In the first part of his Q&A with Inside the Gators subscribers, former Florida quarterback Austin Appleby went in-depth on Florida's offense and the quarterback situation. Today, we continue with the second segment of his interview, as he goes in-depth on Florida's wide receiver unit.
kalimgoodman: Which particular skill does Tyrie Cleveland need to improve on to be a top-tier wide receiver?
Appleby: I can start with what he does have - an excellent work ethic that is unbelievable. From the day I got on campus, he was one of the hardest working receivers, if not the hardest working receiver in our room and that shows who he is and the type of person and the kind of player that he wants to be. I’m really happy for him.
I’ll be working out on my own and he’ll come get me ask me to work with him. I’m like, “You just got done throwing with this quarterback over there.” When I was there last year and he was a true freshman and he doesn’t know anybody and I saw immediately what kind of talent he had and took him under my wing and I’m like, "Dude, I’m going to absolutely teach you everything I can teach you. You have all the talent that you need and if you can earn it and if you can own it, you’re going to be a star in this league."
He had a really good freshman year, but he hasn’t even scratched the surface of what he can be. Things he can improve on, is owning his position and eliminating some of the mental errors. Making sure he knows his assignments all the time and knowing the things that go into it and then going up and winning those 50/50 balls. You know, when he gets the ball, he has some speed that is unrivaled.
You saw the way he outran the LSU corner, you saw he was a deep threat for us. We have to find ways to get him the ball in space. He’s an absolute killer deep threat right now. If I were to challenge him, I would tell him to become an all-around receiver, be able to run the short stop, the slants, run underneath, the intermediate game, become a better blocker which will help our running backs and really take that next step from being a freshman, where your going out there, running fast and being a good athlete and he’ll be a pro.
He’ll be one of the best players at your position because he has the talent to do it and I know he’s working his absolute tail off to that next step. I will not be surprised one bit if we’re talking about him being a premier in not only the SEC, but the country by the end of the year.
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* Austin Appleby Parting Thoughts: I / II / III / IV / V
* Appleby ITG Subscriber Q&A I: Going in-depth on Florida's offense
* Alley: Appleby shares thoughts on Florida's QB situation
* Inside the Gators' 20/17 for 2017 series
* FREE ACCESS UNTIL THE MICHIGAN GAME
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WNewsom: How good is Dre Massey? How much did it hurt losing him so quickly last year?
