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Posted on 3/25/23 at 6:40 am to finchmeister08
I hope he stays. That would be a big loss.
Posted on 3/25/23 at 6:29 pm to Gator Fever
Good that someone of his caliber is on the team, but taking your issues to twitter may not bode well for the future.
Posted on 3/26/23 at 9:04 pm to Supakat1986
Gators QB Jack Miller III eager to show ability after injury derailed 2022 season
By GRAHAM HALL 10 hours ago
By GRAHAM HALL 10 hours ago
quote:
In the immediate aftermath of Jack Miller III's injury to his throwing hand in mid-August, one prominent name was at the forefront, that of retired quarterback Drew Brees. While with the New Orleans Saints, Brees suffered a thumb avulsion fracture; an avulsion fracture, according to the Mayo Clinic, occurs when a small chunk of bone attached to a tendon or ligament gets pulled away from the main part of the bone.
Brees missed just six weeks of the regular season in 2019, leading to optimism within the Florida football program that Miller would return by the midpoint of his first season with the Gators.
UF head coach Billy Napier indicated as much during his first public comments on Miller's injury.
"We anticipate him missing, I’m going to say, the first two games, and we’re hopeful we get him back for Week 3," Napier said on Aug. 21. "He’ll be in a cast in a couple of weeks as that thing grows back together, and he’ll start the rehab process."
There was just one problem, albeit an unforeseeable one, as the Gators looked to follow a rehabilitation plan for Miller that was identical to the one the Saints' trainers used with Brees.
“We followed it basically to a T. We added some more stuff in it, because I think mine was a little bit worse than his," Miller revealed Saturday, "(but) we followed it pretty closely.”
The severity of the injury led to an extension in the recovery process, resulting in Miller needing rehabilitation. He found himself in the training room regaining the strength in his hand rather than on the practice field, the one where he'd made an ascension in just eight months from a transfer from Ohio State with limited experience to Florida's back-up quarterback.
“Initially, it was a torn UCL, but there was a fragment of my bone that chipped off with it, which made it a little more complicated to connect it all back in surgery," Miller said. "Really, the hardest part was just being able to bend it and all that stuff. It was really hard to get back to full-capacity strength.”
The significant injury to his throwing hand left Miller unable to do something he'd done for as long as he could remember: firmly grip a football.
At the time of his diagnosis, and as Napier stood at the lectern divulging details of the unfortunate sidelining of his transfer quarterback, nobody could have predicted how long it would take for the 6-foot-3, 214-pound Miller, ranked the No. 14-ranked pro style quarterback by 247Sports as a prospect, to regain his grasp of the ball.
Once he was out of the cast, Miller then had to use a piece of equipment that he hadn't since his early playing days: a size-7 youth football, which weighs anywhere from 1.5 ounces to 4 ounces lighter than a college football.
"I was throwing the youth ball for probably four weeks on the sideline during practice. A little tiny ball," Miller said. "It was a little weird.”
In all, the process was nothing like Miller, who says he continues to improve the strength in his hand to this day, could have expected.
"That was the hardest thing to get. I mean, I probably took anywhere from seven to eight weeks to really be able to grip a football how I wanted to," he said. "We’re still working and still getting better."
Familiar with the feeling of being relegated at the collegiate level after starring at Chaparral High school, where Miller was the 2017 offensive MVP and 2019 offensive player of the year for head coach Brent Barnes, Florida's fourth-year quarterback found himself once again clutching his helmet on the sidelines throughout the course of a regular season.
It's a sentiment he didn't come to Gainesville keen on feeling again, and the Scottsdale, Arizona, native admits it took a toll on him.
“It was definitely difficult for me. I want to be on the field," Miller said. "I want to play football, so it was definitely a challenge for me mentally, but I got through it.”
A motivation to return to the game he loved kept Miller focused on making his return.
“You just have to stay focused on the main goal and what you want," he said. "It’s easy to get sidetracked when all these things happen, but as long you keep the main goal, the main thing, the main thing and what you want, I think that it’s pretty easy to stay focused, just like I have.”
