Spring Practice Thread

[MJWilliamson]

From 24/7

"1) Luke Del Rio continues to get the starting snaps, and he looks very comfortable running the offense and checking through his reads.

2) Kyle Trask continues to be extremely accurate in both pass skeleton drills and throwing routes on air.

3) Austin Appleby has been considerably behind the other three quarterbacks in terms of accuracy. He has consistently missed throws the first two days.

Now, does any of that mean that we've figured things out at quarterback? Certainly not. But an early narrative is beginning to emerge.

One thing we've noticed about Del Rio is that he seems very comfortable pump-faking and dipping his shoulders as he checks through reads, which tends to get defenders leaning one way or another. His mechanics are very sound, and it leads to him being able to make some excellent open throws.

As far as Trask goes, he throws a very catchable ball and more often than not seems to put it either in a perfect catching position for his receiver or a place where his receiver could make a tough snag on a ball in tight coverage without it being a risky pass."

 

[PacoGator19]

Trask could end up being a huge surprise. I think Del Rio will get the job done.

 

[Michi-Gator]

I am more concerned with the OL. I expect to see a traditional Nuss offense this year.

Off tackle left
Dive
Long trap
Off tackle right
Trap
Dive
.
.

 

[angel1293]

The more I see Trask throw the more I like him. I'm rooting for Trask but I hope Franks beats him out when it's their time. Trask looks like he'll at least be solid. If Franks can beat him out, then he probably made significant improvements and he has a higher ceiling than Trask. I really hope that Franks puts in a lot of work in the film room and his mechanics because he can be great if he applies what he learned on the field.

 

[MJWilliamson]

Just can't help yourself, can you Michi?

 

[oozie7]

Not surprised Trask is ahead of Franks so far. Still early, but even though I didn't like the Trask take, I liked him as a pure passer better than Franks. Franks' delivery is just awful and is gonna need a lot of fine tuning.

 

[oozie7]

Del Rio will go as far as our running game takes him, so lets hope the o-line has improved a lot. Any word on if Ivey has moved back to tackle? We get him and Fred Johnson outside and I think our pass blocking improves a ton and I also really like Jordan at Center. Then we'd just have to find some decent guards.

 

[PacoGator19]

Martez Ivey is out for the spring.

 

[oozie7]

Oh yea the injury. Well that sucks, having him getting tons of reps this spring would have been great.

 

[kellylexy]

Not surprised Trask is ahead of Franks so far. Still early, but even though I didn't like the Trask take, I liked him as a pure passer better than Franks. Franks' delivery is just awful and is gonna need a lot of fine tuning.

wow, good catch. That is awful.

 

[46885]

 

[oozie7]

Player I'm most hyped to see next year is Anzalone. Freaky athlete if he can just stay healthy. With him and Davis we'd have one of the faster linebacking units in college football.

 

[PacoGator19]

Player I'm most hyped to see next year is Anzalone. Freaky athlete if he can just stay healthy. With him and Davis we'd have one of the faster linebacking units in college football.

Agreed. If he can stay healthy would go a long way to having a very good defense next year. He could be a difference maker.

 

[46885]

 

[oozie7]

Agreed. If he can stay healthy would go a long way to having a very good defense next year. He could be a difference maker.

Yep! Probably the most athletic linebacker we've had here in a while, I love to watch him play. I feel like coverage in the intermediate area fell off after he got injured, Morrison just couldn't cover. If we get some depth and somebody like Gardner can step in at nickel or one of the safety spots this defense will be more athletic than last year's.

 

[PacoGator19]

By the way JUCO RB Mark Thompson is a beast.

 

[46885]

is Thompson #24?

 

[MJWilliamson]

Quarterbacks picking up offense quickly this spring
Thomas Goldkamp - 101 minutes ago 5

(Photo: Ryan Jones, 247Sports)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Through four spring practice, second-year coach Jim McElwain has had a better chance to get a pulse on where his quarterbacks are at.

The Gators have spent some time in early practices working on third down, and McElwain has been pleased overall with the quarterback play.

"Obviously more bodies. The biggest picture, there are four guys there that are throwing the ball pretty darned good," McElwain said. "In Luke (Del Rio's) case, had a chance with a guy now that’s been in this system for about a year."

Del Rio still leads the way at quarterback, but McElwain said he has been pleased with what he has seen out of freshmen quarterbacks Kyle Trask and Feleipe Franks.

Both have picked up the knowledge side of the offense fairly quickly.

"I'll tell you what, I've been really impressed with how they've taken command, especially of our NASCAR and fastball stuff and getting guys lined up and understanding where certain people are supposed to be or how to cut your split down and as far as indicating or repointing MIKEs, they appear to be really diving into the playbook piece of it," McElwain said.

Of course, the coach credited Del Rio and Austin Appleby, the two veteran quarterbacks for helping make that possible.

"I hear the guys, when one of them is taking a rep or whatever, the other is coaching them all the time," he said. "That's good. That's good to see."

Still, the job appears Del Rio's to lose as Florida moves forward in spring practice. His ability to make the right reads and checks has been a key factor for the offense so far.

"It's cool to see Luke. He's kind of known all the offensive coordinators," left guard Antonio Riles said. "He's familiarizing himself with those guys. I'm pretty sure he's got it by now. He knows what they want. It's pretty exciting to see him step up in that leadership role and take it on."

McElwain still waiting to dish out too much praise until he sees how each quarterback does under fire.

The Gators will continue with more situational work on Friday and Saturday, though they won't have a full-blown scrimmage until Practice 9. Friday's practice will be the fifth of the spring.


What will the head coach be looking for as spring continues?

"Just seeing those guys, it’ll be interesting when we do get to kind of scrimmage as far as seeing how the team moves," McElwain said. "That’s kind of the next step as you kind of get into the process, once you kind of starting getting some of the base stuff in. Seeing how the team advances when they’re in there or in the huddle. That’s kind of the important next phase of it."

 

[PacoGator19]

is Thompson #24?

Yes