Muschamp is not using 2011 as an evaluation season per se but while the team is struggling to get into the W column on a consistent basis, he is noticing some qualities about the players that give him a sense of promise for the future.

“I see a lot of improvement regardless of the results,” he said Saturday. “In the big picture of things, we’ve made tremendous improvements. We play blocks much better up front at times. We do a better job in the run game against a quality defensive football team. [...] We ran the ball in the second half. Is there improvement? Yes. Is it what we want? No. Is it where it needs to be? No. Are we going to get there? Yes, it’s going to get there. You play three quality teams that you feel like you had opportunities to win the games. Is it frustrating? Yeah. But it’s frustrating to lose one when you don’t play very well, too.”

He went into further detail on Monday, discussing specifically the improvements he is seeing game-in and game-out. “We all look at the result at the end of the game and feel like nothing good is happening. That’s not the case. We have a lot of positive things happening, just not enough to get us over the hump to win those games,” Muschamp said.

“The effort. Guys are playing hard with great effort. Individually guys that are doing nice things, as a team doing nice things. We’re just very inconsistent. You can attribute it to a lot of different things, but the bottom line is that it’s inconsistent. I see things that are very promising as far as where we are and what we’re trying to do. It’s not what we want right now, but we’ll certainly get there.

“We improved our tackling defensively. Both linebackers have played extremely well this season. We’re a little inconsistent in some situations Saturday, but we’ve played blocks better up front. We’ve improved in the secondary. Jordan Reed is playing really well. A.C. Leonard is coming along and playing really well. The running backs have played well all season. I think John [Brantley] continues to play well, and I think we’ve got a bright future with Jacoby [Brissett] and Jeff Driskel. Matt Patchan is playing his best football, and Jon Halapio is playing very well. We’re not consistent enough across the board, but there are some guys who are playing good football. Jon Bostic is having an outstanding season.

“There’s a fine line in winning and losing. It’s a really fine line from being 5-5 and possibly 8-2. There’s really fine line, and it goes back to those 8-10-12 plays in a game – you got to make those plays. You got to put your guys in situations to be successful and that’s my job.”

BOWL ELIGIBILITY NOT A CARROT TO BE DANGLED

As a coach who expects much from his players, Muschamp said he has never considered and certainly is not now using bowl eligibility as any type of motivator for his team going into the Furman game.

“For me it’s about playing better. It’s about coaching better. If you do that, things will take care of themselves,” he said. “We’ve had our opportunities in the last four weeks to do that. We haven’t exactly closed it out. I don’t know that bowl eligibility should be a motivating factor for you as a competitor.

“When you step on the field, you compete. You can do it every day in practice, you can do it every day in meetings, and you do it every day during game day regardless of who is lined up on the other side. That’s the mental attitude you want to have as a competitor. It’s to go out and compete. You don’t need to be motivated by external factors, in my opinion.”

One positive result of becoming bowl eligible, something that the Gators will be on Saturday after their likely victory over the Paladins, is that Florida will get nearly three additional weeks of practice before playing in the game. Those can be used not only to prepare for the upcoming opponent but to set the tone for spring practice in 2012.

“They’re very important,” Muschamp said of the additional practices. “You got a great opportunity to scrimmage your young players. Our young players have been scrimmaging all year. It’s an opportunity to go out and rep, get better, familiarize with your scheme a little more, get guys turns and reps in what they’re doing. There’s no question – generally you try to get 4-5 fundamental practices and then 4-5 practices on your opponent. And then you break for Christmas, come back to the bowl site and get 4-5 more practices. It’s in essence another spring ball. There is no question it is very beneficial for your program.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» On what adjustments he made at halftime: “Execute. Execute.”

» On playing a tough SEC slate of games: “We have two really good teams in our league in Alabama and LSU. The rest of us you could throw us in a sack and shake us up.”

» On his players fumbling the ball: “We just got to play different guys.”

» On deciding to kick the field goals and not go for touchdowns on fourth down: “The game is all about points. Neither offense was doing a whole lot. It was all about getting points early in the game to me. Get as many points as you can, don’t squelch opportunities in the red zone, which we did. You got to score touchdowns in there.”

