Florida Fall Camp: Thursday Insider Notes

Inside the Gators was on the sidelines for the first day of the Florida Gators fall camp, which was split up into two separate practices between the newcomers and the veterans.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways and observations made from the open portions at the start at each practice.

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* McElwain eager to utilize young talent

* Alley: Live practice updates

* Impact Analysis: What Copeland means to Florida

* Video: Copeland commits to Florida

* Florida moves to #11 in team recruiting rankings

* Discuss the commitment in the Alley

* Analyst Q&A break down of Florida's commits II

* Analyst Q&A Break down of Florida's commits I

* On the Mark: Florida recruiting on a roll

* GET TWO MONTHS OF FREE ACCESS

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It was difficult to make hard assessments on the first day of camp from any standpoint, as the players took the field in shorts and shirts with no pads. The players took their normal stroll to the stadium with Gators head coach Jim McElwain leading the way to the Indoor Practice Facility.

Quarterbacks Kyle Trask, Jake Allen, and Kadarius Toney were the only quarterbacks in attendance. Strength and conditioning coach Mike Kent hyped the players up as they stretched out and loosened up for the drills and the Gators took the field soon after.

Both offense and defense worked individually getting into the huddle and communicating what play would be ran. The offense ran from the sideline with Kyle Trask at the helm.

Freshman back Malik Davis was in the backfield during fastball, with Daquon Green and defensive back Nick Oelrich, who caught an inside slant route from Trask during the fastball period, out wide at receiver. Kemore Gamble and Ryan Ferguson took reps at tight end, with Tanner Rowell, Marcus Givens, Nick Villano, and Kadeem Telfort on the offensive line.

The media’s vantage point, the offense was slightly difficult to see, as they were on the opposite side of the field, but from our observation, Jake Allen threw nicely during his first practice as a Gator. Toney took snaps at wide receiver and Allen delivered two nice out-routes to Toney, catching one and dropping the other.

Linebackers coach Tim Skipper broke down the basics with the young linebackers, and they did not disappoint. Ventrell Miller looked extremely quick to hit the pads when the linebackers went through drills during the fastball period, and that transitioned to the indy drills and period one.

Defensive coordinator Randy Shannon worked with defensive backs coach Corey Bell, who praised Brian Edwards, Marco Wilson, C.J. Henderson, and Brad Stewart during the Indy period.

This portion of practice was another story.

As the first portion of practice moved at a slower pace, both the veteran offense and defense moved at a quicker pace during drills and we got a decent look of the first team during fastball period.

Feleipe Franks took reps with the first team offense, and threw the ball well. Franks delivered a 30-yard pass to Josh Hammond towards the right sideline, but Hammond wasn’t able to reel in the catch, as he ran out of bounds.

Antonio Callaway and Brandon Powell were featured at wide receiver with the first team offense, but didn’t record a catch during the fastball period.

McElwain has given heavy praise to the offensive line during Spring camp and the Gators Media Day on Wednesday, and they looked solid in the running game.

Martez Ivey lined up at left tackle, while Brett Heggie received reps at left guard, with T.J. McCoy at center, Fred Johnson at right guard, and Jawaan Taylor at right tackle.

Jordan Scarlett ran the ball effectively between the tackles and he made it look easy, as he ran to the outside and cut back in through the A-gap untouched for a heavy game.

The first team defense featured defensive lineman Cece Jefferson, Jabari Zuniga, and Taven Bryan, with David Reese, Vosean Joseph, and Kylan Johnson at linebacker, and Duke Dawson, Nick Washington, Chauncey Gardner, and Joseph Putu at defensive back.

Reese, Joseph, and Johnson look like they have solidified themselves as the three starters at linebacker. All three moved very well during drills and were quick to the ball during the fastball period.

Bell worked with the veteran defensive backs, with Nick Washington and Gardner moving smoothly as they backpedaled during the basic drills.

With Toney lining up at wide receiver, is looking like the staff is sticking to their word by putting the ball in the freshman’s hands. According to our sources, during the Summer player ran practices, Toney was electric and can be utilized in multiple roles on the field.

Defensive lineman Elijah Conliffe and Tedarrell Slayton look physically ready to contribute along a defensive line that needs the depth and bodies to put pressure on quarterbacks and shut down rushing attacks in the SEC.

Former Gators quarterback Austin Appleby was in attendance to help during drills. It is not known if he has an actual role with the team, but he was one of the quarterbacks that helped previously during Florida’s Friday Night Lights camp two weeks ago.

Highly anticipated graduate transfer Malik Zaire and current Gators quarterback Luke Del Rio saw time with the first team, and both quarterbacks looked very comfortable throwing the ball.

Zaire is listed as 6-foot, but has a great stature in the pocket and delivered the ball with poise, while Del Rio threw a string of accurate passes to Dre Massey before overthrowing tight end C’yontai Lewis in period one.

Joseph Hastings contributed to this report.