By the end of the regular season, Miller was nearing his return to full participation in practice, and the Gators had a pair of departures in the immediate aftermath of the offseason.
Anthony Richardson opted to sit-out the SRS Distribution Bowl in Las Vegas to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft, where he's now expected to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Meanwhile, the unexpected dismissal of Jalen Kitna left the Gators with just two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster – Miller and freshman Max Brown.
Posted on 3/26/23 at 9:05 pm to Partha
Rest of article posted above:
quote:
With just two weeks and less than 10 practice sessions to prepare for the postseason contest with Miller at quarterback, the Gators saw their competitive chances hindered even further by the attrition since finishing the regular season at 6-6, leading to a disappointing showing in the contest against Oregon State. Florida failed to score a touchdown and would have been shutout for the first time since 1988 if it wasn't for a field goal from Adam Mihalek in the game's final minute of regulation.
For his part, Miller completed 13-of-22 passes for 180 yards – modest numbers yet it didn't result in much success against the Beavers' defense.
Still, it was his first start at signal-caller for the Gators, and Miller believes he's grown from the experience in the four months since his showing in Nevada.
Rather than erase the memory from his mind and wipe the slate clean heading into spring camp, his showing in Allegiant Stadium has fueled the quarterback throughout his second offseason in Gainesville.
"It was definitely not the performance that I wanted or how I envisioned it going at all," Miller said. "But you know, I learned from it a lot and like I said, it really fueled me this offseason. I’ve been pissed about it since it happened, so making sure it won’t happen again.”
He's more familiar with UF's pass-catching unit after prioritizing building cohesion within the offense, from the highly regarded running backs, the wide receivers led by a familiar face in Billy Gonzales to the stable of promising yet unproven tight ends under the tutelage of first-year UF tight ends coach Russ Callaway.
Miller foresees it leading to improvement for a team that finished the 2022 season ranked No. 77 in passing offense in head coach Billy Napier's first season at the helm.
"Just the timing with all the receivers. Ricky (Pearsall) coming back, that was huge for us, so really getting on the same page with him on every single route, a lot of other guys too, the freshmen coming in," Miller said. "I want to be on the same page on every single play with all of them.”
His familiarity with Pearsall dates back to their time in Arizona, where the two grew up just 20 miles apart.
While Pearsall, a native of Chandler, Arizona, has firmly established himself as a dynamic threat in the Southeastern Conference after leading the team with 661 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 33 receptions last season in addition to eight rushes for 113 yards and a score, Miller's been abundantly aware of Pearsall's on-field prowess, long before the pair were teammates in Gainesville.
“I’ve known Ricky since I was in eighth grade, throwing with him," Miller said. "He’s a really good football player.”
Now, with spring camp nearing the midpoint, Miller continues to develop under the watchful eye of Napier and the head coach's army of assistants.
With an established player having arrived in the offseason by way of Wisconsin in the form of fifth-year quarterback Graham Mertz, Miller's aware the starting quarterback role will once again be an uphill battle.
In retrospect, however, he didn't have much of a chance to win the job, considering Richardson's rise up NFL Draft boards with weeks until the three-day Draft and Miller's unfamiliarity in the system. The decision at quarterback in 2023 may be far more undetermined.
"They tell us it’s a competition," Miller said, "so whoever does the best, that’s who it’s going to be."
Though, it's one he's adamant he's unfocused on as Miller, now fully healthy, pushes forward in his second year with the Gators.
"I’m just trying to get better every single day. I’m not too worried about all that stuff. I just really want to get better every single day and do my best," said Miller. "I embrace competition, like I said. I love it. It’s just going to make us all better. There was really no reaction. Just come back and compete."
Posted on 3/27/23 at 6:35 pm to Partha
And ppl shite all over this kid after the bowl game vs a tough OSU D
Posted on 3/27/23 at 8:52 pm to dbuchanon
quote:
And ppl shite all over this kid after the bowl game vs a tough OSU D
With a patchwork OL without Torrance and no run game.
