said. “I like his instincts. I like his toughness. I think he’s got a big future ahead of him, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do.”

Quinn did say, however, that both Morrison and Taylor can play either inside position and that he is completely comfortable with moving them back and forth until he figures out which player is best at which position.

SECONDARY COMING TOGETHER BUT NOT YET SET

It should be no surprise junior Matt Elam and senior Josh Evans will be starting at safety for the Gators, though it was interesting when Quinn noted that junior Cody Riggs has been spending plenty of time back there after mostly serving as a cornerback and nickel corner in 2011.

Riggs along with junior Jaylen Watkins and sophomores Marcus Roberson and Louchiez Purifoy are all competing for the two starting cornerback jobs though Quinn pointed out (just like head coach Will Muschamp has repeatedly) that the team will probably be starting three each game and all four will see plenty of time on the field.

“It’s nice having so many of those guys return, know the same language going into training camp and moving forward,” he said. “I kind of have a feeling it will work itself out like it usually does through the course of the season and as we get through a few ballgames.”

IMPROVING THE PASS RUSH

Read the rest of what Quinn had to say on Thursday…after the break!
Continue Reading » 8/23: Quinn on reserve LBs, secondary, pass rush

Tags: Antonio Morrison, Cody Riggs, Damien Jacobs, Dante Fowler, Dominique Easley, Earl Okine, Jaylen Watkins, Jelani Jenkins, Jon Bostic, Jonathan Bullard, Josh Evans, Lerentee McCray, Louchiez Purifoy, Marcus Roberson, Matt Elam, Michael Taylor, Neiron Ball, Ronald Powell, Will Muschamp

With the Florida Gators under two weeks away from the beginning of the season and set to compete in their third and final scrimmage of training camp on Tuesday, head coach Will Muschamp met with the media to provide updates on the team.

SOME, BUT NOT ALL ROSTER DECISIONS MADE ON SUNDAY

Muschamp said on Saturday that the entire coaching staff would sit down Sunday and iron out the roster in order to determine who should get the most reps heading into the third and final scrimmage. Though he said that the Gators will not be releasing a depth chart until Aug. 27, Muschamp explained what was accomplished Sunday as far as organizing the roster is concerned.

“We looked at the roster and went through everybody. We did not necessarily set depth charts; I know everybody will be asking for that. We will release that Monday of game week,” he said. “More than anything we narrowed down who is getting reps and then talked in terms of special teams. Who are the guys that we need to be stepping up on special teams for us? Especially some of the younger players, where are they figuring in as far as snaps are concerned.”

Florida has now mostly figured out out which “guys we can count on” and “guys that we need to continue to rep,” an important step before a the final scrimmage on Tuesday that will look in many ways like a game day.

“We’re going to have another situational scrimmage. We’ll treat it like game day,” Muschamp explained. “We’ll have a pre-game at 11:30 [a.m.], and we’re going to kick it off at 3:30 [p.m.]. We’re going to go in for halftime; we’re going to come out. We’ll have to be able to adjust coming out of the locker room and put them in some situations.

“We’ll have some move-the-field. I want to have another [situation of] coming out off the goal line. We weren’t very good in the first scrimmage on that. Some more third-down work, some more red zone work and then some just getting on the field and functioning as an offense, get the coaches in the booth. It will now be our third time [doing that]. That, as much as anything, is what [Sunday] was about.”

SO…WHO IS STARTING?

Though position-by-position starters were not discussed by Muschamp on Monday, he did provide a handful of notes on who has nailed down jobs prior to the third scrimmage.

QUARTERBACK
Sophomores Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel will continue splitting reps down the middle during practice on Monday and the scrimmage on Tuesday. Muschamp said both will be non-contact (the plan was apparently always to return to that) for he duration of practice heading into the game on Sept 1.

Muschamp noted over the weekend that he expects to name a starter on Aug. 27 (along with the release of the entire team’s depth chart) but also said that Driskel’s bruised shoulder will be reevaluated next Monday. That can be looked at one of two ways: Either the health of his shoulder is a deciding factor as to whether or not he gets the start (in which case one would expect that evaluation to occur before the press conference) or it is a non-factor (in which case the time is of no matter).

Either way, Muschamp is pleased with the way both have improved.

“Both guys, I would say, are just commanding the huddle, knowledge of the system, understanding what Brent [Pease] wants,” he said. “What I have seen with both guys is a maturity level now of anticipating some of the situations that come up and what we’re going to go to. When you start getting that then you start maturing as a player and you’ll play better because you have better anticipation of what’s going to happen.”

Read the rest of what Muschamp had to say on Monday…after the break!
Continue Reading » 8/20: Muschamp on roster, starters, injuries, etc.

Tags: Andre Debose, Chris Johnson, Cody Riggs, Colin Thompson, Damien Jacobs, Dan Quinn, Dante Fowler, Darrin Kitchens, Dominique Easley, Earl Okine, Jacoby Brissett, Jaylen Watkins, Jeff Demps, Jeff Driskel, Jelani Jenkins, Jon Bostic, Jonathan Bullard, Jordan Reed, Leon Orr, Lerentee McCray, Louchiez Purifoy, Mack Brown, Marcus Roberson, Matt Jones, Matt Patchan, Mike Gillislee, Neiron Ball, Nick Alajajian, Omar Hunter, Omarius Hines, Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd, Trey Burton, Will Muschamp

With the Florida Gators entrenched in their first week of fall practice, a handful of players spoke with the media on Wednesday about how things are going as the team prepares for the 2012 season. Joining them in a surprise session was head coach Will Muschamp, who discussed some of the team’s most recent injuries.

