Though no one would come out and say that he was exaggerating per se, both Easley and Howard said they did not believe the team’s scrimmage on Wednesday was as bad as Muschamp made it out to be in his evening media availability.

“From my perspective, everything went good. We came out obviously some things went bad, every team certain things go bad, but from the way I look at it, everything went good,” Easley said. Hunter added, “It was OK. I think both sides of the ball could have did a little bit better, but I think for the most part it was OK. We still got to come together as a team a little bit more and be a little bit mentally sharp on our plays, but it was OK.”

Easley said that the team has “actually…gotten way better since the first two scrimmages” even though he knows the team is “not perfect yet but we will be there soon.” Hunter thinks the team needs to focus on “sharpening up mentally, getting all our plays down, [and] being able to make the right adjustments we need to make in crunch time situations.”

Overall though, Easley believes Muschamp was less angry and more disappointed in the outing. “He seemed a little bit upset because some plays went wrong, some people didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing, but that happens everywhere,” he said. “He just wants us to know that we’re not who we’re supposed to be yet and we’re going to be there soon, we just got to keep going at it.”

BRANTLEY SHOULD BE FINE, DEMPS SAYS

With redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley on the mend with a sore back, senior running back Jeff Demps noted on Thursday that he is confident he will be ready to face Florida Atlantic in the first game of the season. “I don’t think it’s that serious,” he said. The back-ups are ready, but I doubt that John is going to miss that game.”

He also explained that, while Brantley did have his reps limited during the scrimmage and has missed a few practices, he is using that time wisely.

“He’s been practicing. Last night he was limited, but throughout camp he’s been going full-go, he said. “Yeah, uh-huh, his back has been kind of bothering him. I’m not concerned. With him and his back issue, I think they’re giving him a chance to get back in the playbook and pick up the offense even better.”

HIGH PRAISE FOR ELAM

Given his first real opportunity to speak to the media since stepping on campus, Easley was also very vocal when it came to what sophomore safety Matt Elam brings to the team day-in and day-out. “My opinion – this is my opinion – I think he’s the best thing out there. He works hard at everything he does,” he said. “Basically he’s relentless every play; he doesn’t take off not one snap. [He’s the best] I see out there. Period. His whole plan is to beat that snap every play. He’s just a smart player. He can read the field, like he’s our quarterback of the defense.”

OFFENSIVE LINE STEPPING UP

Considered one of the potentially weakest units on the team going into the offseason due to its youth and relative lack of depth, the Gators offensive line has been a highlight for the ream recently according to Muschamp and the players.

Demps said Thursday that the chemistry amount the unit is apparent. “They’re playing together now. All over the summer they were having events – just the line hanging out and getting closer together,” he explained. “You can tell it now because, like I said, they’re playing like a unit.”

Offering up a similar story about the line was Easley, who specifically tries to go against redshirt sophomore right guard Jon Halapio in practice each day. “That’s like a family there. The offensive line, I’d say that’s like the strongest group of our team right now,” he explained. “Everything is all together. Everybody knows what page each other’s on. No matter where we’re at, if we’re off or on the field… Nobody knows this but every Thursday or Wednesday they have dinner together, and they’ve been doing that since I’d say the end of spring.”

Easley added that Halapio is “the strongest guy” he faces but that neither of the two men usually get the best of each other over the course of a day’s activities. “We’re working each other. He’s working me, I’m working him, so we’re just getting each other better,” Esaley said. “He wins, I win, he wins, I win, I love going against him. We just try to get each other better.”

And how did he respond to Halapio’s comments from Wednesday stating that Easley never seems to get tired on the field and has become a relentless player? “I just have fun,” he responded. “You’ll always see me dancing. I just try to keep dancing and just have fun, not think about the tiredness.”

HUNTER’s GOT JOKES

Asked if he was concerned about Brantley having his reps limited in practice due to a sore back, Hunter quipped that he “didn’t even know he was not healthy,” saying that when he rushed the passer he didn’t look at the jersey and just assumed it was him.

Hunter also talked about being excited for the season to begin. “I’m so ready to hit someobody other than my teammates,” he said. “I’m just really feeling the itch to hit somebody. I might hit Demps today.”

