'We're going to be the best special teams unit in the country'
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- "We're going to make sure everyone in the program is invested in special teams, every player understands the importance of it," said Florida head coach Dan Mullen.
Mullen knows how important special teams can be - he saw his Gators in 2006 win a National Championship riding off of a special teams group that blocked eight kicks. The Gators head coach has made it clear, special teams is an important phase of the game and the specialists are to be treated to the very best.
"Our team philosophy is that we're going to be the best special teams unit in the country so to do that you have to have your best players on it," said cornerbacks coach Charlton Warren.
In order to improve special teams, the Gators staff did have to change the mindset around it. The staff needed to convince a highly touted athlete, who was recruited for one position, to take his time and play at a position he was not recruited for. Although, according to the Florida coaches, the problem is solved very easily.
"I think our message to those guys in that room is if you can't start on special teams, you definitely can't start at corner," said Warren.
"I’m not going to go to the head coach and say ‘coach let’s work and try to get him the ball on this play.’ I’m not gonna do that," said wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales. "You go out on special teams and you do a great job and you’re a competitor and you’re a one or a two on special teams and you’re giving great effort and you’re making it happen there for us, then it’s a little easier for me to walk into the coaches office and say ‘lets start utilizing him and work with him a little bit.’ But we’ve got a long way to go still.”
"Each room the coach is telling his players that we're going to be great at special teams, and we will take care of you on offense and defense but we're going to play great special teams," stated Warren.
It all goes back to what the staff has been saying from the very beginning, they are trying to rebuild the culture around the program by changing the mindset of the team. A mindset that does not ignore a complete phase of the game. If a player wants to stand out, special teams could provide an avenue.
"If you want to change the game, be a great special teams player on this team and you'll be able to do that multiple ways," explained Warren. "I think from our team standpoint they are buying in because they want to be great players. And at the next level they have dreams to do that well you have to be a great special teams player, you got to be a versatile guy. I think our guys are buying into that philosophy and understand the importance we put in in meetings as well as the time we put in practice."
At the beginning of every Florida practice, the Gators focus on special teams. They spend time on individual work, on the technique - mostly the fundamentals.
"It’s all about paying attention to detail," said safeties coach Ron English. "I think any time as an assistant coach, your job is to get your players to listen and pay attention to detail. So we need to keep doing that.”
As with everything, it is a process.
"It's getting there," said running backs coach and Special Teams coordinator Greg Knox. We had minimal install right now. So every day is a little bit more and it's a work in progress right now."