Tuesday Notebook: Cleveland’s attention divided, advice for Robinson

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* Opening week depth chart released

* For Reese, showdown with Michigan is personal

* Monday Notebook: Mum is the word on starting quarterback

* McElwain PC Blog: No quarterback named

* Take Five: Florida Football Camp Breakdown

* Breaking down each and every defensive player

* Breaking down each and every offensive player

* GET TWO MONTHS OF FREE ACCESS

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Most Florida players are focused on one thing right now, and that’s a showdown with No. 11 Michigan Saturday in Arlington, Texas. Sophomore wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland also has his mind on the Lone Star State, but for a different reason.

Though Cleveland was born in Jacksonville, he most recently lived in Houston before coming to Florida. The city has been hit with widespread flooding and damage in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Cleveland said he’s been worried about his aunt and cousins back in Houston.

"Very worried,” Cleveland said. “Being out here, can't do nothing about it. I just kept them in my prayers. I'm going to continue to keep them in my prayers."

He told reporters Tuesday that there’s no water in his aunt’s house, though there is flooding in the surrounding area. Between family and friends, Cleveland has been busy trying to get in touch with everyone.

"I've sent millions of texts,” Cleveland said. “I don't know how many I've sent. I've sent a lot to different families and different people that are friends."

When it’s time for practice, however, he says he’s able to concentrate on football.

"It's just like when I get out here to the field I just block everything out, focus on football,” Cleveland said. “As soon as it's over, I get on the phone with people."

Freshman wide receiver James Robinson isn’t the first player to get into some trouble in his first year on campus (and he won’t be the last). Junior running back Jordan Scarlett was suspended for the Citrus Bowl game against Michigan after being cited for marijuana possession in December 2015.

“I told (Robinson) bad things happen, you know, everybody makes mistakes,” Scarlett said. “It's kind of a dumb mistake, taking that I've already been through it, but it's just something you've got to learn from. I told him to try to do some good things in your life to cover all that stuff up. Everybody makes bad mistakes in life."

Scarlett shared that Robinson is aware of how it looks after coach Jim McElwain had to work to get the Lakeland, Fla. wide receiver in the 2017 class.

“Yeah, he's a lot more driven and determined not to mess up,” Scarlett said. “He felt like he let Coach Mac down in a way because Coach Mac brought him in here even after all the trouble he's been in. But he's ready to go now, taking it day by day.”

Cleveland is also familiar with being in the doghouse as a freshman after he got in trouble for shooting a BB gun at a campus residence.

"I came up to him, told him to be smart,” Cleveland said. “Coming from high school to college, all the eyes are on you, so you just have to be smart with what you do and not waste this opportunity."

Sophomore linebacker Vosean Joseph says ignore the depth chart at linebacker. If someone’s healthy, he will probably play on Saturday.

"Whoever. Whoever ready. Everybody playing linebacker is ready right now,” Joseph said. “It doesn't matter if you're a three, a two, a one. Everybody gonna get a chance to play."

Linebacker is not considered one of Florida’s deeper positions to begin with, but the Gators are down three freshen due to injury (Nick Smith) and suspensions (James Houston and Ventrell Miller). It hasn’t helped that one of the unit’s more experienced players, Kylan Johnson, missed significant time with a hamstring injury. The lack of depth will be a pregame talking point, but Joseph and his teammates are turning it out.

"Honestly, it don't really matter what people say,” Joseph said of the lack of linebacker depth. “We know the work that we've been putting in to get to the point that we gotta get to. Coming into this game, people are gonna say, ‘Oh we're not gonna do anything,’ but at the end of the day, we just say we're gonna show them."

Two Miami linebackers who weren’t recruited widely, redshirt sophomore Rayshad Jackson and freshman Lacedrick Brunson, might see playing time with the others out. Joseph, a Miami Norland product, thinks they’ll be up to the challenge.

“In Miami, we consider them as sleeper athletes,” Joseph said. “They’re more physical. They know the game. They all got recruited here for a reason. They can play football.”

McElwain has called the offensive line a team strength in the lead-up to the 2017 season. The unit faces a big challenge right off the bat, going up against a big, physical Michigan defensive line. Sophomore center T.J. McCoy thinks the Gators are ready.

“What gives us confidence is that we’ve been working hard all summer, working hard all camp,” McCoy said. “We’ve been in the system for three years. I know it inside and out. Everybody on the offensive line knows it inside and out, either first team or second team. So it’s just knowing the system and we’ve been playing with each other for a while, so having confidence in your guys.

“We’ve been growing so that’s why I have so much faith and I trust Martez [Ivey]. I trust Brett Heggie. I trust Tyler Jordan. I trust Fred Johnson. I trust Jawaan Taylor. So I trust them man, We’re all dogs. That’s our mentality, being dogs. Every time we break it down after practice, we break it down on ‘tough.’ We’re gonna be some tough people this Saturday.”

As Scarlett pointed out, they already have to face one tough defensive lineman in practice.

““I think they’ll do pretty good because I don’t think anybody in the SEC can block Taven Bryan,” Scarlett said. “They do a pretty good job with him on some days. So if they can get him, they can pick up anyone.”

If the offensive line gives him room to run, Scarlett is ready to carry the team to victory on Saturday.

“I’ve already got the mindset in me that coach wants to put this game on my back and the running backs’ back,” Scarlett when asked about the quarterback situation. “You know, we’re ready for the challenge. You know we’ve got a couple guys missing on the offense, so we take a big role regardless.”

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