I'm going over a few quick things tonight at 4:00 AM, and we could have this discussion until the cows come home.
You get the point.
Everyone's opinions will vary based on what type of person you are—glass half empty or glass half full. I think you all know me well enough to understand that I will always be more of a glass-half-full guy because that is how I want to live my life. Does that mean I am right? Nope. It sure doesn't mean my opinion could be different from yours, which is okay.
I want you all to take away ONE IMPORTANT note from this report, and I will get to that in a moment.
In the first scrimmage, the Offense won the day - any offensive/defensive player you speak with would have told you the same thing. Today was a different story as it appears the Defense won the day. I am going to stick with saying "appears" because I did not see it with "MY" own eyes, and regardless of what anyone tells you, we all need to SEE it with our own eyes before passing judgment. That makes sense, right? How can anyone have such strong opinions based on something we have been unable to watch?
Each side of the ball won the day in the only two scrimmages they will have before hosting the Miami Hurricanes in less than two weeks from today.
I have heard great things about Ron Roberts's impact on the entire Defense and defensive staff. This could turn out to be one of the single most important hires of the Billy Napier era. There is a long way to go, but I have heard nothing but rave reviews about Coach Roberts and his impact on players, staff, etc.
Notice I once again said "could" because we have not been able to see it with our own eyes. I hate to sound like a broken record, but it is vitally essential that you all keep that in mind as we discuss these things.
Now, back to the most important note for everyone to soak in. In the next week, conversations will be held about players, depth charts, and the part everyone needs to play for this team to be successful. There are a lot of dynamics at play when making these decisions, in particular on the offensive line, which is what I am going to focus on because I believe for this team to reach bowl eligibility, it will come down to the offensive line being able to efficiently run and pass block.
Various injury bugs hit Florida, and the guys up front, Fletcher Westphal, Bryce Lovett, Caden Jones, Kamryn Waites, Austin Barber, and others, have been limited in some capacity through the camp to this point. Every position group must have chemistry to be on the field together, none more critical than those five offensive linemen. Multiple players returned to practice today and participated. Still, the number of snaps they played was limited to a certain number for precautionary reasons - which is smart with two more weeks of practice headed their way.
Last year, there were few options up front—Florida had the five guys going to play, almost to a fault, regardless of how poorly they played. At times, with so many guys on the sidelines, Florida was stuck with the guys available to play on the offensive line to date. Moving forward, with everyone back or close to being back to full speed, it will not be like that.
Going back to the decisions that will be made, some of them center around a couple of guys who are either better pass blockers than the guy they are competing with or better run blockers, or vice versa. The No. 1 guy might be a better run blocker, while the No. 2 guy does a better job in pass protection. These guys will have two more weeks to establish themselves within the OL pecking order.
Why is this the most essential note of the night to focus on? I have always believed that the Defense is ahead of the Offense at this time of year, which is why I was surprised the Offense won the day last week. However, it will make things even more challenging when you can't get your five best guys on the offensive line, especially if the Defense is much improved, which, by all accounts is t, the case coming out of camp.
We will see multiple guys on the offensive line get live game reps in week one. Florida will have a starting five, no question about it, but a few other guys deserve to play and will be given that opportunity. When these discussions take place, they will only do one thing: force the guys to go even harder.
Unless someone gets injured in the next two weeks or we get into a blowout situation, the guys I expect to play in week one will include the following.
Austin Barber
Knijeah Harris
Jake Slaughter
Damieon George
Kamryn Waites
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson
Devin Manuel
I believe the two others are very close. I could have easily gone with nine guys, but I want to stick to these seven for now until I see how the next two weeks of practice go.
So yes, with issues on guys up front being healthy and unable to play and establish that chemistry they desperately need, I expect some struggles occasionally. Even with those issues, they were able to win the day last Saturday. It is also so important to point out that Florida did not have these types of options last season, and the reason they do now is all the talent they brought in by way of the portal or high school. These are GREAT problems to have for the Florida staff! The 31st will not arrive fast enough.
