The Florida Gators opened up spring football camp on Thursday and took the first step towards the 2021 season. This year will feature a new starting quarterback and potentially a whole new offense due to that change.
How will the offense change in 2021
It's only one practice and the players weren't in pads but the start of spring camp means a new quarterback. With Kyle Trask in California training for the NFL Draft, the Gators will turn to redshirt junior Emory Jones. The Georgia native brings a whole different dynamic to the position than Trask did. Jones has a strong arm and can make the throws but also brings athleticism to the position that Florida hasn't had in a while.
It will be up to Dan Mullen to tinker with the offense to better utilize and maximize Jones' skill set. Will that mean a whole new offense or just new wrinkles?
“I would say it definitely changes a lot," receiver Justin Shorter said. "It’s different, having quarterbacks. Obviously Emory and Anthony and even some of the freshman quarterbacks that came in, they’re so athletic and they’re dual-threat where they can pull it and run for 60 yards and make you fall on you knees, you know? I feel like that’s going to be like a big part of our offense this year."
A big freshman
When the roster was updated on Thursday morning there was a BIG number posted next to Desmond Watson's name.
The freshman defensive tackle weighed in at an eye-popping 438 pounds. That's not a typo.
The four-star recruit out of Armwood went through his first practice and will need to shed some weight, but was impressive even at his current size.
“Man Desmond is impressive, man, he pretty impressive for his size and I know he'll continue to, you know, he’ll continue to trim up and stuff but he has a lot of potential," senior Zach Carter said. "I mean you know we you know we motivate him. We encourage them. That's my boy. But he, he know, he knows what he has to do, he takes care of it."
Moving on from 2020
The last month of the season left a sour note on the year but Thursday was the opportunity to turn the page and begin preparation for a new year. Senior Zach Carter is taking a leadership role and is determined to bring the defense back to the Gator standard.
"The main thing is trying to find something to improve on every day. I'm really excited for this defense," Carter said. "We got a great, we got a great group of guys. I think we're gonna surprise a lot of people, you know. But the biggest thing is just coming to work every day and trying our best, going hard, all the little things, and I think the rest of it'll take care of itself. But we work hard every day to get better and we continue to do so."
