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

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

Tags: Alex McCalister, Andre Debose, Antonio Morrison, Austin Hardin, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Brad Phillips, Brian Poole, Bryan Cox, Clay Burton, Colin Thompson, D.J. Durkin, Damien Jacobs, Daniel McMillian, Dante Fowler, Darious Cummings, Darrin Kitchens, Demarcus Robinson, Dominique Easley, Florida Field, Jabari Gorman, Jarrad Davis, Jaylen Watkins, Jeremi Powell, Jonathan Bullard, Kelvin Taylor, Kent Taylor, Leon Orr, Loucheiz Purifoy, Mack Brown, Marcus Maye, Marcus RObinson, Mark Herndon, Matt Jones, Max Garcia, Michael Taylor, Neiron Ball, Orange & Blue Debut, Tevin Westbrook, Trey Burton, Tyler Moore, Valdez Showers, Will Muschamp

Through the 2013 NFL Draft from April 25-27, Florida Gators safety and 2012 leading tackler Josh Evans will be keeping fans up-to-date on his Path to the Draft via a weekly blog entry exclusively here at OGGOA.

Evans’s sixth entry covers his thoughts on spring practice, first team workout (New England Patriots) and decision to leave Gainesville, FL a week earlier than scheduled. Evans also details a busy week ahead as he has meetings set with three teams.

Though it has been a few weeks since I last checked in, most of my time has been spent working out, staying in shape, just getting better and hanging out with my teammates that were still in Gainesville doing the same thing. I’ve also been fielding calls from my agent and some teams just as he helps get my meetings set up and my schedule all together heading into the draft.

For workouts, usually it was me, Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins and sometimes Omarius Hines would come out there with us, too. We’re all close friends so we would just schedule a time and go in and workout. Maybe we would call someone else to come in and throw us the ball, too.

I know before the Pro Day and everything [Hines] may not have been on a lot of teams’ radar, but before I left to come back to New Jersey, he told me what sounded like some good news. He was originally expecting to wind up somewhere as an undrafted free agent but now it is looking like he might be a late-round pick, sixth or seventh round. If he can do that, that would be great for him to get on a team. And it’s a plus for the Gators to have another player drafted.

In between working out and chilling with the guys, a bunch of us would stop by spring practice. Florida is looking like it’s going to be a tough, physical team again next year. You can see a lot of the younger players really working hard, looking to make a statement. The coaching staff was getting after it as usual, getting on those guys and definitely getting the best out of them when they step on the field.

Continue Reading » Josh Evans – Path to 2013 NFL Draft: Workouts

Tags: Cody Riggs, Draft, Jabari Gorman, Jaylen Watkins, Jelani Jenkins, Jon Bostic, Jordan Reed, Josh Evans, Marcus Maye, Mike Gillislee, NFL, Omarius Hines, Valdez Showers, Will Muschamp, Xavier Nixon

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

Spring practice for the Florida Gators football program begins on Wednesday, March 13 and lasts for 15 practices concluding with the 2013 Orange & Blue Debut spring game on Saturday, April 6 at 1 p.m. Below is the second half of OGGOA‘s new two-part series that takes a look at the team on a position-by-position basis.

PART ONE: Offense

DEFENSIVE TACKLES
Returning starters (0/2): None
Fresh faces: Junior Darious Cummings, redshirt freshman Quinteze Williams

The Gators have plenty of holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball and it will be up to new defensive line coach Brad Lawing and assistant defensive line coach Bryant Young to figure out how to plug up the middle. With Sharrif Floyd set to become a top-five pick in the 2013 NFL Draft and Omar Hunter finally graduating after five years at the school, Florida will be looking to replace both of its starters. Senior Damien Jacobs, a junior college transfer who played in 12 games during his first season with the Gators, likely has the edge for one of the jobs but will still go up against Cummings (a 2013 JUCO transfer from the same school as Jacobs), Williams and redshirt junior Leon Orr, all of whom will compete for the two positions.

DEFENSIVE ENDS
Returning starters (1/2): Senior Dominique Easley
Fresh faces: Redshirt freshman Bryan Cox, Jr., redshirt freshman Alex McCalister, freshman Joey Ivie

Easley started all 12 regular season games at defensive tackle in 2011 and will be used inside some in 2013 despite starting 11 games at defensive end last season. His flexibility leaves the door open for a number of other players to make an impact. Sophomore Jonathan Bullard earned a pair of starts in 2012 and got rave reviews from the coaching staff; he is next in line to start and/or see major field time as a pure defensive end. McCalister, who won three Scout Team Player of the Week awards and was named Most Valuable Defensive Scout Team Member at the team banquet in Dec. 2012, was praised by head coach Will Muschamp at the end of the season.

