Notebook: Davis catching on, Mullen likes NCAA ruling, Pitts a 'mismatch'

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During last year’s training camp, Florida coach Dan Mullen thought the running game would be a team strength in 2019.

His offense ran the ball “up and down the field” on Todd Grantham’s defense in practice, but that wasn’t the case against UF’s opponents.

“You get into the season and we weren't great at running the ball,” Mullen said Tuesday. “And I don't know that we were great at stopping the run all the time, either.”

The Gators did OK in that department, finishing No. 8 nationally in rushing defense. Their ground game, however, wasn’t so hot, ranking second to last in the SEC and 107th nationally.

Mullen still found ways to produce with Lamical Perine, who became a dual-threat back as a senior. He had the third-most receptions on the team, hauling in 40 passes for 262 yards. His five receiving touchdowns marked the most in a season by a UF back since James Jones in 1982.

Part of replacing Perine this year will be filling the void he left in the passing game. Returning tailbacks Dameon Pierce and Malik Davis have both caught nine passes the past two seasons.

“They got the reps out of doing it last year, maybe not as much in a game because Perine was our featured guy. But they’re been doing it for a while,” Mullen said. “We’re going to continue to utilize those guys in the pass game. Malik Davis does a really good job of it as a route-runner and putting him in space.

“Dameon Pierce obviously has some experience of doing it, getting a lot of reps at it, knowing where to be on different routes. So I think he’s done a really good job of knowing that stuff, too.”

Pierce and Davis are two of five players at the position, including Miami transfer and former five-star recruit Lorenzo Lingard Jr. He’s expected to push Pierce and Davis for the starting job, while Iverson Clement and Nay’Quan Wright also vie for carries.

“We're going to see,” Mullen said when asked how the rotation could shake out. “Right now we're still in the learning phase. But like we've always done, you earn playing time. So if we feel that there's two guys that have earned playing time, they'll play. If there's three, they'll play. If there's four, they'll play. If there's five, they'll play.

“It's more to me of that, of guys that have earned the right to get on the field by working their tail off and doing things the right way. And if you've earned that playing time, you get the opportunity to get on the field and go show what you do. The more guys that earn playing time, the better depth you have and the better overall health you have as a team.”

The NCAA Board of Governors approved a blanket waiver last Friday to grant an extra year of eligibility to all fall sports athletes.

The move was made to provide relief for players who’ve had their seasons postponed or choose to opt-out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mullen supports the measure by the NCAA, which will allow him to play more freshmen and assign fewer redshirts this fall. However, it could also complicate Florida’s roster numbers moving forward.

“It was the right move. I think it was a great idea for the NCAA to do that for these guys,” Mullen said. “It certainly helps make decisions for the guys of what they're going to do a lot easier. … It’s great to create certainties in the world of uncertainty.

“We’ve got to see what the SEC is going to do with the number of guys that can dress and play. You have conference-only games that have very different restrictions than NCAA games. So we’ll see if the conference really goes to the NCAA rule and starts to loosen it up as well for the safety of the players. I think it would be a really good idea for the conference.”

* Mullen on tight end Kyle Pitts: “Obviously Kyle’s a mismatch. That’s what we want in a tight end, is a guy that creates problems all over the field. ... He’ll be a main focal point of the offense. He's an athletic dude. He made a spectacular catch [Tuesday], leaping over somebody. It was ridiculous.”

* Mullen on depth chart projections: “You guys posted a depth chart and I can tell you this: it’s wrong. Some of you guys were posting depth charts. I looked at it and started laughing. But that’s all right. All that does is get parents calling me, ‘Hey, what’s going on? I thought you haven’t done anything.’ We haven’t. But you guys are taking care of that stuff for me, causing those issues, those calls at night. … I’m not the world’s biggest depth chart guy anyway. If you watch us play, a lot of positions we’ll roll guys through, so guys get the equal amount of reps. We’ll kind of get that idea here in a couple of weeks after Labor Day.”

* Mullen on the practice scheduled moving forward: “[Wednesday] is an off day for the players. There’s nothing. It’s one of the mandated off days. Thursday we’ll be an installation practice. Friday we’ll have a scrimmage. We don’t have practice Saturday or Sunday. Then school starts up and we’re going to kind of spread things out a little bit. It’s usually a time in training camp and you don’t have school, you don’t have this. All our guys are going to have academic things they gotta start taking care of.”