GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- There are always questions when a new football coach takes over a program, however, for Miami, its defense should be familiar to Florida.
"Obviously they got a first-year head coach but he was the d-coordinator there last year so he knows the scheme, knows the system. Knows the players," said Dan Mullen told reporters.
Mullen also knows Canes head coach Manny Diaz very well. The Gators head coach gave Diaz his first Power 5 coordinator job. They worked together twice.
"Great coach, great motivator. Very, very intelligent, knows his defense," explained Mullen. "They have one of the top defenses in the country last year with a lot of guys that came back, you know they have probably several players that could have declared for the draft that decided to stay in school and come back" .
"He’s got a new philosophy of what he does," added co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesy. "He does a great job teaching and coaching it. Now, it’s just a matter of coming out and adjusting to what they do and what we got to do to adjust to how they’re going to play us. It’s always a chess match. We know what we got to do, and that’s the biggest thing for us. We just got to go execute what we have in the game plan.”
The offensive line will need to execute on Saturday.
The Canes brings one of the nation's best linebacker and defensive line groups. Although the Canes no longer have end Joe Jackson and tackle Gerald Willis III, defensive end Jonathan Garvin is making his return.
Garvin recorded 5.5 sacks and 17 tackles for a loss last season. The Hurricanes also have depth in the trenches, which could pose a problem for Florida. Senior end Scott Patchan, UCLA transfer Chigozie Nnoruka and Virginia Tech transfer Trevon Hill.
"They’re athletic, and they play hard," said Hevesy. "They’ve got a couple new guys in there, which you got to go see some different film from different places. They’re very fundamentally sound. They play hard. They attack the ball. They attack everything they do. So, it’s just a matter of, for us, again, executing our offense.”
“Fast and physical," said Florida receiver Freddie Swain. "Linebackers are pretty good and D-line and the backend so we playing a pretty good defense.”
At linebacker the Canes do have plenty of experience. Seniors Michael Pinckney, Shaquille Quarterman and Zach McCloud could be a handful for the Gators.
Quarterman and Pinckney combined for 25 tackles for a loss and 9.5 sacks.
"Our defense is tremendous in terms of giving us looks so you can really see everything you've got to see," said Hevesy. "Now I get to where it's, 'Hey, our defense does this and this is what they do.'"
It's safe to say the Florida offensive line will be placed under the microscope.
"It’s the same thing every single week," said center Nick Buchanan. "We come out here and we work our base fundamentals, we work base technique, and then we apply that to the gameplan every week, you know what I mean? We try not to worry about who we’re playing, we try to worry about us and do what we have to do. If we take care of technique and fundamentals and execute the gameplan then we should come out with a “W”."
"We're the younger group of all them, so we've got to hold our own and do our job," addd Hevesy. "Elite skill players and quarterback and running back and receiver, all those guys. So we've got to give them an opportunity to make a play."
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