» On Brantley’s mental makeup: “John’s a guy that, I’ll tell you, I’m very impressed with him as a person and what he’s all about. He’s all about the right things.”

» On the wide receivers not getting separation: “We got to play better. We got to coach better.”

» On the offensive and defensive lines: “Not very good. Real simple. We’re not deep enough. We don’t have enough numbers. It’s real simple. Just look at the roster. We’ve got good talent. We don’t have enough numbers.”

» On if it will take long to develop depth on the lines: “We’ll recruit well up front. I feel very excited about where we are from that standpoint. We’ll continue to improve and gain depth as far as the recruiting is concerned and do a better job coaching the guys here on campus.”

» On if the 5-5 season has affected recruiting: “None.”

» On why redshirt freshman wide receiver Quinton Dunbar has not done more this year: “Given his opportunities, he has played well. A little bit is Andre has made some big plays for us, especially in the middle of the season as we’ve moved forward. They play the same position in most situations, so Andre [Debose]’s made a little bit more vertical plays down the field. Very pleased with Quinton recognized this morning for his effort on the field, his blocking in the game. I look for him to continue getting some opportunities.”

» On if Florida is getting enough out of the freshman class: “I’d have to individually think through in my head. Both quarterbacks are going to be outstanding; I’m pleased with where both of them are. Offensively right now A.C. Leonard has really come on. It really put him behind when he had the knee injury there in camp he missed a lot of time. For a freshman that’s very difficult when you miss that many turns and that many reps. I’m very pleased with the secondary players that have played extremely well for us. Graham Stewart has done some nice things at linebacker. Chris Johnson on special teams has been outstanding, Louchiez Purifoy. For a freshman class, there are a bunch of them playing and probably only three guys who will be redshirted in the class.”

» On why penalty numbers being down overall: “We’ve emphasized it as much as we can go over it. We have crowd noise at every practice. We hard count on defense probably once every 2-3 snaps. In critical situations we talk about it. We text the players about it. We’re exhausting every measure we can of jumping offsides and having false starts offensively. We’re going to continue to do a better job because we’re not doing a good job obviously. We’ve been doing that all along. That’s something that we’ve practiced and we do. That’s just what we do. [...] We’ve talked about it. We text them. We had a t-shirt made [that reads] ‘hard count.’ We’ve done everything. We’re exhausting all measures.”

Muschamp provided his perspective on Saturday’s opponent, Kentucky, from all three facets of the game.

“They lost a lot of their core offensive playmakers from last year – some really good players – so I think they’re still searching for an identity offensively.

“Defensively they’re only giving up 13 points a game, so they’re playing very well defensively. They’ve got some playmakers on defense that are doing a nice job.

“Special teams, they’re leading in kickoff coverage and kickoff return in the SEC – two of the four categories I know they’re leading the SEC.”

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

For the first time this season, the Gators will leave the friendly confines for Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and head out for a road game in Lexington, KY. Muschamp said Monday that even though 16 players on the two-deep depth chart will be making their first road trip with the team, he does not plan to change the team’s preparation.

“In the preseason I wanted to fly to Canada, but Jeremy [Foley] turned me down,” he said joking about the team preparing to go on the road. “We do the same routine through practice schedule, and then Friday we have our normal walk through and meetings that we have here. We get on the plane and go to the hotel. Generally we go to a movie the night before the game if we play a night game, which we are playing a night game. All of our game day stuff is the same; it’s just a different hotel and a different stadium to play in. We try to approach everything with a real methodical approach in everything we do. We don’t change a whole lot as far as what we do, just the surroundings are a little different.”

WEIS’s INFLUENCE DRIVING THE OFFENSE

It makes sense that the team’s offensive coordinator have a major impact on the performance of that unit’s players, but with Charlie Weis in the fold, the turnaround has been perhaps quicker than some expected even if it hasn’t been painless. Muschamp expressed on Monday how impressed he is with Weis from a coaching standpoint, especially how he deals with quarterbacks and his methods during the game.

“I think when you coach the quarterback, it’s a different mentality. It’s a different temperament. Quarterback is a position you’ve got to handle. Charlie, I think, does a great job on the sideline as far as finding out what’s working and what John feels good with,” he said. “His experience speaks for itself, and the experience he’s had with quarterbacks. He manages it the way he likes to manage it, and I think it’s been very productive obviously for us to this point.

