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

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P Johnny Townsend: commit No. 30 | OL/TE Trevon Young: commit No. 29 | JUCO DT Jarran Reed: commit No. 28 | DT Jay-nard Bostwick: commit No. 27 | 30 new player bios | Video interviews with coaches | “Closing”, quarterback situation

Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp held a press conference after his coaching staff completed its 28-member 2013 recruiting class on National Signing Day. Below are the most notable quotes from that session as well as player evaluations made by other members of the coaching staff.

Opening statement:

“I’m really proud of our staff. Today is a culmination of a lot of hard work, effort, sometimes two-and-a-half, three years put together on a young man and you come down to signing day and you sit at the fax machine and hope that thing comes through. I hope it’s signed right and it’s dated and all that kind of good stuff. Recruiting is all about building relationships. We’ll know about this class in two or three years. It’s a developmental game. …

“We had a deep signing class this year, which means you’ve got to a have a larger board as far as the numbers are concerned at each position, which also to me was very appealing. At some positions we signed five wide receivers [for example]. Those are five guys that want to come in here and compete. Sometimes when you get some numbers you start getting guys looking at that depth chart and numbers and they’re not real sure about coming in and competing for the Gators. We want guys that got a lot of confidence that they can come in the SEC and play in The Swamp and play for the University of Florida.

“This class is very balanced. It’s a high-character class with toughness, all the position criteria we look for as far as size and speed and then all of the off-the-field things we’re looking for. It’s a very committed class. A lot of these guys are guys that have been committed to us for a long time and never took other visits; there was not a lot of flash in their recruiting process. That’s the kind of guys you want; you want guys that are like that. …

“The coaching process is really about four things – evaluation, recruiting, developing and coaching. I think in our two years, you’ve seen on the recruiting trail – from an evaluation standpoint and a recruiting standpoint – that we’ve got a staff that can do it at a high level. I’m very proud of the staff and the job that they’ve [done] and all of our support staff on campus. … There’s a true commitment level at this place for excellence, and I appreciate their support.”

» On commitments being the best recruiters: “They understand the importance of having good players around them. This coaching stuff is way overrated. It’s about players at the end of the day, and they want to play with other good players.”

» On if he looks at player star ratings from recruiting services: “Absolutely no consideration at all. We commit most of our guys before they ever come out, so maybe they look at our ratings.”

Read much more from Muschamp and the Florida coaching staff…after the break!
Continue Reading » Will Muschamp discusses Florida Gators’ 2013 recruiting class; coaches evaluate new signees

Tags: Adam Lane, Ahmad Fulwood, Alvin Bailey, Brent Pease, Brian White, Bryant Young, Caleb Brantley, Chris Thompson, D.J. Durkin, Demarcus Robinson, Fred Taylor, Jarrad Davis, Joker Phillips, Kelvin Taylor, Marcell Harris, Max Staver, Mike Harris, National Signing Day, Travaris Robinson, Vernon Hargreaves, Will Muschamp

P Johnny Townsend: commit No. 30 | OL/TE Trevon Young: commit No. 29 | JUCO DT Jarran Reed: commit No. 28 | DT Jay-nard Bostwick: commit No. 27 | Muschamp discusses class; assistants evaluate signees | Video interviews with coaches | “Closing”, quarterback situation

Courtesy of the University of Florida‘s University Athletic Association:

EARLY ENROLLEES (8)

Alex Anzalone • Linebacker
6’3″ • 220 • Wyomissing, PA (Wyomissing Area)
PRIOR TO FLORIDA: Helped Wyomissing High to its first Class AA state championship in 2012, finishing 16-0, a school single-season record for wins…Selected to the 2013 Under Armour All-American Game…Finished his senior year with over 1,000 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns from the fullback position and registered more than 100 tackles…Earned a spot on the 247Sports Class of 2013 All-America team…Named senior Class AA Player of the Year as part of the 2012 Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State Team…As a junior, was named first team all-state, all-region and all-county…In 2011, ran for over 900 yards and scored 13 touchdowns and was named to the all-state team…Invited to “The Opening”, an all-star summer prospect camp held on the Nike Campus…Chose Florida over Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, USC, UCLA, Miami, Tennessee, Pitt, Stanford, Georgia and Florida State…Coached by Bob Wolfrum.

