GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Football is back y'all!
The Gators took to the field once again on Friday to start fall camp. The media had a chance to watch the first six periods and these are just a few notes from the open time:
Medical report/Personnel issues
Before we begin breaking down some of the top headlines from practice, lets take care of some housekeeping.
Florida safety Jeawon Taylor was the only player wearing a red non-contact jersey on Friday, while all injured players were back in action including: offensive linemen Jean DeLance and Noah Banks, defensive lineman Marlon Dunlap, defensive end Jeremiah Moon and wide receiver Jacob Copeland.
One person that was missing in action was defensive back John Huggins. According to Florida, Huggins is set to miss the first few practices (this weekend as well) due to a family issue. No word on the exact date he is set to return.
The two deep offenisve line taking shape
The Gators starting offensive line lined up similarly as in the spring with: Stone Forsythe, Brett Heggie, Nick Buchanan, Chris Bleich and Jean DeLance. However, the second team line showed some changes, the most notable change was Banks addition to the group.
Banks, who returned to practice for the first time since bowl week prep where he suffered from vertigo/epileptic episode lined up with the twos. He was joined by Richard Gouraige, Ethan White, Kingsley Eguakun and Michael Tarquin.
Freshman Riley Simonds rotated in at both guard and tackle, while Griffin McDowell, who missed spring, repped at left guard.
The biggest takeaway on the unit was their physical transformation. The freshman, Tarquin, White, William Harrod and Eguakun all looked physically better - all having bulked up from the spring, or in White's case, leaned out while putting on good muscle.
White's transformation is still quite remarkable with the freshman losing probably about 50-60 pounds since his arrival.
Good depth at certain positions
It is no secret Florida has a ton of athletes on the field. It was also good to see that Jaydon Hill and Kaiir Elam will provide excellent depth to CJ Henderson and Marco Wilson.
That depth can also be seen at wide receiver where wide receiver Jacob Copeland looked healthy and sharp on Friday. Copeland did stutter a few times, but thats expected for a player that has had some injury issues that limited his practice time, however, when corrected, he looked crisp on the very next rep. I can see why Billy Gonzales has praised the receiver's ability to take instruction. He will boast a group that has Trevon Grimes and Van Jefferson and a bulkier Kadarius Toney.
Defensive line taking shape, other defensive notes
During walk-throughs the defensive line lined up like this:
DE Jabari Zuniga
DT Adam Shuler
NT Kyree Campbell
BUCK Jeremiah Moon (replaced by Jonathan Greenard the next time)
MLB David Reese
MONEY Amari Burney
CB Marco Wilson
STAR Trey Dean
S Donovan Stiner
S Jeawon Taylor
CB CJ Henderson
Notes:
- Kyle Pitts still continues to demonstrate his athletic ability and he worked primarily with the tight ends on Friday.
-Meanwhile Lucas Krull was TE1 through all drills. He looked sharp with his footwork through route drills and has come along with his first step through contact.
- There were some struggles for a few wide receives this morning, however. When the wide outs worked with the Jugs machine, Toney and freshmen receiver Dionte Marks and Ja'Markis Weston had a few drops.
- Jeremiah Moon is moving well after returning from his foot injury and looks like he had bulked up this offseason. Meanwhile, Kyree Campbell told GT he made an effort to lose some weight this spring and it showed. The defensive tackle looked better and quicker on Friday. On the flip side, Tedarrell Slaton looked slow on Friday and lined up with threes.
**Zach Goodall contributed to this report***