Asked if redshirt senior running back Chris Rainey did a good job blocking a pass rusher recently, he said that the player is getting better” and though he “didn’t like to do it before, I think he enjoys it now.” As to whether or not Demps recently took out a defensive end in a recent practice? “I do believe that. He’s a little sneaky.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» Easley on if the defense is dominating the offense in the trenches: “Everybody’s doing good, but we emphasize that it starts with up front first, so we’re trying to make that statement.”

» Easley on how he has improved the most: “[I’m] more about the game. More about reading people, reading the offensive lineman, just becoming a wiser defensive lineman.”

» Easley on playing nose tackle vs. three-technique: “I’ve played the nose since I got here last year, but I just started playing the three-technique this summer. I’m playing both equally.”

» Easley on Halapio saying he’s not a good dancer: “I try.”

» Easley on how much the team can improve with another week of practice: “Seven days better.”

» Easley on how the defensive line has improved from a year ago: “Extremely good. Technique-wise, we’re way much wiser. As far as reading the offensive lineman, we’re better coached at that.”

» Hunter on being a leader as an older guy: “It’s kind of weird, but I enjoy it. I kind of look at myself as a leader in that aspect. I’ve been through a lot more things than these younger guys have went through. Grabbing younger guys and kind of pulling them in the right way, I like that.”

» Hunter on his passion for football now vs. last year: “I love football now. I wouldn’t say it was a struggle. I enjoyed my teammates last year and I enjoyed it last year, but this year a new energy and a new life with the coaches being here, and I enjoy it.”

» Hunter on taking a leadership role: “I feel like I’m one of the older guys. Myself, Willie Green and Jaye Howard, we are the three older guys on the defensive line, so when things are going wrong, people are looking to us to lead them. I do take that challenge on.”

» Hunter on getting to this point in his career with a new staff: “It’s fun. It’s something new. Something that re-motivated me to practice hard and play harder. This new fresh start over, it just made me focus more and [made] me more hungry.”

» Demps on his health: “Everything is good. I’ve been taking care of my body pretty good, so I’m feeling pretty healthy. I’ve been going through all the practices.”

» Demps on picking up the offense: “Some days it was easier than some other days, but it’s tough for me to miss the whole spring and then try to come back and learn it all in a couple weeks. My position coach, Coach [Charlie] Weis and the assistants have been helping me out.”

» Demps on his ability to pass protect: “It’s getting better. I still have some stuff to learn, but I think it’s getting better day by day.”

» Demps on junior RB Mike Gillislee and redshirt freshman RB Mack Brown: “They look pretty good. They’ve been running with the twos, but they still look pretty good to me. They’re running hard and just going through everything. [They’re working on] probably being more mentally focused, learning their plays also.”

» Demps on playing with Rainey at the same time: “It feels good. It takes some pressure off of me and him. Instead of worrying about one they got to worry about two now.”

» Muschamp thanked lacrosse head coach Amanda O’Leary for the temporary use of their practice field for a change of scenery. He expects to practice 12-14 times there before returning to the football practice fields and The Swamp for a few scrimmages.

» On redshirt senior defensive tackle Jaye Howard: “It has been good to get him back in the fold. He’s a load inside; got to get him to consistently give good effort all the time.”

» On redshirt freshman right tackle Chaz Green: “Chaz Green is a guy who has really stepped forward. [He] gets a lot of movement up front and does a nice job at the tackle position.”

» On redshirt sophomore WR Andre Debose: “Andre Debose made a very nice play in the back of the end zone today. We had a red zone period. [He] really went up and got the ball, a well-thrown ball.”

» On how he is managing the depth chart: “We change the depth chart everyday based on your last performance. We’re trying to promote consistency in your performance – it’s got to be an everyday thing in this league.”

» On the depth of the offensive line: “We just don’t have the numbers. I think we have 13 scholarship offensive linemen; you need 18. You’re missing a whole unit.”