“I really enjoy the interaction he and I have on game day as far as where we are and what we’re doing as far as how we’re playing defensively, how we’re playing offensively, special teams what we need to do in the game to take advantage to try to win the ballgame.”

Brantley agreed, stating that the conversations they have on the sideline after drives really help him throughout the game. “Depending on how the drive goes, he picks out the coverages, what they’re bringing, trying to figure out early what it’s going to be – a man-to-man game or a zone game,” he said.

The signal caller also mentioned that Weis is well-prepared from a play calling standpoint heading into each contest. “He’ll script, it seems like, two-to-three drives almost. He’ll try to stick with it as much as he can,” Brantley said. “He’ll put down some ideas and ask me how comfortable I feel about everything and if I feel comfortable with what he’s got, then we’ll go with that. So far so good.”

SECONDARY NEEDS TO SOLIDIFY, BUT IT IS GETTING THERE

Though Florida’s secondary had its share of struggles on Saturday, Muschamp was pleased with the overall effort of the young group. He insisted that, even though there were numerous pass interference calls against them, they remain aggressive even as they improve and get smarter going forward.

“You coach off the tape. You look at the tape technically and say, ‘You’re in position here. You could’ve done this, you couldn’t have done that. That’s a bang-bang play. You’re in good position, you make the play on the ball. Those things happen,’” he explained. “We’re going to stay and we’re going to play aggressively. I told them this morning, ‘Continue to play aggressively in what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.’”

NOTES & QUOTES

» Muschamp on Powell’s play and effort on Saturday: “Played his best game out of the first three, got some really good pressure. [...] More than anything he played fast, played physical, and that’s what we’re needing out of him. He certainly had it in him, and we just got to do a better job of coaching.”

» Muschamp on if he is worried he is garnering a reputation with officials: “No.”

» Muschamp on how the offensive line is playing: “We’ve made a lot of progress on the offensive line. I don’t know that we played our best game against Tennessee. We had a couple procedural issues that set us back on the sack in the red zone going in. A lot of missed protection, which was the first sack we have given up this season. I don’t think we played our best game up front offensively. Jon Harrison played very well, but across the board we can played better.”

» Muschamp on freshman CB Marcus Roberson’s penalties and positioning: “I thought he played extremely well. I thought he kept receivers cut off down the field. He’s very disruptive on the line of scrimmage. He’s got good ball skills and had some good opportunities in the game. Very pleased with his progress. He works hard at practice. He has good retention day-in and day-out in what we do and how we do it. I’ve been very pleased with his progress.”

» Muschamp on Florida having won 24-straight against Kentucky: “I think it has zero factor in what is going to happen Saturday night. Absolutely none. Most of our guys weren’t alive then.”

» Muschamp on if fumbles drive him nuts: “It’s not good. Fumbles…we don’t want it to happen. We coach and talk about holding the ball high and tight and the pressure points of the ball. We emphasize ball security a lot. We got to continue to emphasize that, especially in the situation the other day when you’re in a pile. Certainly the protection of the ball is the most important thing, possession of the ball.”

» Muschamp on if Purifoy is earning playing time on defense with his efforts on special teams: “He’s played well, he’s practiced well and deserves the opportunity.”

» Muschamp on looking ahead to Kentucky: “It’s a series of one-game seasons. Whatever you did the last time out really doesn’t matter. It’s about the next time out and the match-ups and the opportunity you have to make plays on the ball and play on the line of scrimmage and make plays on offense and special teams.”

» Brantley on if he trusts the receivers: “I think the receivers have done a fine job. I trust them no matter what happens. I’m going to keep throwing to them, and I trust that they’re going to be able to get open.”

» Brantley on the 24-game winning streak: “You got to put that in the past. That’s a cool thing, but we just got to worry about this year, this weekend coming up.”

» Brantley on reducing miscues on offense: “We just got to be better with the communication. We got to be more precise. There should be no mixed signals or anything. That’s what you try to work on during the week, have a little bit of noise out there during practice and work on that communication.”

» Brantley on the offensive line so far: “I have all the confidence in the world with my offensive line. We studied real hard this offseason during spring ball and camp, so we know where our outlets are. We’re just trying to give what the defense gives us.”

