Position coaches rarely make Gator Gathering appearances for the Florida Gators, especially in the spring, but the football program obviously did not want to spread head coach Will Muschamp too thin this offseason. That is why it was new wide receivers coach Joker Phillips who was chosen to speak in front of the West Palm Beach Gator Club on Tuesday at Roxy’s Rooftop in front of approximately 150 paying attendees.

OGGOA was on-site for the event and though Phillips did not speak with the media, a few newsworthy notes and quotes came out of the event.

» On a conversation he had before going on stage: “I was back in the back. There’s a guy named Frank who spells his name F-r-a-n-c-k, OK? That’s an unusual spelling, but Franck said, ‘Hey, we love you. Go Gators!’ I said, ‘They loved me at the last place until I played a game. Hope Franck loves me after this season.”

» On why he chose to continue his career at Florida: “I’m excited about being a part of Coach Muschamp’s vision. They paid me a lot of money at other places not to coach, so I had to make a decision. There were three things I decided that I wanted. I wanted to stay in the South where I can get sweet tea. I wanted to be able to recruit some of the elite athletes across the country. Third, I want to win a national championship. Coach Muschamp gave me the opportunity to do all the things I wanted by coming to Florida.”

» On how he perceives his position on the coaching staff: “My job as a receiver coach is to get you to where you’re supposed to be at on-time. Period. Get you to where you’re supposed to be at on-time, whether it’s the weight room, meetings, classroom, or curl route, slant route. [I must] get you to where the quarterback knows exactly where you’ll be at on-time. If the quarterback is taking three steps, and you’re supposed to be at five yards, you have got to be at five yards. You can’t be at eight. So many of our problems… I went around and listened to a lot of people talk about, ‘[Jeff] Driskel this…”No, no, it’s a combination. It’s a combination of blocking, a combination of Jeff, a combination of receivers not being where they’re supposed to be on time. And that’s my job as the receivers coach.”

Continue Reading » Joker Phillips gathers Gators in West Palm Beach

Tags: Andre Debose, Jeff Driskel, Joker Phillips, Loucheiz Purifoy, Solomon Patton, Will Muschamp

Below is the 2013 post-spring practice version of the Florida Gators depth chart. Though some fans will be excited to see where the team stacks up below, head coach Will Muschamp cautions each year that feeling that way is not worth the energy.

Muschamp makes it quite clear that he does not put a lot of stock into depth charts, even those that are published after spring practice is over. In fact, back in 2011 and again on Wednesday, he stated it is “not worth the paper it is printed on.” In other words, the depth chart seen here 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 April 24. Notations marked with (») denote changes from the pre-spring depth chart released March 12. Players marked with (*) were out for all or most of spring practice.

OGGOA will update this post with more from Muschamp shortly.

OFFENSE

QB: 6 Jeff Driskel, 10 Tyler Murphy
» Murphy inches ahead of 17 Skyler Mornhinweg for the No. 2 job.
RB: 24 Matt Jones, 33 Mack Brown
» Brown understandably inches ahead of freshman 21 Kelvin Taylor.~
FB: 43 Hunter Joyer, 25 Gideon Ajagbe
» Ajagbe wins the second-string job over 29 Rhaheim Ledbetter.
WR (X): 1 Quinton Dunbar, 11 Demarcus Robinson
WR (Z): 13 Latroy Pittman, 4 Andre Debose, 83 Solomon Patton
» Debose switches from second X to second Z receiver though the players switch in those positions. Pittman takes over the top spot at Z from 15 Loucheiz Purifoy.
F Position: 8 Trey Burton, 13 Latroy Pittman
TE: 88 Clay Burton, 87 Tevin Westbrook OR 18 Kent Taylor OR 84 Colin Thompson

~ Muschamp on Brown edging past Taylor: “You’re not going to get through the SEC with one back. That’s not going to happen. Certainly Mack has distanced himself as a second-team back at this time, a guy that we’ve got a lot of confidence in, that we expect big things form in the fall to continue to progress. I think he’s done a nice job of running the football, and protections, catching the ball, finishing plays. Kelvin certainly has done some nice things and he needs to continue to progress – more than anything- mentally with the offense. Physically, he’s got some ability.”

