re: 2023 Football Discussion Thread General Thoughts & Comments

Not bad. I’ll take this win.

Crazy that Pearsall is the only senior starter on this roster.

No seniors on this defense.

As much as I'd love to believe that, I think being DC instead of being an ILB coach probably played a bigger role.

Good stuff.

I guess there's always a chance. But if he wanted to follow Warren's footsteps, or be with him, so bad, wouldn't he have gone to Miami?

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To my knowledge don't think Warren was ever on the Hurricanes staff

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No I don't think he has been.

What I meant though was if he really cared or was cool with Warren like that, would he have became a Gator in the first place?

I'm not saying there's animosity between them or anything, but it doesn't seem like he was trying to follow in Warren's footsteps by going to Miami or anything like that, so I don't know how much Warren being on Colorado is going to sway him. Seems like he wants to carve his own path based on his decision to come to UF.

Gators handled Tennessee tempo thanks to practice setup under Austin Armstrong
The Gators moved up to No. 10 nationally in total defense after the upset of the Volunteers.
Graham Hall Sep 20th, 8:53 PM

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For as impressive as Florida's offense was in the program's 29-16 victory over Tennessee, the Gators' defense ensured the team's scoring total would be more than adequate by routinely holding the Volunteers in check throughout the night.

In doing so, the Gators navigated a fast-paced, up-tempo Volunteers offense, one designed to take advantage of a defense in the midst of adjusting, by preventing the visitors from finding the end zone during a pivotal juncture, as UF built a lead across the second and third quarters of the contest.

In the immediate aftermath, Florida head coach Billy Napier and a defensive standout during the night, linebacker Scooby Williams, both credited first-year UF defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong for installing an ideal game plan to limit the Volunteers' penchant for explosive offense for coming to fruition inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

"I think they had a fantastic plan," Napier said of his team's defense Saturday. "I do think when you play these teams that are drastically different, you try your best to recreate it."

Williams echoed the sentiment.

“Our defense, really we put all our trust in Coach Armstrong," Williams said. "The way he prepares throughout the week, we trust his game plan, we go out there and execute.”

The Gators have moved on from the contest, with the focus on both improving inwardly and preparing for the upcoming opponent, the Charlotte 49ers, though the program has continued to receive praise for the defense's showing against the Vols, in particular the aforementioned preparation aspect Napier referenced when the second-year Florida head coach alluded to simulating the opposition during the days of practice prior to the contest.

Ahead of the contest, Armstrong was intent on having the Gators prepared for the tempo of the Volunteers' offense, and his preparation attempts included an up-tempo practice environment.

From how players within Florida's defense recall the week of preparation, the team's defensive coordinator may have gone to an extreme to prepare the team for what was to come.

"His tempo that we were doing in practice was way faster," Princely Umanmielen said. "It was like an unrealistic tempo,"

It reached a point where Umanmielen, whose role requires him to line up at a variety of positions on the field, struggled to keep up with the Gators running a play every "four to five seconds" during practice sessions for the Volunteers.

“Like to the point where if I have to go to the boundary, if the ball’s on this hash, and then the next play is on this hash, I can’t even get to the other hash to get lined up yet," Umanmielen said. "He was just doing that to get us ready for Tennessee."

It was a challenge for a defense that struggled at times to be consistently lined up during Napier's first season with the program.

The Gators weren't perfect, but they answered the call, as the scoreboard indicated. Saturday's outcome in The Swamp marked the third-lowest scoring contest in the Josh Heupel era at Tennessee, a testament to the high level of play from UF's defense.

As the season progresses, the Gators have already answered a critical test. UF has proved capable of handling an up-tempo offense, which should bode well for the unit's play throughout the remainder of the season as Tennessee will hardly be the only team that will look to move the ball quickly.

Though, from the way Umanmielen tells it, the Gators likely won't face another team this season that operates as quickly as Florida's practice setup under Armstrong.

"I think there was only one play where we weren't lined up. And, you know, we were ready, because we went through it in practice. And in the middle of the game (Armstrong) walked up to us, he was like, 'Is Tennessee's tempo faster than mine?' and we were all like, 'no,' because, you know, he just did it to a point in practice where it was unrealistic," Umanmielen said. "But we were able to line up and practice, so we know if we can line up when he's going unrealistically fast in practice, we were able to do it against Tennessee."

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Top 10 in total defense having played 2 teams that were ranked in the top 15, one on the road, is not a bad start at all!

LINK

Something something need an OC