» On redshirt junior Caleb Sturgis’s progression from a back injury: “He didn’t do any kickoffs in the spring. He kicked field goals and PATs. We haven’t really done a full kickoff unit. He has been kicking some kickoffs but not at the tempo we’re going to have him. He is strong; he had no issues in the summer as far as his workouts. We changed his routine a little bit [he’s not doing squats anymore] as far as the things he did, but he’s been kicking the ball extremely well thus far in camp.”

» On linebackers junior Jon Bostic and redshirt sophomore Jelani Jenkins: “The two inside backers defensively are outstanding. They’re very intelligent, very smart, great communicators.”

» Other players Muschamp singled out as being pleased with include redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley; wide receivers redshirt senior Deonte Thompson, redshirt junior Frankie Hammond, Jr. and redshirt freshman Quinton Dunbar; safeties sophomore Matt Elam, junior Josh Evans, redshirt freshman Joshua Shaw and sophomore Jaylen Watkins; and defensive ends redshirt junior Lerentee McCray and redshirt sophomore Kendric Johnson.

» On the freshman wall: “Freshmen hit a wall sometimes. We’ll get to that 12th, 14th, 16th practice. To consistently do it over and over again, for some guys, is hard. I’m not saying it hasn’t happened That generally is something you’re looking for – when they hit that wall. We have to just push them through that and hopefully they continue to get better.”

» On if the team has had any heat issues: “No, we have not. [Knocks on desk] We had a couple coaches who might have had a heat issue.” Muschamp added that there are tents on the practice field to keep players on the shade when they’re not active.

» On if two-a-days are necessary for college football: “That’s a personal preference. I feel like you do to push them through some things.”

» Muschamp said bringing in older players as walk-ons (considering the team is under the scholarship limit) is certainly a possibility, but those players would have to be hard workers and effective in their role.

This post will be updated in the near future.

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.”

BUILDING THE OFFENSIVE LINE

Muschamp continues to be worried about depth on three fronts, starting with the offensive line. Florida did not have much of an opportunity to build such depth in the spring as many players were injured and others were just putting their feet in the water for the first time.

“Obviously with the moving parts we had going through spring ball, that’s something we need to gel and we need to gel early,” Muschamp said. “We need to get five guys playing well together. And you’d like to build that number to seven, eight, nine, 10 guys if you can, but build depth on the offensive line of scrimmage.”

Overall, however, he is pleased with the development of the guys he got to see in spring. Muschamp praised redshirt sophomore guard Jon Halapio for his toughness and effort, junior tackle Xavier Nixon for being up to 290 lbs. but remaining athletic with more punch and power, and redshirt sophomore Jonotthan Harrison for his transition from guard to center – “that’s a tough deal to do, do make the calls. We put an awful lot on the center.” He was also excited about redshirt freshman Ian Silberman’s move to guard, and redshirt freshman Chaz Green’s growth at tackle.

BUILDING THE FRONT SEVEN

Just like on offense, Muschamp hopes his defensive line rotation is something that can be solidified by the time fall camp comes to a close. With plenty of depth at defensive tackle including the two veterans – redshirt senior Jaye Howard and redshirt junior Omar Hunter – he said that sophomore Sharrif Floyd will mainly play on the inside but will also see some time at defensive end. Senior DE William Green will primarily play there but also get some time at outside linebacker, too.

Linebacker is another position in which depth is a concern for Muschamp. Aside from junior Jon Bostic and redshirt sophomore Jelani Jenkins, he is looking to fill in the blanks. Helping him do just that might be redshirt freshman Michael Taylor, who stood out to him as a “tough, physical kid” who “understands a little more what we’re asking of him.” Muschamp also noted that redshirt sophomore Dee Finely is progressing from his move from the secondary: “When your position moves closer to the ball, the game happens a lot faster. He’s been a guy that’s shown some flashes and was very productive for us early in spring.”