LT: 70 D.J. Humphries, 74 Trenton Brown
LG: 76 Max Garcia, 77 Ian Silberman*
C: 72 Jonotthan Harrison, 64 Kyle Koehne
RG: 67 Jon Halapio, 63 Trip Thurman*
RT: 73 Tyler Moore OR 75 Chaz Green*
» Brown (an incoming JUCO transfer) replaces Thurman, who moves from back-up LT to back-up RG. Silberman replaces Koehne at back-up LG.

Continue Reading » Florida Gators 2013 post-spring depth chart

Tags: 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, Dante Fowler, Darious Cummings, Darrin Kitchens, Demarcus Robinson, Dominique Easley, Drew Ferris, Gideon Ajagbe, Hunter Joyer, Ian Silberman, Jabari Gorman, Jaylen Watkins, Jeff Driskel, Jon Halapio, Jonathan Bullard, Jonotthan Harrison, Justin Vogel, Kelvin Taylor, Kent Taylor, Kyle Christy, Kyle Crofoot, Kyle Koehne, Latroy Pittman, Leon Orr, Loucheiz Purifoy, Mack Brown, Marcus Maye, Marcus Roberson, Matt Jones, Max Garcia, Michael Taylor, Neiron Ball, Quinton Dunbar, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Ronald Powell, Skyler Mornhinweg, Solomon Patton, Tevin Westbrook, Trenton Brown, Trey Burton, Trip Thurman, Tyler Moore, Tyler Murphy, Valdez Showers

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.

READY AND ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE

A lot has been made over the last two weeks about injuries to the unit, but a huge boon for Florida’s offensive line is newly-eligible redshirt junior Max Garcia, a transfer from Maryland who sat out the entire 2012 season and has accepted a position switch from tackle to guard. Garcia was listed as the starting left guard on the Gators’ initial spring practice depth chart and has received nothing but positive views thus far in camp.

Garcia, who missed a few days of practice with a sore back, explained last week that Florida’s depth concerns on the offensive line are legitimate but the players are doing whatever they can to make it work.

“This spring is tough with the numbers that we have. The coaches are telling us we’ve been doing a great job, but at the end of the day, it’s going out there and doing what we need to do. With the O-line, we’re the backbone of the team, so we just got to keep pushing forward and getting the job done,” he said.

Garcia also spoke about why he decided to transfer to the Gators, noting that he is sure he made the right decision. “I’ve had a lot of support with the coaches and the players. That’s the main reason why I came down here, just because of the players that were here, the players I interacted with on my official visit. We got a good O-line, great chemistry, so the transition has been going really well,” he said.

Though he is now fully in the mix, Garcia had to sit out the entire 2012 season, watching the team from afar as it completed an unexpected turnaround under head coach Will Muschamp. He discuss how that affected him as a competitor.

“Honestly, when we were winning, it wasn’t really hard. With a great season, you’re just happy to be part of the team, happy to contribute. It was good getting recognized at the end of the year as the Scout Team Offensive Player of the Year. The hard work didn’t go unnoticed. The coaches did a good job just telling me I’ve been doing well. I was really excited. It wasn’t really a burden on me. I was just happy to be a part of the team.”

“It was tough on the away games sitting in front of the TV, wishing I could be out there trying to help the team. But for the most part we had a really successful season, so it wasn’t really that tough.”

Continue Reading » Florida offense: Quick hitters on Garcia, Jones, Brown, Ajagbe, Andrades and the offensive line

Tags: Andre Debose, baseball, Brian White, Demarcus Robinson, Gideon Ajagbe, Hunter Joyer, Joker Phillips, Kelvin Taylor, Kevin O'Sullivan, Latroy Pittman, Mack Brown, Matt Jones, Max Garcia, Quinton Dunbar, Raphael Andrades, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Skyler Mornhinweg, Solomon Patton, Tyler Murphy, Will Muschamp

While Florida Gators basketball was participating in the 2013 SEC Tournament, the football team held a pair of open spring practices on Friday and Saturday that OGGOA was unable to cover at that time.

