Each week following a Florida Gators game, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive grades the team position-by-position based on each unit’s performance. This week, we look at how the Gators fared against the Kentucky Wildcats in the fourth game of the 2010-11 season, which took place at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL.

QUARTERBACKS: A+
Standing on his own, redshirt junior John Brantley had an “A-” performance on Saturday, completing over 68 percent of his passes (24-of-35) for a career-high 248 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Though his 131.81 passer rating was his third-best of the season (due to the turnover), Brantley posted the best performance of his career and was instrumental in the Gators converting 7-of-11 third downs. Of course Brantley’s positive output was overshadowed by freshman Trey Burton, who accounted for six touchdowns on the day. Playing as single wing QB, running back, wide receiver and tight end, Burton rushed for 40 yards and five touchdowns, caught five balls for 37 yards and a touchdown and completed a pass on his only attempt for 42 yards. When you combine Brantley’s significant improvement with Burton’s stellar evening, there is truly no other grade to give his unit.

RUNNING BACKS: B+
After a monster 267-yard performance against South Florida, Florida’s running game came back down to earth against Tennessee. It returned to prominence once again against Kentucky, with all three of the team’s rushers posting good statistics. Junior Jeff Demps (who left the game in the second half with an injured foot) rushed eight times for 57 yards (7.1 average), redshirt senior Emmanuel Moody gained 46 yards on 10 carries (4.6 average) and sophomore Mike Gillislee ran the ball six times for 32 yards (5.3 average). Burton, a QB, scored all of the Gators’ rushing touchdowns, but these backs were instrumental in all six of UF’s scoring drives.

Read the rest of Florida’s grades from the Kentucky game after the jump…
Continue Reading » Grading the Florida Gators vs. Kentucky game

Tags: A.J. Jones, Ahmad Black, Andre Debose, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Brian White, Caleb Sturgis, Carl Moore, Chas Henry, Chris Matthews, Cody Riggs, Denote Thompson, Derrick Locke, Duke Lemmens, Earl Okine, Emmanuel Moody, Janoris Jenkins, Jaye Howard, Jeff Demps, Jelani Jenkins, Jeremy Brown, John Brantley, Jon Bostic, Justin Trattou, Kentucky Wildcats, Marcus Gilbert, Matt Elam, Mike Gillislee, Mike Hartline, Omarius Hines, Scot Loeffler, Sharrif Floyd, Steve Addazio, The Swamp, Trey Burton, Urban Meyer, Will Hill, Xavier Nixon, Zach Azzanni

1 » New Florida Gators defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is confident, so much so that he has won over players like junior safety Will Hill. “He came in and was very direct and straightforward,” Hill said, according to The Miami Herald. “He has a lot of high expectations. We come out ready, he tells us what to do and we just do it. Nobody is bumping heads or anything.” Even though Austin lost a lot of playmakers from Charlie Strong’s unit last year, he knows Florida’s defensive prowess is not being ignored. “I don’t think anyone will overlook us,” Austin said. “They may because we did lose so many quality players, but we had quality players [behind them] in the program.” His philosophy? “Guys are going to be aggressive and take the fight to the other team. That’s the mentality. On defense, you never want to sit back. You want to dictate the offense, not have the offense dictate to you.”

2 » In case you didn’t know, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Omarius Hines is a beast. So much so, in fact, that the 224-pounder is taking snaps at a hybrid tight end role that he will be featured in this season. “I will play tight end and some slot receiver,” Hines said of his position. “It will create mismatches because I’m fast and strong and stuff, so the linebackers won’t really be able to catch me. He has plenty of fans on the team, too. “He’s one of the strongest guys on the team,” redshirt senior Emmanuel Moody admitted, per the Herald. “I don’t know if you’ve seen his physical physique, but they call him the Greek [god].”

3 » Redshirt senior WR Carl Moore, who has been up-and-down since transferring to Florida, feels he is ready to take on the challenges of being a primary pass-catcher this year. “I can say that when I first got here, I was a little more selfish. I didn’t understand the system and how it had to be. Now I understand everything and I’m all in.”