Obviously sophomore buck LB Ronald Powell will be counted on heavily in the pass rush, but Green and redshirt junior DE Lerentee McCray will also both work on getting to the quarterback. “Lerentee has done some nice things. Willie Green has done some nice things. But, consistently we haven’t seen enough,” Muschamp said. He did, however, have some extra praise for McCray. “Lerentee has got a great motor. He is very passionate about playing at Florida. It’s important to him to be a Gator,” he said. “He’s a guy that can give us some pass rushing plays, plays extremely hard. He’s tough, and he sticks his face in there. He’s a guy that you really appreciate coaching; he’s always up in the meeting rooms to watch film, ask questions. We’re expecting him to have a really good year.”

BRANTLEY AND THE OFFENSE

Asked how well he and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis are meshing together, Muschamp noted the duo shares the same offensive philosophy and have a great working relationship. “We want to be a running football team, have the play actions off of it, but still be able to spread the field and create plays in space for our playmakers,” he said. “I’ve got great confidence where we are and where we’re headed with our offense.”

His confidence, of course, begins with redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley, who he believes should have complete trust in himself considering that Weis has all the faith in the world in regards to his abilities on the field. “He’s got great confidence in John; that should give John great confidence. That ought to give him great confidence as a quarterback, and I think it does,” Muschamp said.

He added there is “no question” that Brantley is the starter and noted that sophomore Tyler Murphy is currently the back up with freshmen Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett fighting for that role. “John is the starter. I say create some separation behind John; we need to find who is our backup quarterback going into the season, how are we going to tailor offense for the backup quarterback. And that’s a decision we need to make as quickly as we can in camp,” Muschamp explained.

FINDING A TRUSTWORTHY SECONDARY

With the Gators losing three veterans in the secondary, Muschamp has placed an emphasis on solidifying the positions, whether that is with older or younger players. “Secondary, I really like our athleticism,” he said. “I like starting with athleticism. I’d rather start with that than experience if I could take one of the two.”

He also shared his thoughts on four players in particular…

Sophomore safety Matt Elam: “Obviously, he plays safety and nickel, but he’s a guy who’s shown some play-making abilities. If you look at a defensive back and you look at critical factors of being able to play in space, that means you’ve got to be able to tackle and cover them, have physical toughness to play the position. He can spin in the box and play in the box and play in the deep part of the field. He judges the ball extremely well. He’s bright, he’s intelligent, and he can get in and out of the chase.”

Junior safety Josh Evans: “[He] has certainly been another guy that’s shown that he can do that.”

Redshirt freshman safety Josh Shaw: “[He] is certainly a guy who I think can do that, but he’s got to do it more consistently.

Sophomore cornerback Jaylen Watkins: “[He] is a young man we played at corner and safety in the spring and I think can give us a little position multiplicity in what he can do.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» Florida will be holding split-squad practices on the first few days of camp in order “to let younger players have a better opportunity to learn.” NCAA rules state that players can only practice once per day over the course of the first five days of practice. Therefore, Muschamp will have the older players practice early and plans to film them. The younger players will then watch the film and go out in the afternoon and practice. “Now they’re able to, at least for two practices, get a better idea of what is going to be expected on the practice field,” he said. Monday is the team’s first day as a full unit.

» On how younger players can also be leaders: “I’m not really worried about looking for senior leadership. You can be a sophomore, you can be a freshman and be a great leader. I’ve seen guys do that – positively affect the organization with how they play and how they approach things every day. We’ve got some guys, especially that sophomore class, that we’re counting on being very productive players and they need to be really good leaders on top of that.”

» On not allowing assistant coaches to speak to the media yet: “I do think it’s important right now that there’s one message for our football team, and I’m the one that knows that the best.”

» On having an open doors policy with former Gators: “I have open arms for every letterman that comes back here. They are welcome to come to any practices; it’s not closed to them. They can come to every practice if they want to. But when you have guys like Kevin Carter, who was in yesterday, Fred Taylor, Mike Peterson, Tim Tebow, I mean all these guys have come back in the summer. Percy Harvin, the list goes on, of guys that come back anytime so they can talk about their time at Florida and the expectations of playing at Florida. I’ve got a guy on my staff, Terry Jackson and Aubrey Hill, that played at Florida. They understand the expectation of what it takes to be successful here.”

» On that dirty word “potential:” “Potential? That means you really haven’t done anything. God blessed you with an awful lot of ability, you take advantage of it. Guys that get labeled with potential in our program don’t last long.”

