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

Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium – Gainesville, FL [Capacity: 88,548]
Time: 1:00 p.m. (EDT)

TV: Sun Sports (Larry Vettel, Nat Moore, Brady Ackerman)
SiriusXM: None | Radio: Gator Radio Network [Affiliates]
Online Video: FOXSportsFlorida.com (nationally) | Mobile Video: None
Live Updates: @OnlyGators on Twitter

Reference: Roster | Schedule

EVENT INFORMATION

Schedule:
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

Parking: Stephen C. O’Connell Center parking garage (first-come, first serve), Gale Lemerand Drive commuter lot (with shuttle)

Tickets: Free for alumni, students and the general public.

EVENT FORMAT

Instead of a full scrimmage, Saturday’s event will be an open practice that also includes limited scrimmage snaps. Florida will mix in approximately 40 scrimmage snaps with football drills. The format adjustment was made because the Gators currently only have six healthy offensive linemen and head coach Will Muschamp feels that it would be right 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 will occur 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.”

MORE: Injury report, offensive and defensive notes, list of commitments and recruits in attendance…all available after the break!
Continue Reading » 2013 Florida Gators Orange & Blue Debut Preview

Tags: Alex Anzalone, Antonio Morrison, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Brad Lawing, Chaz Green, Cody Riggs, Damien Jacobs, Daniel McMillian, Dante Fowler, Darious Cummings, Darrin Kitchens, Demarcus Robinson, Gideon Ajagbe, Ian Silberman, Jabari Gorman, Jaylen Watkins, Jeremy Brown, Jessamen Dunker, Joker Phillips, Jon Halapio, Jonathan Bullard, Kelvin Taylor, Leon Orr, Loucheiz Purifoy, Mack Brown, Marcus Maye, Matt Jones, Matt Rolin, Michael Taylor, Neiron Ball, Orange & Blue Debut, Quinteze Williams, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Ronald Powell, Skyler Mornhinweg, Solomon Patton, Trip Thurman, Tyler Murphy, 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.

BIG EXPECTATIONS FOR HIGH-WORK ETHIC DEFENDERS

With so many starters now off the team due to graduation and the draft and redshirt junior Buck linebacker Ronald Powell still recovering from his ACL injuries, Florida head coach Will Muschamp is looking to a trio of young players to be impact players for the Gators defense in 2013.

Sophomores Buck Dante Fowler, Jr. and defensive end Jonathan Bullard both impressed as freshman in 2012, combining for 13 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. Each player appeared in all 13 games and earned a start or two but now must take the next step and potentially become full-time starters for Florida. As far as Muschamp is concerned, both have what it takes to do just that for the Gators.

“Football is really important to both of those guys, I mean extremely important. There are guys that come in and meet extra, they watch extra film, they come up after practice if they don’t feel like they played well and they’re going to go in a meeting room with a coach or myself and say show me what I’m doing,” Muschamp explained.

“Dante walks up to me every single day and says, ‘What can I do to get better?’ It starts, to me from a maturity standpoint, of off the field understanding what it takes to be successful. A lot of guys, when they are a dominant player in high school, come to college and they’ve never had to work hard, never had to watch extra film, never had to do the extra things to be successful.

“That’s what those two guys do. They work extremely hard at being good football players. God has blessed them; they got ability. But you can walk in the weight room and see how they work; you walk on our practice field and see how they work. They’ve got tremendous work ethic away from just having good talent. That’s the difference in those guys. They’re both mature guys from that standpoint because they want to be really good players.”

Fowler, who said Tuesday that he knows there are “a lot of high expectations” and he is “looking forward to living up to them,” is excited for the season to begin. He has heard all about players making their biggest leap heading into their second year and believes he is posied to continue that trend.

“I feel really good getting my freshman year under my belt, getting to play a lot of reps and experience. I feel really good about that. I feel a lot stronger being able to play against the offensive lineman,” he said. “Getting that experience, just knowing the game and stuff like that, being more mature about the game. I feel really good.”

Continue Reading » Florida defense: Quick hitters on Fowler, Bullard, McMillian, Gorman, Maye and Christy

Tags: Cody Riggs, Colin Thompson, Daniel McMillian, Dante Fowler, Dominique Easley, Jabari Gorman, Jaylen Watkins, Jeff Driskel, Jonathan Bullard, Kyle Christy, Marcus Maye, Will Muschamp

Now two weeks into 2013 spring football practice, Florida Gators defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin met with the media on Thursday to discuss some of the latest developments surrounding the team and provide updates on specific players.

KEY TO THE DEFENSE: BUCK LINEBACKER

Head coach Will Muschamp, above all else, has stressed creating turnovers and affecting the quarterback as two of his main tent poles for a successful defense. The Gators made great strides in the former category in 2012, coming away from the season with a +15 turnover margin (30 total turnovers gained) compared to a -12 margin (14 total turnovers gained) in 2011.

As far as affecting the quarterbacks with sacks is concerned, Florida was not as successful. As a team, the Gators registered 28 sacks in 2011 and finished with just two more for 30 in 2012. Though Florida was able to apply more pressure, it did not always result in getting the quarterback to a ground.