» Brantley on Muschamp’s intensity during the game: “I think Coach Muschamp has a different kind of energy – you saw him go after the refs a little bit. He’s really into the game just like any other coach would be. Very supportive with the offense and defense. He might just have a little different kind of intensity.”

» Brantley said he is able to recognize some of the stuff that New England QB Tom Brady does during games (when he watches him on TV). He notices how he identifies the Mike linebacker and even sees how some of the plays look familiar as they are being run. Though the two have never spoke, Brantley thinks he can learn from watching Brady, especially considering many of the plays they run are in Weis’s offense.

» Junior LB Jon Bostic on the defensive line helping blitzing linebackers: “It helps us out a lot. With them taking on double teams, basically holding those offensive linemen off us, basically they have to choose one, where we can come freely or it allows us to come freely.”

» Bostic on redshirt junior LB Lerentee McCray: “He’s one of those guys who can put his hand down and rush the passer, he can stand up and play Sam and drop back in pass coverage. From a physical standpoint, that’s where you’re seeing Lerentee come along. He’s one of those guys that can come down, hit a fullback right in the mouth, and make the fullback not want to come that way anymore. I’ve known that since I first got here. He’s always been one of those tough guys who likes to go hard and always likes to prove a point every play he’s on the field.”

» Bostic on Muschamp yelling at the officials: “He’s one of those coaches who kind of just likes to get after it. Wants to make sure all of the calls are right and the game is just played fair.”

He might be best versed in the secondary, but Muschamp knows that it all starts in the trenches (a mantra he has repeated throughout the offseason). With that said, he is none too pleased with the team’s lack of consistency getting the quarterback without having to blitz and hopes that improves in the near future. “We’ve got to get more consistent rushing. It’s just not consistently winning the one-on-ones. If you’re going to play coverage, the best pass defense in America is a pass rush,” he said. “You can’t do it with pressure all the time and create middle-field coverage and a lot of one-on-ones outside. You got to be smart in how you pressure, and you’ve got to be able to pressure with four guys. That’s something that, when we’ve been able to affect the quarterback, we’ve had four good ones rushing up front. Whoever got the one-on-one was going to win. That’s the best pass defense in America.”

As Florida continues to work to that end, Muschamp thinks senior defensive end William Green, redshirt junior DE Lerentee McCray and sophomore buck linebacker Ronald Powell have been solid thus far for the Gators.

Another thing Muschamp is wary of is overloading the team from a mental aspect. Already concerned with the mistakes being made during the first week of practice (“[I’m] pleased with our physical effort, not as pleased with our mental effort as much – a lot of mental mistakes and things we’ve got to get cleaned up.”), he is making a conscientious effort not to overload the team with too much too fast.

“That’s a fine line,” he said when asked if the 3-4 defense was being heavily installed. “You can’t do so much that your players are confused. We’re right now weeding things out on what we do to get our guys to play fast and get them ready for the season. What I don’t want to do during the season is install new stuff each week. That makes for a slow player on Saturday. We need to install for the season. We’ve game planned; we’ve looked at all our opponents so we have an idea within our scheme what we need to do to be successful. We’re trying to pare down right now where we are.”

Asked how he felt the team was progressing up to this point, Muschamp would neither say that the team was behind nor ahead of his projection. “We are where we are. It’s a little frustrating because we’re thin with our numbers – on both lines of scrimmage,” he said. “We’re pushing through that, and I think the guys have worked hard. Mentally we need to be sharper; we need to be mentally tougher in training camp. That’s where you build the toughness of your football team from that standpoint. Training camp is hard, it’s not easy, it’s not supposed to be easy.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» On what the team has been doing recently in practice: “A lot of situational work in the last 4-5 practices – third down, coming out, a lot of special teams emphasis of different situations that are going to come up in different games, two minute situations, end of game, down a touchdown, down two scores, down three points – putting the offense and defense in those situations. We worked crowd noise for the first time tonight, worked a lot of up-tempo on both sides of the ball. I’ve been pleased with that. A lot of red zone work – we’ve been in the red zone the last four practices.”