INJURY UPDATES

Though Muschamp said the shoulder bruise sustained by sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel was not serious, he did mention that sophomore walk-on wide reciever Michael McNeely broke his foot during practice and is expected to miss six weeks of action.

He also noted that redshirt junior defensive lineman Kedric Johnson, who dislocated his left knee in practice last week and is expected to miss a significant amount of time, had successful surgery on Wednesday.

”ONE OF THE BEST OFFENSES I’VE SEEN”

Sophomore tight end Clay Burton has not seen much field time in his Gators career (transitioning from defense to offense your freshman season is one reason for that) but is quite sure that the schemes being installed by offensive coordinator Brent Pease are going to do quite well for Florida this year.

“I can’t wait until we play somebody else because I feel like in the spring, just talking to players like Jelani [Jenkins] and the other defensive players, they’re like, ‘You guys shifting, it’s crazy, it’s confusing,’” he said of the motions and shifts in Pease’s offense.

“So I can’t wait – I don’t know how other teams are going to game plan for us. I wouldn’t want to be a defensive player and have to line up on one side and then just because one person plays we have to shift everything. I think it’s actually probably one of the best offensives I’ve seen.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» Sophomore Chris Johnson, who was recruited as a defensive back but was shifted over to running back when he joined the Gators, said he never expected to play offense in college but is fine with the move. “I thought about it but, at the same time, my mindset when I first came in was safety and defense. Like they say, change just happens so I got used to it,” he said.

» Burton on the transition to tight end for himself and sophomore Tevin Westbrook: “It’s just a lot of footwork. As a defensive player you want to put the offensive player off you so you can see the play, and on offense you want to get and stay into the defense, so we’ve both kind of had an issue of pressing the guy instead of driving him off the ball.”

» Senior safety Josh Evans on why he changed to No. 9: “Nothing behind it, man. I just wanted to change it up. I’ve been wearing No. 24 for a long time, and I just wanted to do something different my senior year. New player, new me, just playing up to my potential.”

» Redshirt senior defensive lineman Omar Hunter on the offensive line: “They’re doing really good. I’ve been seeing holes in the defense – Mike Gillislee and Mack Brown, those running backs man are torching our defense sometimes. The offensive line is really better; they’re really stronger this year and I definitely feel it.”

» Hunter on the “old man strength” of junior transfer Damien Jacobs: “I feel like he’s more flexible now, getting his hips to the line of scrimmage turned a little bit more and he’s doing better. He got that old man strength, not that weight room, but the old man strength. It’s weird man; it’s very weird. You might bench more than him but on the football field he’s just strong, crazy strength.”

Tags: Chris Johnson, Clay Burton, Damien Jacobs, Jeff Driskel, Josh Evans, Kedric Johnson, Mack Brown, Michael McNeely, Mike Gillislee, Omar Hunter, Tevin Westbrook, Will Muschamp

Head coach Will Muschamp met with the media on Monday following the first weekend of fall practice for the Florida Gators. Muschamp spoke about a number of hot topics concerning the team including how much material the players retained from the spring after spending the summer working on strength and conditioning.

HIGH MARKS ON RETENTION AND CHEMISTRY

Though the team has only had three practices together, Muschamp said Monday that he has been pleasantly surprised with how well the team has retained the information given to them in spring by the coaching staff.

“I do want to compliment our players on the retention from spring. It was very evident on the first three days on both sides of the ball the retention we have for spring, which credits our players and the job they did this summer,” he said.

“We are far ahead of – after three practices, mind you – where we thought we would beat this point on both sides of the ball. Not just on defense but on offense, too. That’s a great credit to our players and the buy-in that they had throughout the summer. Again, there’s just three practices so let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, but we are far ahead mentally then I thought we’d be at this point and certainly what Brent [Pease] thought as well.”

He also noted that the team is getting along much better than it was a year ago.

“A lot of that has to do with the staff’s been here a year. There’s a little bit more understanding of what to expect,” Muschamp said. “I think there’s a lot of things that are a little better. Let’s find out and talk to me after practice 18.”

LITTLE RUST FROM INJURED PLAYERS

Muschamp said he was impressed with how redshirt sophomore linebacker Neiron Ball (head) and sophomore cornerback Marcus Roberson (neck) have been practicing early on this fall mostly because neither appears to have a mental block after serious health scares nearly cost them their careers last season.

“Any time you deal with the neck or the head, in my coaching career, you always worry about how a player will come back. But both of those guys, it doesn’t seem like it’s slowed them down. They’re both playing very fast and very physical, and I’m very pleased with both of those guys how they’ve come back,” he said.

He also spoke about the positive mentality and increased level of focus that Ball, Roberson and junior Buck linebacker Ronald Powell (who is not yet back in practice but working hard in rehabilitation) are showcasing.

“I think every injured player has a different appreciation of what they have and what God’s blessed them with. There’s no question that those two young men went through a very difficult time. With Marcus whether or not he was going to play football again, and Ronald of when he’s going to play football again,” Muschamp said.

“Neiron Ball – talk to Neiron. Here’s a young man that, at one point, was a pretty bleak outlook on things as far as ever playing football again. Any young man that has that taken away from him for a period of time or maybe forever, they certainly have a greater appreciation of maybe having the opportunity of what God’s blessed them with and playing a great game.”

Read the rest of what Muschamp had to say on Monday…after the break!
Continue Reading » 8/6: Muschamp praises retention, chemistry

Tags: Brent Pease, Bryant Young, Damien Jacobs, Dan Quinn, Dante Fowler, Earl Okine, Latroy Pittman, Marcus Roberson, Matt Jones, Mike Gillislee, Neiron Ball, Ronald Powell, Tim Davis