GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- For the first time since 2017, Malik Davis found his way into the end zone.

"It was a good feeling," said the Gators running back. "It’s different from just practicing then taking it on the field in a real, live game. I feel like it was something I needed.

"I know how hard I worked in the offseason and I’m happy to see it paying off."

"It’s good to see him back," said Gators head coach Dan Mullen. "You’re seeing him get more and more confidence, obviously after missing last season. I saw it grow in practice, but it’s still a different change in the game and you see him getting more confidence."

Davis has worked backed from injuries for the past two seasons. The redshirt sophomore tore his ACL during his freshman season and then broke his foot last year.

But now he is ready to put the past behind him. Davis hopes to help Florida see some success in the ground game.

"It’s the small things," said Davis about how the team can take the next step. "The attention to detail, step in right, follow your blocks and it’s all a unit, it’s all a team thing. It’s not just the O-line or the running backs, it’s the team as a whole."

The Gators have looked shaky on the ground since the season opener against Miami. After two games, Florida has amassed 281 yards rushing - 231 of those yards coming against UT-Martin this past weekend. UF averages 4.3 yards per carry and are currently ranked 84th in the country in rushing offense.

This needs to change if Florida wants to have success in conference play.

For one, the Gators offensive line has to get more push in the run game. On Monday, Gators head coach Dan Mullen said he was disappointed in the unit after they did not pick up on in-game adjustments sooner.

"Some of the movements and stunts they were doing up front, I just think we kind of overreacted to," Mullen said. "If you went down and watched the film and we studied the film and I could show you, 'Hey, you see this 6-inch step is not where it needs to be or you see his shoulder angle is turning from like a 45 to a 55-degree angle right there and that's a big problem. Those types of things."

That slow adjustment meant that Florida did not start as quickly as many expected against the Skyhawks last weekend.

Just like Davis mentioned above, the Gators worked on the little details in practice this week.

"Everything. I mean, everything. It's the little things that we did in the game that's just slight angles, from running in the sense of a 40-degree angle instead of 45-degree," offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator John Hevesy told reporters "Which is, people might not think it's a big thing, but it's a huge thing."

According to Hevesy, the veterans picked things up quickly but he was more happy about the younger linemen and how quickly they have soaked things up.

"I think it was great in that game last week that we saw that the kids adjusted how they came out differently than we did, than we kind of expected them to, that as the first, second quarter, third quarter went on, we adjusted for the kids and that the kids got to understand the in-game adjustments even more to change angles and different things we were doing within the game," Hevesy said.

Last year's offensive line group had its fair share of struggles early on. In the end it's about getting more reps.

"The reps come and the experience comes with it," Hevesy said. "I say it once, the veterans get it. The younger... its the two, three, and the fourth time, they figure it out. So like anything it's just the experience comes with how many times I say it, how many times they do it to get it."

However, it's not just the offensive line that need to step up to help the run game. Davis made an excellent point, it's a team effort.

Last season, Florida relied heavily on the tight end group for its blocking - they relied a lot on C'yontai Lewis. Lucas Krull and Kyle Pitts have both struggled early with their assignments.

"Just working on that everyday," said tight end Kyle Pitts. "Hands, feet, and just trying to be powerful off the line.”

Florida had several talented backs, not it is a matter of making sure those backs have the opportunity to showcase their talents.