» On units necessitating cohesion: “The offensive line position and secondary have got to be close knit as far as their communication and being on the same page for what we’re trying to do.”

» On Texas A&M possibly going to the SEC: “I’m trying to get pass rush. I could care less about what the Aggies are doing. I can certainly say that. I haven’t given it a whole lot of thought to be honest with you. Believe me, that decision is made way above my head, I can certainly tell you that.”

» On the team’s pass rush: “I’ve been thinking about that a lot more than I have the Ags, I can tell you that.”

» There are no other major injuries right now aside from that of freshman tight end A.C. Leonard (torn meniscus, 6-8 weeks). Muschamp said there are some bumps and bruises (hamstrings, shoulders, ankles) but “nobody will be out for any extended period of time to this point” while knocking on wood (his desk).

» Redshirting players is a decision the coaches will make a few games into the season. He said it is “too hard to project right now” with so many variables. The coaching staff has not yet discussed redshirts and it will not likely be a topic of conversation until after the team’s second scrimmage next Saturday (the first one is Monday).

» The back-up quarterbacks have not begun to separate themselves yet. “The scrimmage situation is a good evaluator for that,” Muschamp said. Over the course of the last four practices, the coaches have been off the field and letting the players play. Muschamp said the QBs have been identifying the mike linebacker well and communicating properly with their unit. “Obviously John [Brantley] has been way above the others, but I think all four at times have had nice moments.”

» As far as the secondary goes, Muschamp is emphasizing substitutions a lot for the nickel set and is pleased with the work of cornerbacks redshirt senior Moses Jenkins and freshmen De’Ante Saunders, Marcus Roberson and Louchiez Purifoy. He also singled at sophomore Matt Elam as the most consistent safety but said junior Josh Evans mentally needs to get his assignments down and work on communication. Muschamp praised sophomore Jaylen Watkins and redshirt freshman Joshua Shaw, adding that sophomore CB Cody Riggs will be getting some reps at safety after Monday’s scrimmage.

» Redshirt sophomore linebacker Dee Finely has been “solid” at his position but is also playing “outstanding” on special teams, according to Muschamp. He missed Saturday evening’s practice due to an undisclosed injury, but the team expects him to be back in action on Monday.

» Freshman safety Chris Johnson (5’9”, 205 lbs.) has been taking reps inside at linebacker for the last few days.

Though redshirt senior John Brantley has been named the team’s starting quarterback over and over again, the development of the three players behind him on the depth chart is important, especially if he struggles once again in 2011. To that end, Muschamp is very pleased with what he has seen from some of the younger signal callers.

Redshirt freshman Tyler Murphy: Brantley’s back-up, Murphy is a year older than the other two but has taken just as many snaps – none. “Tyler Murphy has done a really nice job of managing the offense. We did a move the field today where the coaches got off the field and let the players play. Tyler took us on a nice drive down the field.”

Freshman Jeff Driskel: Muschamp said the game is slowing down for him and he is beginning to read coverages better. “Jeff Driskel, the first five days have been very solid [for him]. [There has been] a lot of carryover from spring. He’s a lot more comfortable.”

Freshman Jacoby Brissett: Enrolling in the summer, Brissett is a little behind the eight ball but is catching up quickly. “Jacoby is doing an outstanding…the guy has got a big-time arm talent and great leadership ability. He’s going to be a really football player for the Gators. Obviously not going through spring and him just coming in the summer, he’s a little further behind just from the amount of being exposed to everything. He will catch up because he’s extremely intelligent.”

ROBERSON THE NEXT GREAT FRESHMAN CORNER?

Florida has had its share of successful freshman cornerbacks in recent years and if the opinions of his teammates and coaches mean anything (they do), Roberson may very well be seeing plenty of playing time in 2011.

“Marcus comes from a great high school program – he’s been very well-coached,” Muschamp explained. “Football is very important to him. He spends an awful lot of time studying the game, spending extra time in the meeting room. He’s always early to the meting room and gives great effort on the field.

“God’s blessed him. He’s got legnth, top-end speed and great ball skills. All the critical factors you’re looking for in a defensive back, he’s got. I’ve been very pleased in five practices; he’s got to continue to do it.”