Below is a smattering of notes and opinions from the InsidetheGators.com staff, which was in attendance at the practice sessions and delivered six premium reports (as well as two free roundtable discussions) following the proceedings. Each tidbit below has been re-written by OGGOA, but the parts in quotation marks are the specified writer’s own words. Corresponding articles have been linked accordingly.

FREE: Friday Practice Roundtable | Saturday Practice Roundtable

It is important to note that Friday’s gathering was a shirts-and-shorts practice while Saturday’s was the team’s first in full pads this spring.

FRIDAY, MARCH 15

OFFENSE

» Sophomore right tackle Tyler Moore had a rough day overall and was beat off the edge consistently by some of Florida’s most talented rushers like sophomore Buck linebacker Dante Fowler, Jr. and senior defensive end Dominique Easley. [Bryan Holt, InsidetheGators.com]

» In addition to senior wide receiver Solomon Patton, who took nearly all of the Gators’ jet sweeps when he was healthy in 2012, four other pass catchers got a chance to run the ball on that play including sophomore Raphael Andrades, junior Loucheiz Purifoy and freshman Demarcus Robinson. [Bryan Holt, InsidetheGators.com]

» Good news for redshirt senior WR Andre Debose who “showed flashes of the player Florida fans have wanted him to be for four years. Debose is as fast as ever and showed the kind of ball skills that have been missing on a jump-ball catch over Brian Poole.” [Bryan Holt, InsidetheGators.com]

Continue Reading » Gators open spring practice notes and opinions

Tags: Alex Anzalone, Alex McCalister, Andre Debose, Antonio Morrison, Brian Poole, D.J. Humphries, Dante Fowler, Demarcus Robinson, Dominique Easley, Gideon Ajagbe, Hunter Joyer, Jeremy Brown, Joey Ivie, Kent Taylor, Loucheiz Purifoy, Marcus Roberson, Matt Jones, Raphael Andrades, Ronald Powell, Skyler Mornhinweg, Solomon Patton, Tyler Moore, Tyler Murphy, Will Muschamp

With the Florida Gators set to begin 2013 spring practice on Wednesday, head coach Will Muschamp and new offensive coordinator Brent Pease met with the media Tuesday to discuss a variety of topics concerning the team’s offense.

RELATED: Spring depth chart released | Muschamp, Durkin on defense, team

IMPROVING PRODUCTION AT QUARTERBACK

Junior Jeff Driskel returns as the entrenched starter at quarterback and has the full backing of both Muschamp and Pease going forward. Both coaches reiterated that they expect him to take a big step forward in 2013 now that he has a year of action under his belt and can spend the entire offseason continuing to educate himself with the offense and opposing defenses in order to become a better overall player.

» Muschamp on what Driskel has been doing in the offseason: “I think Jeff has really attacked the offseason from a mental standpoint as far as film is concerned, really studying what he can do to be a better quarterback. That’s part of the maturation process in becoming a better player is understandings what you go to do to be successful. […] I think the game continues to slow down for you. First year as a full-time starter, first year in a scheme in a system with new terminology and now you’re not splitting reps 50-50. He’s going to get all the turns and all the reps with the same people, which I think obviously will help us with some throwing game issues.

» Muschamp on what Driskel can specifically improve on: “As a player and as a competitor, knowing Jeff and talking to Jeff, he wants to go back and improve everything. But I think you take things in segments. ‘I need to improve here; I need to improve there.’ Within saying that, year two in the system, the game slows down a little bit. A better understanding of protection, a better understanding of where the ball needs to go, where you’re protected and where you’re not protected. I think those are the things that, as much as anything, that are going to help him to understand that. The passing game concepts versus middle field versus split safety, where to take the ball. I think all of those things, again, that’s easy to talk about but when it’s happening in front of 90,000 people against some of the people we play against, it’s a fast, fast game. Those are things, to me, as far as just the mental intensity of where we need to go with the football in situations. That will slow down for him in his second year. And he’s also not splitting reps. And he’ll be working with the first-team receivers all the time. I think you couple that with a lot of things and I think Brent does a really great job developing the quarterback position and recognizing things he needs to improve on.”