Florida’s defense also features a Buck, which can line up with his hand in the dirt as a defensive end or upright as a linebacker. (For the purpose of this feature, Buck has been included in this position group.) Redshirt junior Ronald Powell was praised as much as any member of the team in the 2012 offseason but wound up missing the entire campaign with consecutive ACL tears. Lerentee McCray started in his place but graduated after his redshirt senior season. Though Powell will not participate in spring practice, he will retake his role as starter in the summer assuming he is medically cleared. He will be joined by sophomore Dante Fowler, Jr. – Powell’s heir apparent – and McCalister.

Continue Reading » Gators 2013 Spring Football Preview: Defense

Tags: Alex Anzalone, Alex McCalister, Andre Debose, Antonio Morrison, Austin Hardin, Brad Lawing, Brad Phillips, Brian Poole, Bryan Cox, Bryant Young, Cody Riggs, Damien Jacobs, Daniel McMillian, Dante Fowler, Darious Cummings, Darrin Kitchens, Dominique Easley, Drew Ferris, Jabari Gorman, Jaylen Watkins, Jeremi Powell, Jeremy Brown, Joey Ivie, Jonathan Bullard, Kyle Christy, Kyle Crofoot, Leon Orr, Loucheiz Purifoy, Marcus Maye, Marcus Roberson, Matt Rolin, Michael Taylor, Neiron Ball, Quinteze Williams, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Ronald Powell, 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

No. 6 Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp made his scheduled appearance Wednesday on the Southeastern Conference‘s weekly coaches teleconference and touched on a number of topics surrounding his team and Saturday’s game.

INJURY UPDATES

Four Gators have already been listed as out for Saturday’s game. Sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel (ankle), redshirt junior wide receiver Andre Debose (hamstring), redshirt sophomore linebacker Neiron Ball (ankle) and sophomore safety De’Ante Saunders (knee) will not participate in practice Wednesday and therefore will not play Saturday. Questionable for the game are sophomore defensive back Valdez Showers (shoulder) and redshirt sophomore guard Ian Silberman (shoulder). Senior left tackle Xavier Nixon (knee) and redshirt senior left guard James Wilson (knee) are expected to play.

In regards to Driskel’s injury, Muschamp said he is not sure of his status for next week’s game against Florida State. “We’re just working through this week and it’s day-to-day whenever you’re dealing with an ankle. It’s a day-to-day process,” he said. “It’s a situation that continues to improve. How much it will improve into next week, I have no idea at this time. We feel like he’ll be available, but who knows.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

CLICK TO EXPAND and read the rest of this post.

Tags: Andre Debose, Caleb Sturgis, Dante Fowler, De'Ante Saunders, Ian Silberman, James Wilson, Jeff Driskel, Jon Bostic, Neiron Ball, Omar Hunter, Valdez Showers, Xavier Nixon

No. 6 Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp met with the media on Monday to review the team’s tight victory over the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns and preview Saturday’s game against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.

INJURY UPDATES

Sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel, who went down with what is being called a sprained ankle during the third quarter on Saturday and did not return to the game, was listed as “doubtful” by Muschamp on Monday. He is currently in a precautionary walking boot and will spend Monday and Tuesday trying to rehab his ankle before being given an opportunity to test it out on Wednesday.

Joining Driskel on the “doubtful” list were redshirt sophomore linebacker Neiron Ball (ankle) and redshirt junior wide receiver Andre Debose, who hurt his knee in practice two weeks ago and has yet to play since. Specifics have not been provided.

Muschamp said he expects senior left tackle Xavier Nixon (knee), redshirt senior left guard James Wilson (knee) and redshirt sophomore running back Mack Brown (ankle) to return to practice Tuesday and be ready to play on Saturday.

He was not as optimistic about four other players that got hurt on Saturday, noting that he expects redshirt junior WR Stephen Alli (shoulder), sophomore safety De’Ante Saunders (knee), redshirt freshman defensive back Valdez Showers (shoulder) and redshirt sophomore guard Ian Silberman (shoulder) to miss practice on Tuesday. All four will be reevaluated on Wednesday, which is when a decision will likely be made as to whether or not they can play in the home finale.

Read the rest of what Muschamp had to say…after the break!
Continue Reading » 11/12: Driskel doubtful, injuries, Florida’s case

Tags: Andre Debose, D.J. Humphries, De'Ante Saunders, Dominique Easley, Ian Silberman, Jacksonville State Gamecocks, James Wilson, Jeff Driskel, Jelani Jenkins, Jon Bostic, Jon Halapio, Jordan Reed, Loucheiz Purifoy, Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, Mack Brown, Neiron Ball, Omarius Hines, Sharrif Floyd, Stephen Alli, Valdez Showers, Will Muschamp, Xavier Nixon