OTHER EVALUATIONS

On redshirt senior transfer center Dan Wenger: “It’s been very beneficial for, especially in the summertime we can’t have any contact as far as football is concerned, so in essence he has been a coach on the field. He’s a guy who has been in this system for 3-4 years, understands it, very smart, wants to be a coach, wants to be a strength coach. His brother is a defensive coordinator at St. Thomas Aquinas. He’s got that blood in him, so that’s what he wants to do. You take all of those factors, and football is very important to Dan, and he’s been a very valuable part of what we’re trying to do in helping some of the young guys.”

On the team’s starting cornerbacks: “We’ve adjusted every day at corner so far right now. We’ve had combinations of Jeremy [Brown] and Cody Riggs, Jeremy and Moses [Jenkins], Moses and Jermey, all of those guys have repped. [De’Ante] “Pop” Saudners has repped with the first team. I’ve been very pleased with Marcus Roberson and Louchiez Purifoy and what they can do. They’re very good athletes; they’re learning our system. They did a good job studying this summer. I’m pleased with our athleticism, the experience is what concerns me, but I’ll take athleticism over that.”

DEVELOPING TEAM CHEMISTRY

In addition to strength and conditioning coordinator Mickey Marotti working the players hard and forcing them to bond over the summer, Muschamp explained that additional initiatives have been undertaken in hopes of bringing the team closer together.

“We took the locker room and we didn’t really do it by position or by class, we kind of separated it – young, old, offense, defense, guys that would never interact with each other unless they had to,” he said. “We put a players’ lounge back in the locker room. We built that and think that’s important. Terry Jackson, he’s our life skills director and spiritual development director, he’s going to have a lounge upstairs so the players have two different places to go and relax.”

Muschamp noted that the NCAA taking away athletic dormitories was a blow to creating team chemistry because players instinctively stick with guys from their own class and don’t venture outside of that comfort zone. ”You don’t get to know the other guys as well – especially if they’re on the other side of the ball,” he said. “We [also] tried to create some leadership groups this summer, they were made up of teams and it was a competition that Mickey created for them.”

NIXON’s GIRTH A KEY FACTOR FOR O-LINE’s SUCCESS

Earning a starting role as a freshman but falling off slightly as a sophomore, tackle Xavier Nixon’s main goal over the summer was gaining weight. Suffering through a sickness that actually caused him to drop some lbs., Nixon ended up succeeding his goal and is now up to 290 lbs. heading into fall camp. Muschamp said that getting bigger and stronger was a necessity for not only his success but also the entire unit’s.

“He’s an important player for us to have a good year offensively. As a football team, we needed him to have some girth [to play] in this league,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to run the ball, and you’ve got to be able to anchor and set edges. He’s certainly athletically has got all the tools to be successful. Him adding that girth and that strength and being able to sustain through our season is going to be critical for us.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

On the first day of practice: “It went OK. Everybody’s excited. We had some very good retention – especially with the older players. Some decent retention with some of the younger players.”

On if senior running back Jeff Demps looked a little lost coming back: “Looked great actually. Really good. I thought he looked great this morning. He and Chris [Rainey] both.”

On where the leadership will come from: “We have some younger guys that are going to be playing a lot, start. Those guys need to step into that role.”

On not being able to fully practice pass rush until later in the fall: “We’ll have three full scrimmages in the fall where we will have good tackling, crisp tackling, so we ought to be solid coming into the first game.”

On what stood out about the Gators’ pass rush in 2010: “I don’t know that we didn’t pressure the quarterback well; we didn’t sack the quarterback well.”

On Brown’s first day: “He was good. It’s hard on a running back when we’re [just] in helmets. He went and did everything.”

On redshirt junior T Matt Patchan’s return: “He can move around good, got his hands out there and on people. He was fine as far as all that. It’s hard to determine until they are truly able to put their pads on, play with pad level and strike. It’s very frustrating to be in helmets sometimes.”

On Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s misinformation rant: “If he wants to put something on a message board, somebody will have to put the computer on for him, show him how to use the mouse and probably keyboard it as well. He’s not very advanced as far as technology is concerned.”

On his own injury information policy: “Our policy really is we’re going to be as honest as we can. But it’s not the NFL; we don’t have to disclose anything. So that’s going to be my policy.”