Continue Reading » Muschamp, Pease discuss Florida Gators offense

Tags: Andre Debose, Brent Pease, Chaz Green, Clay Burton, Colin Thompson, D.J. Humphries, Gideon Ajagbe, Hunter Joyer, Jeff Driskel, Jessamen Dunker, Jon Halapio, Kelvin Taylor, Latroy Pittman, Loucheiz Purifoy, Mack Brown, Matt Jones, Max Garcia, Max Staver, Quinteze Williams, Quinton Dunbar, Raphael Andrades, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Skyler Mornhinweg, Solomon Patton, Trey Burton, Trip Thurman, Tyler Moore, Tyler Murphy, 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

Florida Gators head football coach Will Muschamp met with the media on Friday to wrap up the 2012 season, look ahead to the upcoming spring practice and discuss some of the recent changes and issues within the program.

PUNISHMENT HANDED DOWN

Muschamp announced Friday that freshman offensive lineman Jessamen Dunker has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities pending the outcome of his legal affairs. Dunker was arrested Monday on a third-degree felony charge of grand theft of a motor vehicle as well as a second-degree misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license. He was released on his own recognizance on Thursday and claims that he paid $600 for the scooter not knowing it had been reported stolen.

“I met with Jessamen Dunker [Friday] morning. I have suspended him from all team activities until we get more information,” he said. “I just met to him face-to-face [Friday] morning for the first time for 15 minutes. Once we get a little bit more information, then we’ll move forward, but he’s suspended from the team at this time. We’ll address that further when I know more.”

THREE MORE GATORS LEAVING PROGRAM

It was also announced Friday by Muschamp that redshirt juniors wide receiver Stephen Alli and defensive lineman Kedric Johnson will both be graduating in the spring and moving on from the Florida football program.

Muschamp said that Alli plans to go to graduate school; should he remain at UF, he will have the opportunity to join the team as a graduate assistant. Johnson “may play somewhere [else] next fall,” Muschamp said, and the two are planning to discuss it.

Furthermore, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Tommy Jordan, who never stepped on the field for the Gators due to nagging shoulder problems, has applied for a medical exception to remain on scholarship but no longer play football.

CLEANING UP SOME INJURIES

Muschamp once again noted that redshirt junior right guard Jon Halapio (knee), redshirt sophomore right tackle Chaz Green (ankle) and redshirt sophomore linebacker Neiron Ball (ankle) all had scopes on their various injuries this month.

“We expect all three of those [players] to participate at some point in spring. I don’t know when that will happen, how much contact there will be. I’ll know more as we move forward,” he said.

Junior WR Solomon Patton (broken arm) is “doing really well,” according to Muschamp. He has already been cleared for non-contact work during the spring.

Additionally, sophomore punter Kyle Christy had minor shoulder surgery and will be fine for spring football. “He played pretty well with it. I don’t know why we did surgery, but they felt like he needed it,” Muschamp said.

Read the rest of what Muschamp had to say…after the break!
Continue Reading » 1/18: Dunker suspended, more Gators leave, injury updates, Sugar Bowl review, 2013 preview

Tags: Andre Debose, Bernie Machen, Chaz Green, Cody Riggs, D.J. Durkin, Damien Jacobs, Darious Cummings, Dominique Easley, Draft, Jabari Gorman, Jacoby Brissett, Jaylen Watkins, Jelani Jenkins, Jessamen Dunker, Jon Halapio, Jordan Reed, Kedric Johnson, Kyle Christy, Leon Orr, Louisville Cardinals, Marcus Maye, Matt Elam, Neiron Ball, NFL, Omar Hunter, Quinteze Williams, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Sharrif Floyd, Skyler Mornhinweg, Solomon Patton, Stephen Alli, Sugar Bowl, Tommy Jordan, Tyler Murphy, Valdez Showers, Will Muschamp