Following Tuesday's practice, a handful of Gators, including cornerback Jalen Tabor, running back Jordan Scarlett and defensive end Bryan Cox Jr., met with the media. Below are some of the highlights from what they had to say.
CB JALEN “TEEZ” TABOR
What are your thoughts on the Florida-LSU postponement and the outside criticism that UF “dodged” the game?
Tabor: "I mean we want to play the game. I want it to be made up, but it’s out of my hands. … It was crazy. Just put so much effort into LSU. I mean that’s what we wanted to do. We definitely wanted to play the game. We just gotta be focused on Missouri. … We don’t make the decision. It’s out of our hands. We do as we’re told. I don’t think our guys are dodging. We can line it up any time. I wouldn’t say we dodged a bullet. That’s coming from a player. I don’t think we dodged the game at all."
Are you confident that the LSU game will be played?
Tabor: “I don’t want to answer that question. I might get in trouble.”
How do you balance being aggressive and not getting flagged?
Tabor: "Man, that's going to happen. We're a press-man team. We're going to be physical with you. We're not going to let you get free releases. If you take away one half of football, man, that's scary. One half of football. I think we gave up seven to UMass. Kentucky, six, seven. Who was after that? North Texas, zero. Tennessee in the first half, three, zero. Vanderbilt, six. One half of football. But that happens, though. We learned our lesson."
What are the biggest challenges Missouri’s offense presents?
Tabor: "Don't let their tempo beat us. They get lined up fast. We've got to get lined up fast. They bank on you not having your feet set and just go. As long as we get our feet set. Three-and-outs, that kills teams like that. You get three-and-outs and our offense sustains a long drive, they could run six plays in a half if we really stop them how we're supposed to."
Have you thought about the 2014 Florida-Missouri meeting this week?
Tabor: "Yeah, actually [Jarrad Davis] brought it up. That was just embarrassing how we came out. Man, homecoming, they returned the opening kickoff. They had four non-offensive touchdowns. Shhh, that's tough. They only scored 13 points on offense. Kickoff return, a punt return, an interception return and a fumble return. I mean, jeesh."
Do you pay any attention to NFL mock drafts?
Tabor: “Not really, not really. I feel like I’m the best corner. I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of guys that feel like they’re the best corner. But you only need one team to like you.”
Is there a friendly competition between you and Quincy Wilson at both cornerback spots?
Tabor: “Without a doubt, I mean, competition brings out the best in us all. I would be lying to you if I said when he gets a pick I don’t want a pick. That’s just competition, but it makes us better. We’re good friends at the end of the day so there’s no hard feelings or anything, but man we’re competitive at the same time.”
RB JORDAN SCARLETT
Have you gotten any inkling that you’ll receive more carries this weekend? Do you feel you can get into a better rhythm with more snaps?
Scarlett: "No, not yet. I'm just here to be a team player. I didn't come to Florida to be anything like that, I'm just here to win championships. So whatever it takes to help the team out, I'm all for it. … Yeah, I definitely feel I can get a better rhythm, get a feel of the defense and how they're playing and how their tendencies are, get a feel for my O-line throughout the drive too. But I'm just helping the team, so if I do get a whole drive I'll make the best happen."
Can you explain how’d you get a better feel of the defense with more snaps?
Scarlett: "As far as just, you know, outside zone plays, I see if my tackle can get the D-end reached. If he can't get him reached, next time I'll know I've got to stick a foot or something like that. Just tendencies like that that I can pick up throughout the game that I can't really see from the sidelines sometimes."
How important is it to make a statement against Missouri this weekend?
Scarlett: "Yeah, I feel like we can make a good statement coming back. We've got Luke Del Rio coming back. Not knocking (Austin) Appleby at all, it's just that Luke is a little bit more comfortable with the offense and understanding points and stuff like that. But I think we'll do a lot better come Saturday."
Considering Del Rio’s comfortable running the offense, how much of an advantage is it with him coming back?
Scarlett: "It's an advantage, you know, because the DBs have to take account for him now, they're not all just playing the run. So Luke takes a little bit of load off my shoulders. He has everybody in command. He's like a general. He calms everybody down in tough situations and brings us all together."
Is there a lot of stuff at the line of scrimmage that he does differently than Appleby?
Scarlett: “Yeah, kind of, not really. He’ll just pick out some extra things. He’ll see a blitz that’s coming that the coach didn’t say we had to pick up on and he knows that it’s coming and be like, alright, we gotta get him. He’s just a little bit more comfortable and knows what’s going on.”