Darious Cummings • Defensive tackle
6’1″ • 310 • Titusville, FL (Astronaut/Florida St./East Mississippi CC)
PRIOR TO FLORIDA: Played in all 10 games during the 2012 season at EMCC, tallying 26 tackles (12 unassisted) with 4.0 TFL (12 yards), 3.0 sacks, two quarterback hurries and one forced fumble…EMCC finished 8-2 on the year and ranked 15th in the final NJCAA poll…Anchored a defense that allowed just 74.2 rushing yards per game…Notched a season-high four tackles twice during the season, against Pearl River CC and Itawamba CC…Played under head coach Buddy Stephens at EMCC…Spent two years at Florida State before transferring to EMCC…Played in three games as a true freshman and two games as a sophomore before suffering an injury that caused him to miss most of the 2011 season…Totaled seven tackles in five career games at FSU…Missed the spring of 2012 at FSU after arthroscopic knee surgery and then transferred to EMCC in the summer of 2012…Entered his senior year of high school with 159 tackles, including 22 for loss and 15 sacks…Was the first commit in FSU’s 2010 signing class…Was a Florida Super 75 selection by the Times-Union…Named to SunStateFootball.com all-state first team in 2009…Attended the same high school as former Gator football players LB Wilber Marshall, WR Cris Collinsworth and TE Aaron Walker…Chose Florida over offers from Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Arkansas.

Continue Reading » Florida Gators 2013 National Signing Day bios

Tags: Adam Lane, Ahmad Fulwood, Alex Anzalone, Alvin Bailey, Antonio Riles, Caleb Brantley, Cameron Dillard, Chris Thompson, Daniel McMillian, Darious Cummings, Demarcus Robinson, Jarrad Davis, Jarran Reed, Jay-nard Bostwick, Joey Ivie, Jordan Sherit, Keanu Neal, Kelvin Taylor, Marcell Harris, Marqui Hawkins, Matt Rolin, Max Staver, Nick Washington, Octavius Jackson, Roderick Johnson, Trenton Brown, Tyler Moore, Vernon Hargreaves

Long-time 2013 linebacker commitment James Hearns (Tallahassee, FL) and the Florida Gators officially parted ways on Thursday.

According to InsidetheGators.com’s Blake Alderman, Hearns and Florida decided an amicable split would be best for both parties as the player’s grades and ability to eventually qualify for admission were a continued concern for the school.

Hearns, who originally committed to the Gators on Feb. 2, 2012 as the team’s fourth 2013 pledge, is a unanimous four-star prospect who Rivals ranks as the 197th-best player in the nation.

At the time of his Florida pledge, Hearns boasted an impressive offer list that included teams like Alabama, Florida State, Georgia and LSU. Due to academic concerns, his list of potential destinations will be much more limited this time around.

Though losing a player of Hearns’s talent is not a positive for any recruiting class, the Gators have four other linebackers already committed for 2013 including five-star Alex Anzalone (Wyomissing, PA), four-star Daniel McMillian (Jacksonville, FL), four-star Matt Rolin (Ashburn, VA) and three-star Jarrad Davis (Kingsland, GA).

Landing Anzalone as an early enrollee came as a surprise for Florida, meaning Herans’s departure is even less impactful in the long run. The Gators are also still involved in the recruitment of four-star Quinton Powell (Daytona Beach, FL), who is set to decide on National Signing Day between UF or USC.

Tags: Alex Anzalone, Daniel McMillian, James Hearns, Jarrad Davis, Matt Rolin, Quinton Powell

The Florida Gators’ 2013 recruiting class is seemingly growing by the day with the team reportedly adding yet another prized commitment on Saturday from three-star linebacker Jarrad Davis (Kingsland, GA).

Jeff Herron, Davis’s head coach at Camden County High School, confirmed to 247 Sports (which first reported the pledge) that the player had decided to flip from Auburn to Florida after being extended an offer this week.

The Gators found a spot open in their recruiting class after four-star LB Quinton Powell (Daytona Beach, FL) decommitted on Monday. The coaching staff stopped by Davis’s house this week and gave him a scholarship offer shortly thereafter.

Florida has added five commitments and lost one since Dec. 9.

Three players – four-star LB Matt Rolin (Ashburn, VA) and three-star offensive linemen Roderick Johnson (Delray Beach, FL) and JUCO player Trenton Brown (Milledgeville, GA) – joined the team on Sunday.

Two days after Powell’s decommitment, on Wednesday, four-star wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (Fort Valley, GA) pledged to play for the Gators.

Of Florida’s five recent commitments, three were previously committed elsewhere – Rolin (South Carolina), Robinson (Clemson) and Davis (Auburn).

The Gators now have 26 total pledges including 25 that count as members of the 2013 recruiting class.

Davis joins Rolin and four-stars James Hearns (Tallahassee, FL) and Daniel McMillian (Jacksonville, FL) as linebackers committed in this class.

Tags: Daniel McMillian, Demarcus Robinson, James Hearns, Jarrad Davis, Matt Rolin, Quinton Powell, Roderick Johnson, Trenton Brown