During the off-season, Florida head coach Jim McElwain called the offensive line the strength of his 2017 squad. One of McElwain’s reasons was the energy brought by first-year position coach Brad Davis.
On Wednesday, Davis met with the media to discuss a variety of topics, including the Michigan game, leadership and how the line is impacted by changes at quarterback and running back.
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* McElwain Teleconference Blog
* Film Room: Breaking down the quarterbacks
* Notebook: Players on the sideline saw Swain open
* Notebook: McElwain updates Franks, Toney and Webb
* Former Player Feedback: 10 Rutledge Observations
* GET TWO MONTHS OF FREE ACCESS TO INSIDE THE GATORS
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MICHIGAN GAME WAS A “GUT PUNCH”
The backstory:
Davis had a rough debut as the offensive line coach. The unit played poorly in the season opener and was blamed heavily for the 33-17 loss to Michigan. The Gators struggled mightily with both run-blocking and pass-protection against the Wolverines. UM recorded six sacks and held UF to 11 net rushing yards on 27 carries.
What Davis said:
“I tell you what, it was a gut punch is what it was. And it was what we needed, I mean obviously we anticipated playing much better. We certainly prepared to go out, execute and play well. And we did not. So what we had to do was go back to the drawing board and figure out why. And so we’ve identified some of those issues and we’re continually trying to progress through those issues form a communication standpoint more so than anything.
“And I think we’ve taken some steps since that game, so there’s been significant improvement. It’s a work in progress, we’re nowhere close to where we want to be in terms of our expectation level. But it was a punch right in the gut. And it was a wake-up call (in that) we can do so much more and we can play so much better.”