» On being ranked No. 23 preseason: “I could care less.”

» On the future of sophomore Trey Burton: “I think he fits very well with what we want to do. He’s going to play what we call the F position. That position is going to be a full back, it’s going to be a slot receiver, it’s going to be a match-up on a linebacker outside, and it’s going to motion and create leverage in the run and pass game. He’s going to do so many things for us. He’s a guy that is going to be catching the football, he’s going to be blocking, he’s going to be carrying it. He was a short-yardage situation guy in the spring that was probably our best short yardage back. It is kind of limitless what he’s going to be doing in our offense.”

» Muschamp noted that replacing Chas Henry at punter will be difficult but that freshman Kyle Christy has the inside leg on the job. “[He’s] a young man that came in mid-year, very excited about him,” he said. Muschamp also mentioned, however, that senior David Lerner would have a fair shot at the gig.

33 – Chris Johnson (Ocala, FL)
Freshman safety
5’10” 198 lbs.

Quick Bio: A three-star recruit who attended the same high school as redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley, Johnson enters the season as a versatile defensive back who gives Florida plenty of options.

2011 Outlook: “Chris Johnson from Trinity is a very physical player, in the box safety,” Muschamp said on National Signing Day. “He’s shown skills to play outside in the deep part of the field.” Johnson may not make much of an impact in 2011 beyond playing on special teams and is a candidate for a redshirt.

33 – Mack Brown (Lithonia, GA)
Sophomore running back
5’10” 205 lbs.

Quick Bio/2010 Season: One of the top running backs in the country coming out of high school, he was a four-star recruit who currently majors in social and behavioral sciences. He appeared in two games as a true freshman in 2010, carrying the ball three times for 23 yards.

2011 Outlook: One of five scholarship rushers on the roster, Brown has a pair of seniors (Jeff Demps and redshirt Chris Rainey) in front of him as well as junior Mike Gillislee. He was broke his fibula during the spring but had successful surgery and was supposed to return to working out in July. Between the injury and the stacked depth chart, his potential impact in 2011 is up in the air.

32 – Gerald Christian (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
Sophomore tight end
6’3” 245 lbs.

Quick Bio/2010 Season: An early enrollee last January, Christian was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, where he was teammates with fellow Gators safety Matt Elam and wide receiver Robert Clark. The social and behavioral sciences major played in eight games as a freshman on the field goal unit and in goal-line formations.

2011 Outlook: Muschamp worked Christian out extensively at linebacker in the spring (also giving him some time at tight end) but ultimately decided that offense was where he belonged. He said on April 21 that Christian had returned to playing tight end and fullback and would likely stick with that role. “He’s working awful hard. I’m very proud of his effort and what he’s trying to do,” Muschamp said. “He’s done some nice things for us at tight end.” Christian will have to compete with redshirt sophomore Jordan Reed (the likely starter) and four-star commit and early enrollee A.C. Leonard for playing time.

31 – Cody Riggs (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Sophomore cornerback
5’9” 180 lbs.

Quick Bio/2010 Season: A four-star recruit coming out of high school, Riggs is a social and behavioral sciences major who is one of only six true freshman to play in all 13 games in 2010. He earned three starts (one in the Outback Bowl) and registered 18 tackles, three pass breakups and one interception. In addition to seeing plenty of time on defense, Riggs played as a gunner on the kickoff and punt coverage teams and had a solid first season in the Orange and Blue.

2011 Outlook: Muschamp said Riggs “had a great spring playing both corner and nickel” during a speaking engagement in April and said in March that he is the team’s most versatile defensive back. “Cody’s a good football player. He’s got a tremendous heart [and] all the ability as far as playing hard and playing fast and doing the things you got to do to be a good football player,” he added. With the loss of senior Janoris Jenkins, Muschamp may count on Riggs to start opposite Brown but could also use him in a variety of other ways.

THE COUNTDOWN: 99-90 | 89-80 | 79-70 | 69-60 | 59-50 | 49-40 |
39-30 | 29-20 | 19-10 | 9-1