Part of the reason the Gators were unable to make bigger strides in that area was the fact that they were not playing with their ideal personnel at the Buck linebacker position, the key to Muschamp’s defense. Redshirt junior Ronald Powell missed the entire season with a torn ACL, so Lerentee McCray stepped up as the starter and freshman Dante Fowler, Jr. got a look as well. Now with Powell expected to be healthy for the fall, Durkin is confident that Florida will be able to get more production from the position.

“Scheme is one thing but when you got the guys out there that are hard to block, that’s another thing. It adds another dimension to it. With those guys, we really feel good about our one-on-one match-ups. When we get those guys one-on-one, we should be winning more than we’re losing,” he said Thursday.

Powell is not healthy enough yet to practice, but the Gators appear confident that he will be able to suit up when fall practice rolls around.

Continue Reading » 3/28: Durkin talks Gators defense, evaluations

Tags: Antonio Morrison, Brad Lawing, Cody Riggs, D.J. Durkin, Damien Jacobs, Daniel McMillian, Dante Fowler, Darious Cummings, Jabari Gorman, Leon Orr, Loucheiz Purifoy, Marcus Maye, Ronald Powell

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

RISE AND GRIND

Florida started practice very early in the morning on Friday, a decision Muschamp made not to punish the team but rather provide it with as much rest as possible before the team’s half-practice, half-scrimmage on Saturday.

“We got cranked up about 5:40 this morning with flex, simply just for the turnaround for Saturday. I don’t like leaving the practice field at 6:30 on Friday afternoon and then you come back for a Saturday morning practice. I want to get some recovery time and also be able to review the film and install for Saturday,” he explained.

“It’s really not any magic deal there. We just try to separate the practices. We did this last year and the kids liked it from the standpoint of not leaving the practice field at 6:00 and then coming back and starting practice that early in the morning. That’s really all it is – just for their legs.”

Muschamp was satisfied with the way the Gators responded on Friday as well as the overall mindset of the team this spring. “I’ve been very pleased with the attitude and effort of our guys,” he said.

“YOU’D RATHER SAY ‘WOAH’ THAN ‘GIDDY UP’”

One thing that has been apparent early on in spring practice is the talent, effort and aggressiveness brought to the field each day by sophomore Mike linebacker Antonio Morrison. Muschamp is pleased with his development thus far and excited to see what kind of leader he will be for Florida’s defense in 2013.

Continue Reading » 3/22: Friday practice notes, Morrison, kicking

Tags: Alex Anzalone, Antonio Morrison, Austin Hardin, Brad Phillips, Brent Pease, Brian Poole, Daniel McMillian, Darrin Kitchens, Hunter Joyer, Jeremi Powell, Jessamen Dunker, Max Garcia, Michael Taylor, Will Muschamp

Florida Gators football competed its first official day of 2013 spring practice on Tuesday, and head coach Will Muschamp met with the media after its conclusion to discuss some of the highlights from the day’s activities.

GETTING BACK INTO THE GROOVE

“First day in shorts. That’s not how you play football,” Muschamp said after coming in from the practice fields. As Florida looks to replace a number of starters and develop its roster, the coach was pleased with what he saw from the team on Wednesday, especially on the offensive side of the ball now that it is entering year two under offensive coordinator Brent Pease.

“Good to see offensively from a standpoint of guys teaching fundamentals and technique as opposed to scheme,” he said. “Anytime you’re new… Brent and them coming in last year and changing some things and teaching scheme as opposed to honing in on the fundamentals and technique of the positions and what we need to do. That makes us even better than obviously a year ago at this time, which we need to be. That’s refreshing.”

He was also pleased with the Gators’ attitude and top-notch work ethic, which continued from the offseason program. Muschamp added that he is proud of where Florida is at this time but does have a few specific areas of concern.

“Definitely we got to have some question marks inside answered, linebacker depth answered and safety. That’s where we’ve got some serious question marks defensively,” he said.

All-in-all though, the day was a net positive for the Gators. “You only get 15 [spring practices] and you either get better or worse, and I thought we improved,” he said.

ANSWERING THE DEFENSIVE QUESTION MARKS

Florida lost a lot up the middle in the offseason. Gone are both of the Gators’ starting defensive tackles, both of the starting inside linebackers and both of the starting safeties. Though Muschamp is comfortable with his defensive backs and believes that flexibility in the secondary will allow safety play to not be an area of concern, he is less enthused with the defensive front seven.

Continue Reading » 3/13: Muschamp on first day of spring practice, Easley, Purifoy, Powell, Robinson

Tags: Alex Anzalone, Antonio Morrison, Brent Pease, Daniel McMillian, Demarcus Robinson, Dominique Easley, f, Gideon Ajagbe, Joey Ivie, Kelvin Taylor, Loucheiz Purifoy, Max Garcia, Michael Taylor, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Ronald Powell, Tyler Moore, Will Muschamp

With the Florida Gators set to begin 2013 spring practice on Wednesday, head coach Will Muschamp and new defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin met with the media Tuesday to discuss a variety of topics concerning the team’s defense.

