Florida had its second scrimmage of fall camp on Friday, with coach Jim McElwain meeting with the media Tuesday for the first time since it wrapped up to discuss some highlights.
Among them? A handful of younger players had very strong outings.
McElwain pointed to junior college receiver Dre Massey as a standout yet again, with the junior quickly turning into the most talked-about player in camp. An explosive, shifty slot receiver, Massey offers Florida the kind of versatility and playmaking ability the offense has sorely missed the last few years.
"I think the thing about him is his versatility to do a lot of different things," McElwain said. "Everything from punt, to throw, to handle it carrying it out of the backfield. There’s a lot of different things and he’s one of those guys that you can use in a lot of different situations. That’s been a good thing."
"A year ago that role was filled by then-sophomore Brandon Powell. But Powell aggravated a foot injury that has bothered him since he arrived at Florida. Once he was slowed, the Florida offense wasn't quite as multiple.
It took a toll."
"Yeah, when Brandon went down that kind of hurt us a little bit, especially with that because we were using him in a lot of different ways as well early in the year," McElwain said. "Those two guys (Massey and Powell) give you real good combination to be able to do that kind of stuff."
Florida's running backs also had a good day in the scrimmage. Though starting tailback Jordan Cronkrite was hurt, backups Jordan Scarlett and true freshman Lamical Perine put together impressive outings.
"Lamical Perine really showed up," McElwain said, before indicating Perine has definitely earned playing time this fall. "Yeah, no doubt about it. And as we talk too, I want every one of these guys' mindsets that they're playing. They don't need to step into, 'Well, I'm redshirting and not getting any better.' None of those things will be determined until after the fourth game anyway.
"So moving forward, I tell you what, he's a guy that runs with great pad level. He's slippery in there. I mean, guys bounce off him, and he's really strong, he's got a great stiff arm and he's done some really good things."
Finally, there were a couple standouts on the defensive side of the ball. One true freshman and one redshirt freshman caught McElwain's eye.
"Defensively, I thought Jabari Zuniga is doing some really good things as are some other guys up front," the second-year coach said. "Vosean Joseph is really showing up every time we go out there."
Zuniga is a powerful strong-side defensive end who figures to play a major role backing up veteran Bryan Cox Jr. He showed excellent power and burst as a rusher off the edge in the spring game.
Joseph is a true freshman linebacker, and McElwain has previously stated in fall camp that he expects all three of Florida's true freshman linebackers to see playing time this fall.
"That’s really good news from that standpoint, some of the young guys," McElwain said.