4 » As OGGOA noted briefly yesterday via Twitter, redshirt sophomore Earl Okine, who was previously a defensive end but was moved to TE during fall practice, is back working at DE now that the team feels more comfortable at the other position. Okine played some TE in high school but is better suited on the defensive front.

5 » Freshman running back Malcom Jones, a preferred walk-on who led his high school team to a 2009 District Championship on 1,449 yards and 14 touchdowns, chose to try his luck with the Gators rather than take a scholarship to Florida International, Jacksonville, Toledo or Tennessee-Martin, according to Clay Today.

6 » Interesting column published by The Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley on Thursday, taking a look at how everything seemed to change for Florida football 20 years ago in 1990. As he notes, the Gators were “a bit of a joke” before then, producing top-level talent but never actually winning anything substantial. “No team in college football has won more games the last two decades than Florida. A program that could not get to 10 wins in a season [prior to 1990] has averaged 10 wins a season over the past two decades. Gator teams have won almost 80 percent of their games, 83 percent if you don’t count the Ron Zook years.” Read the rest…

Photo Credit: Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

Tags: Carl Moore, Charlie Strong, Earl Okine, Emmanuel Moody, Malcom Jones, Omarius Hines, Ron Zook, Teryl Austin, Will Hill

The 2010 version of the Florida Gators is in the midst of their second week of fall practice and, while the activities were once again closed to both the media and public, some notable things did occur Tuesday. OGGOA has compiled some of the key details.

STARTING OFFENSIVE LINE SET?

Stringing together an announcement from offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Steve Addazio that senior center Mike Pouncey, redshirt senior tackle Marcus Gilbert, and redshirt senior guards Carl Johnson and Maurice Hurt have all earned starting jobs on the OL with one from Pouncey stating that sophomore Xavier Nixon has won the starting left tackle job, the Gators front five may finally be set in stone. Nixon was competing with redshirt sophomore Matt Patchan for the role, even though the former started five games for Florida last season. It is important to note that there are sentiments that Nixon has yet to officially win his gig and redshirt junior G James Wilson may have the opportunity to beat out Hurt.

BROWN LOSES BLACK

Freshman running back Mack Brown became the 11th frosh to lose his black helmet stripe, getting it removed on Wednesday with the help of Pouncey. There are 15 more – notably defensive end Ronald Powell – still awaiting this ritual.

A few of you have asked me via Twitter (@onlygators) what exactly the “black stripe” is and what it means when it is removed. Here is a quick synopsis: As freshmen (or transfers), players have black stripes of tape placed on their helmets (front-to-back) indicating that they are new to the program; these are removed once each individual player proves that they deserve to be a Gator. This can occur by recommendation of a coach or fellow player. Head coach Urban Meyer spoke about it Tuesday: “It’s basically to de-recruit, to get rid of the nonsense, to make them understand that they’re not an outstanding freshman. They’re just another guy on the team trying to make their way. […] They walk up in front of the team, either in a team meeting or on the field and the young man stands up and sometimes gets very emotional because now he’s a Gator. His helmet’s like everybody else. It’s kind of cool.”

BACK TO THE FUTURE

After being monitored the last few practices while recovering from a hamstring injury, freshman wide receiver Chris Dunkley is back running at full speed, according to WR coach Zach Azzanni. However, perhaps contrary to what many expected coming out of National Signing Day, all indications are that freshman WR Quinton Dunbar is the more impressive and making the best case for playing time.

In other WR news… redshirt senior Carl Moore clarified to the media on Wednesday that, when he left practice for a few days in the spring, he was not considering leaving the team but was simply dealing with some personal issues. Since returning, Moore has solidified his spot as a starter and – like redshirt junior Deonte Thompson – is making strides every day during practice.

OTHER NOTES

» Redshirt freshman linebacker Jelani Jenkins is inching closer and closer each day to winning the starting role in the middle.

» Redshirt sophomore DE Earl Okine has been working at tight end the last few practices, according to Addazio. In fact, his position appears to have officially switched if you look at hiss GatorZone.com profile. Okine took limited snaps at TE in high school, catching 15 passes his senior year to go along with his 84 tackles and 11 sacks as a DE.