I think it's best to hold judgement on Miller. That game really meant squat.
Look at Trask's last game with all those starters out. He looked like shite against OU and we all know he's a Gator Great.
Posted on 3/27/23 at 9:52 pm to Partha
Exactly.
Alos look how other QBs faired against that defense. The Heisman winner for example was straight garbage against them and the only reason his team won was because of the run game
But ofcourse our base can watch a guy toss one pass and know he aint it
Alos look how other QBs faired against that defense. The Heisman winner for example was straight garbage against them and the only reason his team won was because of the run game
But ofcourse our base can watch a guy toss one pass and know he aint it
This post was edited on 3/27/23 at 9:54 pm
Posted on 3/27/23 at 9:58 pm to dbuchanon
quote:
But ofcourse our base can watch a guy toss one pass and know he aint it
While, at the same time, anointing a 4th string qb who never stepped on the field during a real play of a live game as the next great Heisman winner
Posted on 3/29/23 at 7:16 am to Partha
I dont have a lot of faith in our QBs if its true Mertz isnt separating himself at camp so far from Miller. I would like to have some faith but the 2 times Miller got some playing time (spring and bowl game) he didnt show anything as far as being a player that can make things happen and instead showed he is reckless with the football under pressure. Hopefully maybe Brown can step up since he can run unlike them but you arent hearing much about him. I am scared this might follow over until 2024 where the rest of the team might be ready to compete for the 12 team playoff. If 2023 doesnt go well there we better hope there is a "proven" 1 year QB transfer in the portal to play before a true freshman is ready. Crazy we dont have one blue chip QB recruit in Napier's first 2 classes. I cant remember that happening at any other top SEC school in recent years. Hope for the best I guess.
Posted on 3/29/23 at 10:53 am to Gator Fever
We'll see GF.
I will not worry about things until I see the qb play in 2023 during live games.
I will not worry about things until I see the qb play in 2023 during live games.
Posted on 3/29/23 at 2:13 pm to Partha
Well the one good thing going is a lack of pressure to have a good record this season. 8-4 would be considered a success probably and 7-5 wouldnt be considered a catastrophe like most years.
Posted on 3/29/23 at 2:33 pm to Gator Fever
Posted on 3/29/23 at 2:38 pm to Gator Fever
For sure.
What I'm looking for is some sort of identity (a positive one of course) to begin to emerge on both sides of the ball. Some sort of consistency.
Record doesn't mean as much unless it is absolutely putrid and we miss a bowl.
I'm not sure why so many people made a big deal about the record last year, it was the same exact record as the year before.
For me, the issues last year were the lack of consistency in overall performance, and a seemingly stagnant poor performance on defense.
A lot of that, to me, could likely be chalked up to players, who looked terrible in the system for which they were recruited in 2021, looking bad in a completely different system. Last year it was kind of hard to tell what we were really trying to do from week to week. That is the most concerning thing about Napier so far. We'll see if that's just adjusting to a new environment, a new level of competition and setting a foundation, or if he's actually as clueless as some of his detractors (most on Twitter and 247) claim.
I'd be happy with a 7-8 win season IF some sort of identity and consistency in good play begins to emerge.
What I'm looking for is some sort of identity (a positive one of course
) to begin to emerge on both sides of the ball. Some sort of consistency. Record doesn't mean as much unless it is absolutely putrid and we miss a bowl.
I'm not sure why so many people made a big deal about the record last year, it was the same exact record as the year before.
For me, the issues last year were the lack of consistency in overall performance, and a seemingly stagnant poor performance on defense.
A lot of that, to me, could likely be chalked up to players, who looked terrible in the system for which they were recruited in 2021, looking bad in a completely different system. Last year it was kind of hard to tell what we were really trying to do from week to week. That is the most concerning thing about Napier so far. We'll see if that's just adjusting to a new environment, a new level of competition and setting a foundation, or if he's actually as clueless as some of his detractors (most on Twitter and 247) claim.
I'd be happy with a 7-8 win season IF some sort of identity and consistency in good play begins to emerge.
