GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- John Hevesy had a lot to talk about after Florida's practice on Thursday.

The Florida offensive line coach kept his unit after practice for 30 minutes.

"We needed to mature. We needed to be a better unit," Florida tackle Jean Delance said about Hevesy's message after practice. "The pressure is on us to perform this year, this season. We're a young unit but we have a lot of talent, so with that being said we have to step up to the pedestal and live up to it. “

Hevesy is not a man to sugarcoat things to his linemen. The Florida coach is a straight shooter.

"His coaching is working, it works," said Delance. "You got to see past everything else and you take the coaching and digest it and you can get better.”

Delance has seen it first hand.

The redshirt junior only featured in four games in 2018: Charleston Southern, Idaho, Florida State, and Michigan. It was not exactly what he hoped for, but it did allow him to buy in to what Hevesy and Dan Mullen were preaching.

"I think he finally, last year opened his eyes to 'I've got to start doing the things correctly,'" said Hevesy. "He's got all the ability in the world athletically, but just the little things he's got to finish up, which is bending and playing with his feet, a good base. You can go back to January for him, he's made great strides in terms of improving all those little things."

“It was hard, but it made me way more determined, way more determined," added Delance. "Knowing when I came here, I wanted to play, but also it was a setback, but it set me back in a good way. It made me focus on ball, focus on ball, focus on school and academics. Focus on ball and getting myself prepared, that’s what it was all about for me.”

According to Delance, the last several months he has immersed himself into the playbook.

“I struggled when Coach Mullen and Coach Hevesy got here, I struggled with the playbook and I was very slow," he explained. "The athleticism was there, I wasn’t worried about that. Coach [Hevesy] has always harped on me, mental, mental, mental, you’ve got all the ability, mental. So, that’s what I took, and that’s working.”

It is working.

The offensive line is one of the youngest units on the Florida offense, which means, Delance has gone from reserve to projected starter. Along with veterans like Brett Heggie and Nick Buchanan, Delance feels the need to lead by example.

During the last week, the Texas native was seen limping and even missing a few reps during practices open to the media. However, he stepped up.

"Just a few nicks and knacks (sic). But I want to be a leader. I want to be that guy that performs regardless," he said. "If you wanna be that guy, you’ve gotta be that guy. At the end of the day if you want guys to earn respect from you have to push through. It’s a part of the game.”

To see the full interview with Delance check out the video above.