QUOTES [After the break...]
Continue Reading » 8/18: Florida Gators 2010 fall practice updates

Tags: Carl Johnson, Carl Moore, Chris Dunkley, Deonte Thompson, Earl Okine, James Wilson, Jelani Jenkins, Jeremy Brown, Joe Haden, Mack Brown, Marcus Gilbert, Matt Patchan, Maurice Hurt, Michael Taylor, Mike Pouncey, Moses Jenkins, National Signing Day, Nick Alajajian, Quinton Dunbar, Ronald Powell, Steve Addazio, Terron Sanders, Teryl Austin, Urban Meyer, Xavier Nixon, Zach Azzanni

With the Florida Gators 2010 spring practice now in full swing, there is plenty of newsworthy information around the program. Rather than publishing it all in long form, OGGOA thought it would be best to lay it out piece-by-piece. We continue this series with a look at the team’s practice from Fri., April 9.

Absences/Injuries:
» Redshirt sophomore defensive end Earl Okine came down with a fever and was allowed to miss practice; he also will not play in the 2010 Orange & Blue Debut.

» Redshirt sophomore cornerback Adrian Bushell, once again, was not at practice. Things are not looking good for his future on the team. By my count he has made two practices all spring. No way he plays Saturday.

Practice happenings:
» Redshirt freshman wide receiver Andre Debose had the most highlight-filled day, making plenty of catches, running crisp routes and drawing a gasp from the crowd on one particular play. Debose made an amazing catch in the back of the end zone on a pass from redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley. He leapt in the air over junior safety Will Hill, caught the ball, fell down horizontally while getting hit and held onto the ball. Unfortunately, he was out of bounds. Maybe he will play Saturday…

» Both redshirt senior WR Carl Moore and redshirt junior fullback Steven Wilks came out to the practice field without helmets. Probably just for precautionary reasons.

» With the final scrimmage of spring on Saturday, Friday’s practice was mostly just a walk-through to get the players loose and ready.

Other notes:
» In attendance: Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress, WR Percy Harvin, QB Chris Leak, five-star defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, five-star defensive end Ronald Powell. Childress has meetings scheduled with a number of Gators players eligible for the 2010 NFL Draft.

» Over 200 high school coaches were in attendance as part of Florida’s annual coaches clinic. Childress will be the featured speaker at the ceremony Friday evening. The coaches were allowed to walk around the field during practice and speak with the Gators’ staff. Representatives from the NCAA were in attendance just to make sure nothing fishy went on (standard operating procedure).

Tags: Adrian Bushell, Andre Debose, Brad Childress, Carl Moore, Chris Leak, Draft, Earl Okine, John Brantley, Minnesota Vikings, NCAA, NFL, Orange & Blue Debut, Percy Harvin, Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd, Steven Wilks, Will Hill

With the Florida Gators 2010 spring practice now in full swing, there is plenty of newsworthy information around the program. Rather than publishing it all in long form, OGGOA thought it would be best to lay it out piece-by-piece. We continue this series with a look at a team scrimmage from Sat., April 3.

Absences/Injuries:
» Redshirt senior running back Emmanuel Moody was injured for the second time this spring. Having just returned after missing two practices due to an ankle injury, Moody hurt his right quad, left the field in pain and did not return to action. Initial thoughts are that the injury is not serious.

Scrimmage happenings:
» In the team’s second scrimmage of the spring, the defense one again outshined the offense with a 41-35 “victory.”

» Freshman quarterback Trey Burton dominated the scrimmage with two touchdown passes to redshirt senior wide receiver Carl Moore including a 64-yarder at the end. As OGGOA wrote Friday, it appears as if QB coach Scot Loeffler has really fine-tuned Burton’s throwing motion in a very short period of time. Backing up redshirt junior John Brantley is less and less of a concern with each passing practice.

» Speaking of Brantley, he threw an interception to senior safety Ahmad Black. He was rushed in the pocket all day due to a weak offensive line that is missing a few starters who are sitting out for mostly precautionary reasons.

» Redshirt sophomore defensive linemen Omar Hunter and Earl Okine and junior William Green all sacked Brantley.

» “The defense is playing disruptive football under new defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. Linebackers [redshirt sophomore] Brendan Beal and [sophomore] Jon Bostic each recorded rather loud hits on a running back. Black’s interception was reminiscent of his play against Oklahoma when ripping the ball from a receiver’s hands.” (Fowler/OS)

Other notes:
» Former center Maurkice Pouncey attended practice.

