GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida offensive line lost four of its five starters this offseason, but one starter remains, Nick Buchanan.
As the most experienced lineman on the roster, Buchanan has seen his role change this year.
“He’s a great guy, a great leader," said fellow lineman Richard Gouraige. "I know I can always go to him on and off the field and talk to him about plays or life. He’s just a great person to go to.”
"Last year he played more than lots of us, so he has the bigger voice than lot of us," said Jean Delance.
"It's up to me to make sure the young guys come and understand the sense of urgency that's coming, that they have to step it up and play," said the Florida center. "It kind of reminds me of when I was a freshman that came in we signed like seven or eight offensive linemen, so now they bring a whole bunch. So I know those guys are excited because they have an opportunity to play, but they have to understand the work, the time and the effort it takes to come out here and compete at a high level."
Buchanan takes his responsibility as a leader seriously. The center is not only leading by example in the weight room and on the field, he is also making sure the younger linemen stay focused and are learning off the field as well.
“Say we don’t have practice over the weekend we’ll come in over the weekends and watch film, go over the playbook, stuff like that," said Gouraige.
"He is asking how did you do today. He is always with everybody," added Delance. "On Sundays we take the time in group chat asking if any of the young bucks need help with plays. He is a very good leader. He is showing this unit has potential. We have to level up.”
"I'm available. Whatever they need, whenever they need it, questions, whenever they want to come and get some work, they can always call me," Buchanan said about how he handles his new responsibilities. "Sometimes I make it mandatory to come because we gotta go it because even the Miami game just got moved up. So the sense of urgency, everything's going fast around here."
At the end of the day, Buchanan understands that the line can make or a break the season for Florida. So the little things will matter - a lesson he teaches the younger group every day.
"Really you have to be able to understand what you need to do, so just stressing the importance of the details in the small things, so that they know that they need to learn and that time's running out," said Buchanan. "So I try to just stress to them that they can play, they have the ability, so it's up to them to take upon themselves to do the little things right and make sure that they care so much."
The offensive line will not be an overnight success. However, it is a work in a progress that has already made some jumps this spring.
“Mentally ya know you can always get better," said Nick Buchanan. "That’s the best part about it. No matter how far you push or how much you think you got down you can always get better because there’s always a small thing, a little thing, that you can keep getting better in. So, we’re good, but we’re gonna keep going.
"It’s not about how far we have to go," he added. "It’s just about understanding the effort and the technique and the details of everything that we do everyday and getting it right. So, once we understand the details and technique we’ll be fine.”
