How is camp going?
"I think it's been going good so far. It's brought out the best, like I said before, in everybody. Luke's been playing really well, I'm playing really welll and so is Malik. We're all learning a lot going through fall camp, which is expected."
How is the quarterback competition right now?
"Like I said before, I mean I think it's a good competition, in my opinion. All of us are really good quarterbacks and we're all doing our best with the team. It's going good so far, and I think it's going to continue to go well."
Evaluate yourself, what is the biggest difference from last year?
"Evaluate myself? I mean I would think night and day. Last year it was troubling for me to go through reads and stuff like that, to break it down and keep it simple for myself. But I think this year coach Mac and Nuss have made it a lot easier on me, breaking things down and just making it a lot easier for me and letting me play to a higher level."
How did they fix that?
"I think they gave me a lot of steps to get to where I wanted to be. I think I just had to apply it to my everyday routine. Every day just getting a little extra film work, working on technique, things like that. Working on chemistry with the receivers, running backs and the line, things like that, tight ends. All of that kind of stuff. It didn't just now start, it's just over a period of time doing little things right really helped me."
What is the relationship like between you three finalists for the starting job?
"Yeah, I mean we're in the facility from 7 in the morning to whatever time at night. We're always around each other, so obviously we see each other all the time every day. We're all pretty close, we're all pretty good. We're all rooting each other on just to do our best each and every day at practice."
Do you feel a sense of urgency as camp comes to a close?
"I don't really approach it like that. I approach it more as just every single day just go out there and get better. Just make your reps count. Like I said before, we're all in a competition rooting each other on. I don't think I look at it like that, going and waiting for that moment when he comes out and says who's the starter. But I think you go out there every day just to get better and build chemistry with my teammates."
Brandon Powell said that you're a totally different guy this year.
"Yeah, I think I am. It's kind of like, I don't want to be a different person from when I first got here, but I was the type of person who was a little shy. I don't know all these people. But then you get to know them and then you get to learn the offense, everything starts clicking together. Makes everybody more comfortable. For me being around them and them being around me, it's like you're good friends now with everybody on the team. It just makes everything roll a lot smoother."
Did bringing in Zaire light a fire under you?
"Yeah, I mean absolutely. To be honest with you, yeah, bringing in competition, like I said before, it only brings out the best in a person. The competitor that I am, I want to do the best that I can do to be better than anyone else around me to say, basically so. But he has brought out a fire in me. I'm just doing the best I can do every single day to gain my players' confidence and everybody else on the team's confidence, coaches, everything like that, to be the best player I can be."
Is there an advantage to not naming a starter before the Michigan game?
"To be honest with you, that's not really a decision up to me. That's always up to the coaches, so we'll see how that goes. It doesn't really matter to me, to say. But I'm going to go out there, do the best I can do every single day and they'll make that decision. That's all I can really control."
What have you enjoyed about this process?
“Man, I love it to be honest with you. I’m the type of person, I love competition. I say this all the time, I think it brings out the best player in a person and the best person in the person as well. Iron sharpens iron is what I’ve always been told. It’s going to bring out the best player in me, the best person in me. It’s going to make me want to bond with my teammates more, gain their confidence. Make me want to learn, eager to learn. I want to be a sponge and learn everything that I can while I’m here at the University of Florida. That’s the way I approach it. Hopefully, it keeps rolling smooth for me as fall camp goes on and into the season.”
What have you seen from the young receivers?
“The young receivers have to step up. There’s a spot that needs to be filled. If you’re a receiver, you have to step up. I think our receiver corps has done a great job of hopping in, learning the offense and rolling smoothly with it. Coach Mac and Coach Nuss have done a great job with that, getting them guys in there and just not losing any kind of stride. You know, just keep on keeping on. What I’m trying to say is, they did a great job putting guys in there and rolling with the flow.”
What are your thoughts on the young defensive backs?
“I think our defense is doing a great job of teaching those young guys. They’re picking up pretty quick. I see them out there, they make plays and they’re doing a good job. With Duke and some of the other defensive leaders, they’re doing a great job of welcoming them in and teaching them and letting them learn. They’re doing a great job of learning and being coachable. That’s what it boils down to.”
Who is the hardest defensive back to throw against and why?
“Golly, we’ve got a bunch of good ones. To be honest with you, Duke is super quick. I can’t really let that one down. He’s just a quick guy, quick hips. He’s a really good player. It’s really hard to throw against Duke. He’s a good corner and a good player.”