Special thanks to the Orlando Sentinel for the information above.

Tags: Ahmad Black, Brendan Beal, Carl Moore, Earl Okine, Emmanuel Moody, John Brantley, Jon Bostic, Maurkice Pouncey, Omar Hunter, Scot Loeffler, Tery Burton, Teryl Austin, William Green

With the Florida Gators 2010 spring practice now in full swing, there is plenty of newsworthy information around the program. Rather than publishing it all in long form, OGGOA thought it would be best to lay it out piece-by-piece. We continue this series with a look at team practice from Wed., March 31.

Absences/Injuries:
» Redshirt senior wide receiver Carl Moore no-showed practice Wednesday for his second-straight absence. The Gainesville Sun reported Monday that Moore was “seen leaving the field after practice [on Saturday] visibly upset.” Moore had been seen in the football offices earlier in the day. (More in the quotes section.)

» Redshirt sophomore cornerback Adrian Bushell participated in his second consecutive practice and once again did not wear pads (as expected). He will likely return to full activity on Friday. Head coach Urban Meyer suspended him from team activities for two weeks for grades and other off-the-field issues.

» Redshirt freshman wide receiver Andre Debose spent most of practice off to the side on a stationary bike. The team continues to bring him along slowly as he recovers from his hamstring injury. Debose is expected to be 100 percent healthy for fall practice, according to The Gainesville Sun.

» Redshirt senior running back Emmanuel Moody practiced Wednesday and looked good by all accounts, breaking off a few nice runs. He had been out of action for a few days with an injured ankle.

Check out more practice news, notes and interesting quotes…after the break!
Continue Reading » Gators spring practice news and notes – 03/31

Tags: Abram Elam, Adrian Bushell, Andre Debose, Brian White, Carl Moore, Carlos Dunlap, Deonte Thompson, Draft, Duke Lemmens, Earl Okine, Emmanuel Moody, Frankie Hammond, Gerald Christian, Janoris Jenkins, Jelani Jenkins, John Brantley, Jon Bostic, Jordan Reed, Matt Elam, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Omarius Hines, Steve Addazio, Urban Meyer

Over the last two weeks, OGGOA has reported on the slow and steady depletion of starters on the Florida Gators defensive line. The unplanned lack of depth is getting increasingly worrisome with senior middle linebacker Brandon Spikes hampered by groin and Achilles tendonitis injures, further softening the middle of the defense.

Defensive tackles redshirt junior Lawrence Marsh (ankle), redshirt sophomore Jaye Howard (knee), junior Justin Trattou (biceps tendon) and redshirt junior Brandon Antwine (shoulder) lead the interior of the line – and all four are either questionable or doubtful for Saturday evening’s Mississippi State Bulldogs game. In their stead, redshirt freshman Omar Hunter and junior Terron Sanders filled in admirably against the Arkansas Razorbacks, both being named to head coach Urban Meyer’s Champions Club.

With four of six tackles potentially out for the game Saturday, Florida has scratched and clawed in order to find some depth in senior Troy Epps (who has played so rarely it took me five minutes to find a picture of him in action), redshirt defensive end Earl Okine and junior DE Duke Lemmens. Egads!

Defensive line coach Dan McCarney updated the status of his unit: “It’s day-to-day on Howard, don’t know on him. Marsh is day-to-day, I’d say he’s doubtful. I’m hoping he gets back next week. Earl Okine, we’re working in at tackle. Omar Hunter or Tank Epps can play in there at nose or tackle. Duke Lemmens can jump in there at tackle if we needed him to. I can only coach the guys who practice. We’ve got to get those guys ready. We’re thin right now, but we were still able to win an SEC game here (last Saturday) with four of my six guys that didn’t play.”

The best part of that quote, unfortunately, is that Epps’ nickname is “Tank.”

Tags: Arkansas Razorbacks, Brandon Antwine, Brandon Spikes, Champions Club, Dan McCarney, Duke Lemmens, Earl Okine, Jaye Howard, Justin Trattou, Lawrence Marsh, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Omar Hunter, Terron Sanders, Troy Epps, Urban Meyer