Monday Practice: In-depth offensive observations
On a hot and humid Monday morning the Gators and Gator fans alike trickled into Dizney Lacrosse Stadium for Florida's fourth open practice. The Gators had an easy-going practice after a physical scrimmage on Sunday. Here are the in-depth offensive observations from Monday's slow, but eventful practice.
QUARTERBACKS
The quarterbacks spent much of the day throwing on the far field. It was hard to tell who was throwing, but long completions were plentiful to the dismay of head coach Will Muschamp.
- Redshirt junior Jeff Driskel has yet to struggle in practice. He continues to improve in delivering quick passes to his playmakers. On one standout play in particular, with the pocket collapsing around him, Driskel fired a laser down the middle of the field to senior tight end Tevin Westbrook. Driskel also improved on the long ball by throwing it with more power. The best example of this was on a deep throw to sophomore wide receiver Ahmad Fulwood who jumped for the ball before the defensive back could even react.
- While no official decision has been made or even mentioned by Muschamp, freshmen Will Grier appears to be separating himself for the backup position from Treon Harris. Grier took the majority of second team reps in practice. He led the second team to field goal range during a one minute drill with one timeout. His biggest mistake during the drill was not getting rid of the ball quickly enough, prompting offensive coordinator Kurt Roper to yell at him, to "make a decision."
- Harris struggled again with making reads, but looked much better when he did throw the ball. He failed to throw the ball once in half skeleton drills where the offense had a wide open receiver, electing to tuck and run. Harris would have had a touchdown pass, but he threw it slightly behind a wide open Chris Thompson who tried to corral the ball with one hand.
- An interesting moment in practice came during 11-on-11 drills where the first team was coming off the field for the second team. Redshirt sophomore Skyler Mornhinweg was jogging toward the huddle when he was called back in place of Grier. Mornhinweg returned to the sideline and appeared to be extremely angry as he took off his helmet.
- Roper worked with the quarterbacks on their three step drop. He repeatedly told them "eyes up." Harris struggled with the drill as he had to do it over to Roper's satisfaction. They also worked on dropping back, stepping up and squaring up to make throws on the opposite side of the field.
RUNNING BACKS
With Kelvin Taylor, Matt Jones and Adam Lane not practicing today, many of the other running backs got an opportunity with the first team.
- Taylor and Lane worked in the pit, pulling sleds during practice. Taylor didn't practice due to a hamstring strain and is expected back Thursday or Friday according to Muschamp.
- Jones was held out of practice entirely due to swelling in his knee. He is expected to be back on Tuesday.
- Redshirt senior Mack Brown played well today while getting the majority of the first team reps. After struggling to catch the ball during Friday's practice, Brown didn't let the ball touch the ground a single time. Brown was a reliable safety blanket for Driskel when the pocket collapsed during 11-on-11 drills.
- Freshmen Brandon Powell caught the ball whenever it came his way and didn't avoid contact. For being the smallest running back on the roster, he isn't shy about taking a hit or delivering one. This was evident as he juggled a handoff, bounced his run outside and lowered his shoulder into redshirt freshmen safety Nick Washington.
- After a strong spring, walk-on junior Mark Herndon hasn't been anywhere near as effective this fall. Herndon struggled to hold onto the ball. He had a drop on a wide open pass in the flat and was stripped by senior safety Jabari Gorman on another catch attempt.
WIDE RECEIVERS
The receivers had yet another up and down day. They struggled to hold onto the ball when it came to easy catches, yet impressed by catching nearly every deep pass.
- The best receiver on Monday was Ahmad Fulwood. He burnt freshmen cornerback J.C. Jackson on deep balls, something that hadn't been seen in practice yet. Fulwood even got a high five from Muschamp for his catches. He would have had a touchdown reception if not for a slightly overthrown pass. Fulwood had a step or two on freshmen cornerback Jalen Tabor, but the ball went narrowly by his outstretched arms.
- Not too far behind Fulwood was redshirt freshmen Alvin Bailey. Bailey caught a deep pass over Jackson. He also had a great catch over junior defensive back Brian Poole, that drew the ire of Muschamp and defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson. Bailey did not play in the slot today, lining up out wide for the day. Muschamp praised Bailey's improvement after practice.
- Redshirt senior Quinton Dunbar continues to be a model of consistency in practice. He was another one of the receivers to find success against Jackson, as he caught a long touchdown pass over him. Dunbar also ran a jet sweep during practice that was easily stopped by the defense.
- Junior Latroy Pittman once again had a relatively quiet day, but he did make a fantastic one-handed catch that drew cheers and high fives from both wide receivers and defensive backs.
- Sophomore Demarcus Robinson showed off his hands during a drill catching punts. He managed to catch six consecutive punts without dropping one. That is eventful because while he managed to field six punts in a row, he was one of the receivers plagued with easy drops the rest of the day.
- Thompson struggled the most of any receiver today. He failed to come down with the aforementioned wide open touchdown and couldn't hold onto the short passes that went his way.
- Freshmen wide receivers Ryan Sousa and C.J. Worton both had mixed results in practice. They struggled on a high pass drill and had to do it over until they got it right. Sousa dropped an easy pass during wide receiver drills with no one guarding him. Worton impressed by getting in the middle of the defense and catching a laser from Harris. Sousa also beat Washington in one-on-one drills.
- Redshirt senior Andre Debose was held out of practice with swelling in his knee and is expected to be back on Wednesday.
TIGHT END
Muschamp announced after practice that his current tight end depth chart is Clay Burton, Jake McGee and Tevin Westbrook in that order.
- Burton had an impressive day, lining up wide and connecting twice with Driskel.
- Westbrook caught a bullet pass from Driskel down the middle, but struggled when it came to one-on-one blocking situations against redshirt senior Neiron Ball.
- McGee continues to show that he has the best hands. Of the six passes that went his way, he caught all of six.
- Freshmen tight end DeAndre Goolsby got yelled at by Roper for not turning his head fast enough on a pass from Driskel that he dropped.
OFFENSIVE LINE
While the starting offensive line continues to change, the rotations are becoming clearer.
- The starting offensive line from left to right was: D.J. Humphries, Tyler Moore, Max Garcia, Trenton Brown and Chaz Green.
- Moore moved from right guard to left guard, in place of Trip Thurman who was out of practice with a shoulder injury.
- Moore played extremely aggressive today, not getting beat a single time by any pass rusher during one-on-one drills.
- Muschamp said that Roderick Johnson will be the seventh offensive linemen and David Sharpe the eighth.
- The second string offensive line from left to right was: Sharpe, Antonio Riles, Cameron Dillard, Travaris Dorsey and Andrew Mike.
- Mike was yelled at twice by Mike Summers not finishing a play and for making the wrong read saying, "C'mon Mike, keep playing."
THIS AND THAT
- Francisco Velez and Brooks Abbott both mode field goals that would have been for the win during one minute drills from 50 and 45 yards out respectively.
- Austin Hardin was 6 of 7, Abbott was 4 of 5 and Velez was 3 of 3 on the day.
- Deiondre Porter, Powell, Thompson, Jackson, Marcus Maye, Worton, Robinson and Ball all got reps in at rushing the punter.