McElwain has been talking about making camp uncomfortable. What specifically has he been doing to challenge you guys?
“He does a lot of things. He does a great job as a coach putting us in situations like a two-minute at the end of a game and you have 10 seconds left and no timeouts and you need a touchdown to win. Puts you in little situations like that and implementing that into practice. We call it a sudden change when something doesn’t go our way. Little things like that. He does a great job of throwing those in there and making us adapt to them. He does a great job of that, making the uncomfortable comfortable.”
How have you reacted?
“In my opinion, I’ve did good reacting to it. Our offense did a really, really good this fall camp. Going in to finish it up. We did a really good job of moving the ball, keeping the turnovers really low, things like that. I think we’re going to have a really good offense this season. Coach Mac and Coach Nuss have done a great job of coaching the guys up and filling the holes that needed to be filled. Keeping things rolling smoothly.”
Iron sharpens iron, what ways are you sharper?
“With Luke and Malik, I think that’s a way to say Iron sharpens iron. When they come in they’re going to give their best out there and it’s only going to make me even try to go harder because that’s the kind of competitor I am. I want to do better than the person in front of me, better than the best. I thin k that’s really how Iron sharpens iron. It’s fall camp. Bringing Malik in and Luke being the good quarterback he is and making me compete against them. I think that’s really made me step my game up to another level.”
What would it mean to you to take that first snap against Michigan?
“Obviously a lot. That would be pretty fun, all the hard work paying off. But, that’s not my job, that’s not what I’m here for. I’m here to give my best every single day, give 100% in whatever I do. I leave it up to the coaches and go from there.”
What have you shown the coaches in camp so far?
“I’ve shown them the best I can do and how much of a hard worker I am. How much I’ve studied in the offs eason, I know the offense completely, little things like that. Showing my confidence and how much the players have confidence in me. My relationships with the player, things like that, I think they see. Hopefully that goes good for me. You never know, that’s why Im not here to be a cach. I can just be the best I can be and go from there.”
Do you have any idea where you are in the pecking order?
“I don’t know. We all split reps. It’s kind of whatever, whatever they think. I really can’t tell you that.”
"I think it's been going good so far. It's brought out the best, like I said before, in everybody. Luke's been playing really well, I'm playing really welll and so is Malik. We're all learning a lot going through fall camp, which is expected."
How is the quarterback competition right now?
"Like I said before, I mean I think it's a good competition, in my opinion. All of us are really good quarterbacks and we're all doing our best with the team. It's going good so far, and I think it's going to continue to go well."
Evaluate yourself, what is the biggest difference from last year?
"Evaluate myself? I mean I would think night and day. Last year it was troubling for me to go through reads and stuff like that, to break it down and keep it simple for myself. But I think this year coach Mac and Nuss have made it a lot easier on me, breaking things down and just making it a lot easier for me and letting me play to a higher level."
How did they fix that?
"I think they gave me a lot of steps to get to where I wanted to be. I think I just had to apply it to my everyday routine. Every day just getting a little extra film work, working on technique, things like that. Working on chemistry with the receivers, running backs and the line, things like that, tight ends. All of that kind of stuff. It didn't just now start, it's just over a period of time doing little things right really helped me."
What is the relationship like between you three finalists for the starting job?
"Yeah, I mean we're in the facility from 7 in the morning to whatever time at night. We're always around each other, so obviously we see each other all the time every day. We're all pretty close, we're all pretty good. We're all rooting each other on just to do our best each and every day at practice."
Do you feel a sense of urgency as camp comes to a close?
"I don't really approach it like that. I approach it more as just every single day just go out there and get better. Just make your reps count. Like I said before, we're all in a competition rooting each other on. I don't think I look at it like that, going and waiting for that moment when he comes out and says who's the starter. But I think you go out there every day just to get better and build chemistry with my teammates."
Brandon Powell said that you're a totally different guy this year.
"Yeah, I think I am. It's kind of like, I don't want to be a different person from when I first got here, but I was the type of person who was a little shy. I don't know all these people. But then you get to know them and then you get to learn the offense, everything starts clicking together. Makes everybody more comfortable. For me being around them and them being around me, it's like you're good friends now with everybody on the team. It just makes everything roll a lot smoother."
Did bringing in Zaire light a fire under you?