What have you seen from freshman wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland’s progress? What’s the key for him to take the next step?
Scarlett: “He’s doing a lot better. He came in, banged up. He had a hamstring injury. He was fighting through it and I just told him to take his time, don’t rush it. Now he’s back making plays so hopefully we get a couple explosives out of him this week. … I think blocking on the perimeter. People look at that and not just looking at him running routes and catching the ball. You gotta be an all-around receiver. I think him blocking on the perimeter and helping out and finishing will be a good job.”
Does Missouri’s run defense look vulnerable on film?
Scarlett: “I really think yeah, we can run the ball on them. I was watching film on them vs LSU and Georgia. They did a really good job of running the ball against them. I feel like we have better backs and we can get the job done. … I just say their offensive line was finishing blocks on them. The safeties weren’t coming down and triggering as hard. The running backs just find the seam and got to get to the races. I think we got a great group of backs and we’ll be able to make some big plays this weekend.”
DE BRYAN COX JR.
How are you with your injury? Was it difficult to play through it?
Cox: “I’m good, I just had a little tweaked ankle. That’s it. I’m good though. Back to 100%. … I mean, it did hurt pretty bad. I had an ankle and a little bit of tendinitis in my knee that were on the same leg so it kind of made it a little hard, but I’m good now.”
Jordan Sherit (knee) and Joey Ivie (thumb) have obviously been rehabbing. How has their progress been?
Cox: “I’d seen Joey in there working on my way to practice, so he’s doing real well with it. And Sherit says he feels brand new, so that’s a good sign.”
How important is it to get pressure on Drew Lock this weekend?
Cox: “It’s going to be very important. Like somebody said it, but the past couple of weeks, we haven’t really been doing really well in pass rush. Not so much not doing well, but we haven’t been getting to the quarterback and sacking him. So we have to put a big emphasis on that this weekend, pass-rushing efficiently. … “We just have to be more efficient in our pass rush lanes. A lot of people are starting to max protect more and do like two man routes and stuff like that. We just have to more proficient.”
You're one of a few guys on team who actually beat LSU in 2012. How important would it be to play the postponed game?
Cox: "I would definitely like to see that game rescheduled, me personally, but it's definitely not up to me. If I had a say, we'd be playing right now. I definitely would like to play that game."
Do you care where it is held?
Cox: "I don't care. We could play it in here. It doesn't matter to me. Parking lot, wherever they want to play it."
CB JALEN “TEEZ” TABOR
What are your thoughts on the Florida-LSU postponement and the outside criticism that UF “dodged” the game?
Tabor: "I mean we want to play the game. I want it to be made up, but it’s out of my hands. … It was crazy. Just put so much effort into LSU. I mean that’s what we wanted to do. We definitely wanted to play the game. We just gotta be focused on Missouri. … We don’t make the decision. It’s out of our hands. We do as we’re told. I don’t think our guys are dodging. We can line it up any time. I wouldn’t say we dodged a bullet. That’s coming from a player. I don’t think we dodged the game at all."
Are you confident that the LSU game will be played?
Tabor: “I don’t want to answer that question. I might get in trouble.”
How do you balance being aggressive and not getting flagged?
Tabor: "Man, that's going to happen. We're a press-man team. We're going to be physical with you. We're not going to let you get free releases. If you take away one half of football, man, that's scary. One half of football. I think we gave up seven to UMass. Kentucky, six, seven. Who was after that? North Texas, zero. Tennessee in the first half, three, zero. Vanderbilt, six. One half of football. But that happens, though. We learned our lesson."
What are the biggest challenges Missouri’s offense presents?
Tabor: "Don't let their tempo beat us. They get lined up fast. We've got to get lined up fast. They bank on you not having your feet set and just go. As long as we get our feet set. Three-and-outs, that kills teams like that. You get three-and-outs and our offense sustains a long drive, they could run six plays in a half if we really stop them how we're supposed to."
Have you thought about the 2014 Florida-Missouri meeting this week?
Tabor: "Yeah, actually [Jarrad Davis] brought it up. That was just embarrassing how we came out. Man, homecoming, they returned the opening kickoff. They had four non-offensive touchdowns. Shhh, that's tough. They only scored 13 points on offense. Kickoff return, a punt return, an interception return and a fumble return. I mean, jeesh."
Do you pay any attention to NFL mock drafts?
Tabor: “Not really, not really. I feel like I’m the best corner. I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of guys that feel like they’re the best corner. But you only need one team to like you.”
Is there a friendly competition between you and Quincy Wilson at both cornerback spots?