RELATED: Spring depth chart released | Muschamp, Pease on offense

A NEW MAN IN CHARGE…

Durkin will be entering his fourth year as a member of the Gators’ coaching staff but will begin the 2013 season with a brand new task – coordinating a defense. After spending his career as a position coach and special teams coordinator, Durkin is now the man in charge of Florida’s defense and realizes he has plenty of work ahead of him.

» Durkin on becoming the defensive coordinator: “I’m very excited, excited because of the guys I get to work with both players and coaches. I think it’s a great opportunity. I’m very excited about it. It’s a new challenge. I’ve been doing special teams for a while, so any time you do something for that long, you kind of get in your routine and get to the normalcies of it and all that. It’s exciting for me to have a new challenge and some different things to work on and do.”

» Durkin on his defensive philosophy: “The number one thing that it comes down to is, and I think you’ve seen the identity of our defense, what we as a staff want to build here. We want to be tough, blue-collar team. We want to play with unbelievable effort and enthusiasm in what we’re doing. That’s the way I coach. That’s my personality. That’s what I hope I’ve carried over to our special teams while I’m here and it will be the same thing with our defense. We got a great system in place. We’re not changing terminology and all that. Coach Muschamp, it’s his system and he’s a great defensive mind. It’s been great for all of us to learn that system. To me, that is what this game is all about, being a blue-collar team, both mentally and physically tough, playing with great enthusiasm and great attitude. “

Continue Reading » Muschamp, Durkin discuss Florida Gators defense

Tags: Alex Anzalone, Alex McCalister, Antonio Morrison, Austin Hardin, Brad Lawing, Brad Phillips, Brian White, Bryan Cox, Bryant Young, D.J. Durkin, Daniel McMillian, Dante Fowler, Darrin Kitchens, Dominique Easley, Jeremi Powell, Joey Ivie, Joker Phillips, Jonathan Bullard, Kyle Christy, Michael Taylor, Neiron Ball, Ronald Powell, Travaris Robinson, Will Muschamp

Readers may be excited to take a first look at the Florida Gators 2013 spring practice depth chart (see below). Don’t be. As he explained in each of his first two springs with the program, head coach Will Muschamp repeated Wednesday that he does not put a lot of stock in the spring’s first depth chart. In fact, back in 2011, he said it is “not worth the paper it is printed on.” In other words, the depth chart below 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 March 12.

“Obviously we gave you a depth chart. I know it’s just the most critical thing that’s going to happen in the next 12 months of your year,” Muschamp said Tuesday.

RELATED: Muschamp, Pease on offense | Muschamp, Durkin on defense, team

Florida omitted players who are injured and not participating at all in spring practice. A list of those players can be found at the end of this post.

OFFENSE

QB: 6 Jeff Driskel, 10 Tyler Murphy, 17 Skyler Mornhinweg
RB: 24 Matt Jones, 33 Mack Brown, 21 Kelvin Taylor
FB: 43 Hunter Joyer, 29 Rhaheim Ledbetter* OR 25 Gideon Ajagbe*
WR (X): 1 Quinton Dunbar, 4 Andre Debose, 11 Demarcus Robinson
WR (Z): 15 Loucheiz Purifoy*, 88 Solomon Patton^, Raphael Andrades
F Position: 8 Trey Burton, 13 Latroy Pittman, 30 Mike McNeely
TE: 88 Clay Burton, 87 Tevin Westbrook, 18 Kent Taylor, 84 Colin Thompson

LT: 70 D.J. Humphries, 63 Trip Thurman
LG: 76 Max Garcia, 64 Kyle Koehne
C: 72 Jonotthan Harrison, 64 Kyle Koehne
RG: 67 Jon Halapio^, 64 Kyle Koehne
RT: 73 Tyler Moore, 98 Quinteze Williams*

Continue Reading » Florida Gators 2013 spring practice depth chart

Tags: Alex Anzalone, Alex McCalister, 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, Daniel McMillian, Dante Fowler, Darious Cummings, Darren Kitchens, Demarcus Robinson, Dominique Easley, Drew Ferris, Gideon Ajagbe, Hunter Joyer, Ian Silberman, Jabari Gorman, Jaylen Watkins, Jeff Driskel, Jeremi Powell, Jeremy Brown, Joey Ivie, Jon Halapio, Jonathan Bullard, Jonotthan Harrison, Kelvin Taylor, Kent Taylor, Kyle Christy, Kyle Crofoot, Kyle Koehne, Latroy Pittman, Leon Orr, Loucheiz Purifoy, Mack Brown, Marcus Maye, Marcus Roberson, Matt Jones, Matt Rolin, Max Garcia, Michael Taylor, Mike McNeely, Neiron Ball, Quinteze Williams, Quinton Dunbar, Raphael Andrades, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Ronald Powell, Skyler Mornhinweg, Solomon Patton, Tevin Westbrook, Todd Fennell, Trey Burton, Trip Thurman, Tyler Moore, Tyler Murphy, Valdez Showers, Will Muschamp