"Yeah, I mean absolutely. To be honest with you, yeah, bringing in competition, like I said before, it only brings out the best in a person. The competitor that I am, I want to do the best that I can do to be better than anyone else around me to say, basically so. But he has brought out a fire in me. I'm just doing the best I can do every single day to gain my players' confidence and everybody else on the team's confidence, coaches, everything like that, to be the best player I can be."
Is there an advantage to not naming a starter before the Michigan game?
"To be honest with you, that's not really a decision up to me. That's always up to the coaches, so we'll see how that goes. It doesn't really matter to me, to say. But I'm going to go out there, do the best I can do every single day and they'll make that decision. That's all I can really control."
What have you enjoyed about this process?
“Man, I love it to be honest with you. I’m the type of person, I love competition. I say this all the time, I think it brings out the best player in a person and the best person in the person as well. Iron sharpens iron is what I’ve always been told. It’s going to bring out the best player in me, the best person in me. It’s going to make me want to bond with my teammates more, gain their confidence. Make me want to learn, eager to learn. I want to be a sponge and learn everything that I can while I’m here at the University of Florida. That’s the way I approach it. Hopefully, it keeps rolling smooth for me as fall camp goes on and into the season.”
What have you seen from the young receivers?
“The young receivers have to step up. There’s a spot that needs to be filled. If you’re a receiver, you have to step up. I think our receiver corps has done a great job of hopping in, learning the offense and rolling smoothly with it. Coach Mac and Coach Nuss have done a great job with that, getting them guys in there and just not losing any kind of stride. You know, just keep on keeping on. What I’m trying to say is, they did a great job putting guys in there and rolling with the flow.”
What are your thoughts on the young defensive backs?
“I think our defense is doing a great job of teaching those young guys. They’re picking up pretty quick. I see them out there, they make plays and they’re doing a good job. With Duke and some of the other defensive leaders, they’re doing a great job of welcoming them in and teaching them and letting them learn. They’re doing a great job of learning and being coachable. That’s what it boils down to.”
Who is the hardest defensive back to throw against and why?
“Golly, we’ve got a bunch of good ones. To be honest with you, Duke is super quick. I can’t really let that one down. He’s just a quick guy, quick hips. He’s a really good player. It’s really hard to throw against Duke. He’s a good corner and a good player.”
McElwain has been talking about making camp uncomfortable. What specifically has he been doing to challenge you guys?
“He does a lot of things. He does a great job as a coach putting us in situations like a two-minute at the end of a game and you have 10 seconds left and no timeouts and you need a touchdown to win. Puts you in little situations like that and implementing that into practice. We call it a sudden change when something doesn’t go our way. Little things like that. He does a great job of throwing those in there and making us adapt to them. He does a great job of that, making the uncomfortable comfortable.”
How have you reacted?
“In my opinion, I’ve did good reacting to it. Our offense did a really, really good this fall camp. Going in to finish it up. We did a really good job of moving the ball, keeping the turnovers really low, things like that. I think we’re going to have a really good offense this season. Coach Mac and Coach Nuss have done a great job of coaching the guys up and filling the holes that needed to be filled. Keeping things rolling smoothly.”
Iron sharpens iron, what ways are you sharper?
“With Luke and Malik, I think that’s a way to say Iron sharpens iron. When they come in they’re going to give their best out there and it’s only going to make me even try to go harder because that’s the kind of competitor I am. I want to do better than the person in front of me, better than the best. I thin k that’s really how Iron sharpens iron. It’s fall camp. Bringing Malik in and Luke being the good quarterback he is and making me compete against them. I think that’s really made me step my game up to another level.”
What would it mean to you to take that first snap against Michigan?
“Obviously a lot. That would be pretty fun, all the hard work paying off. But, that’s not my job, that’s not what I’m here for. I’m here to give my best every single day, give 100% in whatever I do. I leave it up to the coaches and go from there.”
What have you shown the coaches in camp so far?
“I’ve shown them the best I can do and how much of a hard worker I am. How much I’ve studied in the offs eason, I know the offense completely, little things like that. Showing my confidence and how much the players have confidence in me. My relationships with the player, things like that, I think they see. Hopefully that goes good for me. You never know, that’s why Im not here to be a cach. I can just be the best I can be and go from there.”
Do you have any idea where you are in the pecking order?
“I don’t know. We all split reps. It’s kind of whatever, whatever they think. I really can’t tell you that.”