- Coaching or Talent
- Great Offense or Bad Defense
- Chicken or the Egg
- Pancakes or Waffles
- Hot Dog or Hamburgers
You get the point.
Everyone's opinions will vary based on what type of person you are—glass half empty or glass half full. I think you all know me well enough to understand that I will always be more of a glass-half-full guy because that is how I want to live my life. Does that mean I am right? Nope. It sure doesn't mean my opinion could be different from yours, which is okay.
I want you all to take away ONE IMPORTANT note from this report, and I will get to that in a moment.
In the first scrimmage, the Offense won the day - any offensive/defensive player you speak with would have told you the same thing. Today was a different story as it appears the Defense won the day. I am going to stick with saying "appears" because I did not see it with "MY" own eyes, and regardless of what anyone tells you, we all need to SEE it with our own eyes before passing judgment. That makes sense, right? How can anyone have such strong opinions based on something we have been unable to watch?
Each side of the ball won the day in the only two scrimmages they will have before hosting the Miami Hurricanes in less than two weeks from today.
I have heard great things about Ron Roberts's impact on the entire Defense and defensive staff. This could turn out to be one of the single most important hires of the Billy Napier era. There is a long way to go, but I have heard nothing but rave reviews about Coach Roberts and his impact on players, staff, etc.
Notice I once again said "could" because we have not been able to see it with our own eyes. I hate to sound like a broken record, but it is vitally essential that you all keep that in mind as we discuss these things.
Now, back to the most important note for everyone to soak in. In the next week, conversations will be held about players, depth charts, and the part everyone needs to play for this team to be successful. There are a lot of dynamics at play when making these decisions, in particular on the offensive line, which is what I am going to focus on because I believe for this team to reach bowl eligibility, it will come down to the offensive line being able to efficiently run and pass block.
Various injury bugs hit Florida, and the guys up front, Fletcher Westphal, Bryce Lovett, Caden Jones, Kamryn Waites, Austin Barber, and others, have been limited in some capacity through the camp to this point. Every position group must have chemistry to be on the field together, none more critical than those five offensive linemen. Multiple players returned to practice today and participated. Still, the number of snaps they played was limited to a certain number for precautionary reasons - which is smart with two more weeks of practice headed their way.
Last year, there were few options up front—Florida had the five guys going to play, almost to a fault, regardless of how poorly they played. At times, with so many guys on the sidelines, Florida was stuck with the guys available to play on the offensive line to date. Moving forward, with everyone back or close to being back to full speed, it will not be like that.
Going back to the decisions that will be made, some of them center around a couple of guys who are either better pass blockers than the guy they are competing with or better run blockers, or vice versa. The No. 1 guy might be a better run blocker, while the No. 2 guy does a better job in pass protection. These guys will have two more weeks to establish themselves within the OL pecking order.
Why is this the most essential note of the night to focus on? I have always believed that the Defense is ahead of the Offense at this time of year, which is why I was surprised the Offense won the day last week. However, it will make things even more challenging when you can't get your five best guys on the offensive line, especially if the Defense is much improved, which, by all accounts is t, the case coming out of camp.
We will see multiple guys on the offensive line get live game reps in week one. Florida will have a starting five, no question about it, but a few other guys deserve to play and will be given that opportunity. When these discussions take place, they will only do one thing: force the guys to go even harder.
Unless someone gets injured in the next two weeks or we get into a blowout situation, the guys I expect to play in week one will include the following.
Austin Barber
Knijeah Harris
Jake Slaughter
Damieon George
Kamryn Waites
Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson
Devin Manuel
I believe the two others are very close. I could have easily gone with nine guys, but I want to stick to these seven for now until I see how the next two weeks of practice go.
So yes, with issues on guys up front being healthy and unable to play and establish that chemistry they desperately need, I expect some struggles occasionally. Even with those issues, they were able to win the day last Saturday. It is also so important to point out that Florida did not have these types of options last season, and the reason they do now is all the talent they brought in by way of the portal or high school. These are GREAT problems to have for the Florida staff! The 31st will not arrive fast enough.