Tabor: “Without a doubt, I mean, competition brings out the best in us all. I would be lying to you if I said when he gets a pick I don’t want a pick. That’s just competition, but it makes us better. We’re good friends at the end of the day so there’s no hard feelings or anything, but man we’re competitive at the same time.”
RB JORDAN SCARLETT
Have you gotten any inkling that you’ll receive more carries this weekend? Do you feel you can get into a better rhythm with more snaps?
Scarlett: "No, not yet. I'm just here to be a team player. I didn't come to Florida to be anything like that, I'm just here to win championships. So whatever it takes to help the team out, I'm all for it. … Yeah, I definitely feel I can get a better rhythm, get a feel of the defense and how they're playing and how their tendencies are, get a feel for my O-line throughout the drive too. But I'm just helping the team, so if I do get a whole drive I'll make the best happen."
Can you explain how’d you get a better feel of the defense with more snaps?
Scarlett: "As far as just, you know, outside zone plays, I see if my tackle can get the D-end reached. If he can't get him reached, next time I'll know I've got to stick a foot or something like that. Just tendencies like that that I can pick up throughout the game that I can't really see from the sidelines sometimes."
How important is it to make a statement against Missouri this weekend?
Scarlett: "Yeah, I feel like we can make a good statement coming back. We've got Luke Del Rio coming back. Not knocking (Austin) Appleby at all, it's just that Luke is a little bit more comfortable with the offense and understanding points and stuff like that. But I think we'll do a lot better come Saturday."
Considering Del Rio’s comfortable running the offense, how much of an advantage is it with him coming back?
Scarlett: "It's an advantage, you know, because the DBs have to take account for him now, they're not all just playing the run. So Luke takes a little bit of load off my shoulders. He has everybody in command. He's like a general. He calms everybody down in tough situations and brings us all together."
Is there a lot of stuff at the line of scrimmage that he does differently than Appleby?
Scarlett: “Yeah, kind of, not really. He’ll just pick out some extra things. He’ll see a blitz that’s coming that the coach didn’t say we had to pick up on and he knows that it’s coming and be like, alright, we gotta get him. He’s just a little bit more comfortable and knows what’s going on.”
What have you seen from freshman wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland’s progress? What’s the key for him to take the next step?
Scarlett: “He’s doing a lot better. He came in, banged up. He had a hamstring injury. He was fighting through it and I just told him to take his time, don’t rush it. Now he’s back making plays so hopefully we get a couple explosives out of him this week. … I think blocking on the perimeter. People look at that and not just looking at him running routes and catching the ball. You gotta be an all-around receiver. I think him blocking on the perimeter and helping out and finishing will be a good job.”
Does Missouri’s run defense look vulnerable on film?
Scarlett: “I really think yeah, we can run the ball on them. I was watching film on them vs LSU and Georgia. They did a really good job of running the ball against them. I feel like we have better backs and we can get the job done. … I just say their offensive line was finishing blocks on them. The safeties weren’t coming down and triggering as hard. The running backs just find the seam and got to get to the races. I think we got a great group of backs and we’ll be able to make some big plays this weekend.”
DE BRYAN COX JR.
How are you with your injury? Was it difficult to play through it?
Cox: “I’m good, I just had a little tweaked ankle. That’s it. I’m good though. Back to 100%. … I mean, it did hurt pretty bad. I had an ankle and a little bit of tendinitis in my knee that were on the same leg so it kind of made it a little hard, but I’m good now.”
Jordan Sherit (knee) and Joey Ivie (thumb) have obviously been rehabbing. How has their progress been?
Cox: “I’d seen Joey in there working on my way to practice, so he’s doing real well with it. And Sherit says he feels brand new, so that’s a good sign.”
How important is it to get pressure on Drew Lock this weekend?
Cox: “It’s going to be very important. Like somebody said it, but the past couple of weeks, we haven’t really been doing really well in pass rush. Not so much not doing well, but we haven’t been getting to the quarterback and sacking him. So we have to put a big emphasis on that this weekend, pass-rushing efficiently. … “We just have to be more efficient in our pass rush lanes. A lot of people are starting to max protect more and do like two man routes and stuff like that. We just have to more proficient.”
You're one of a few guys on team who actually beat LSU in 2012. How important would it be to play the postponed game?
Cox: "I would definitely like to see that game rescheduled, me personally, but it's definitely not up to me. If I had a say, we'd be playing right now. I definitely would like to play that game."
Do you care where it is held?
Cox: "I don't care. We could play it in here. It doesn't matter to me. Parking lot, wherever they want to play it."