Posted on 3/29/23 at 5:44 pm to Partha
'I’m proud of him': Torrence collegiate career culminates in high honor
By JACOB RUDNER
88 minutes ago
By JACOB RUDNER
88 minutes ago
quote:
GAINESVILLE — O’Cyrus Torrence had of course seen Florida’s All-American bricks before. The permanent fixture situated in rows just behind the iconic bull gator statue outside of Gate 18 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is hard to miss.
But the former Florida offensive lineman, who became the first guard in program history to earn consensus All-American status after a dominant 2022 campaign, had never looked at them the way he did on Wednesday afternoon when he had the chance to unveil his own.
As much as the moment validated years of training and an offseason decision to leave Louisiana in favor of a massive step in competition, Torrence said his All-American brick ceremony allowed him to feel a sense of belonging in an elite fraternity of former Florida football players.
He knew it cemented him in program lore.
“It’s a different feeling now that I’m a part of it,” he said, admittedly overcome by emotion. “I’m a part of something bigger than myself. I’m going to be here forever now.”
The recognition is hardly a surprise considering Torrence’s body of work in his lone season with the Gators.
An anchor-point for an offensive line that allowed just 13 sacks throughout the regular season, the second-fewest in the SEC and tied for No. 15 nationally, Torrence was the highest-ranked offensive guard at the FBS level last year and didn’t so much as allow a quarterback hit, according to Pro Football Focus.
Torrence was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week in Week 10 and the Co-SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week in Week 11, marking the first time a Gator offensive lineman won the award multiple times in the same season since Martez Ivey in 2016.
He also became just the 26th offensive lineman in Florida history to earn first-team All-SEC recognition and the first to do so since Maurkice Pouncey and Mike Pouncey in 2009.
According to the coaches who brought Torrence from Louisiana to Florida, his success was expected.
“Let’s go back four years,” said Florida co-offensive line coach Rob Sale, who initially recruited Torrence. “The first few months, he had the intangibles to be elite. I knew in the three years he started at UL that he would start for every single SEC school and I’m not surprised. I knew he would come in and dominate this league and I know the success he’ll have at the next level. I’m not surprised, no.”
An under-recruited prospect out of high school, Sale and Billy Napier identified Torrence as a potential impact player long before the rest of the country and pursued him accordingly.
Napier said he called Torrence every Thursday night during the 2018 college football season while the young offensive lineman stood in the corner of his grandmother’s Greensburg, Louisiana, home that had adequate cell phone reception.
“I remember making those calls,” Napier said with an ear-to-ear grin on Wednesday afternoon.
Torrence’s second recruitment, which came after he entered the NCAA transfer portal, was as challenging as the first but for different reasons. This time, he wasn’t hard to get a hold of because of cell phone reception. This time it was because everyone seemed to be calling.
In 2021, Torrence was named to the All-Sun Belt first team and played a critical role in an offensive line that was named a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award for the second season in a row.
The Ragin Cajuns allowed just 1.86 sacks per game last year, ranked 10th nationally in rushing touchdowns, 18th in the country in total touchdowns and tied for 23rd nationally in total first downs.
Torrence had no shortage of suitors as a result.
“We had to recruit him a little bit,” Sale said. “Once you’re in the portal, everybody’s after you and we had to recruit him. We had to tell him that he knows all the drills, he knows the offense and all that stuff is taken care of. All he had to do was go out there and play in the league and put good tape on. He handled that part.”
Napier echoed the sentiment.
“It was a no-brainer to try to get him to come here and he proved himself this year against really good competition,” the second-year Florida head coach said. “Hopefully it ends up culminating with a really good draft and a successful career at the next level.”
While only time can tell just how well Torrence will fare at this year’s NFL Draft and beyond, all signs seem to be pointing in an overwhelmingly positive direction.
Torrence is viewed as one of the nation’s most promising National Football League prospects, a hierarchy that is hardly restricted to just his position, and has garnered late-first and early-second round draft evaluations.
According to Napier, “most” pro teams have Torrence at the top of their boards among interior linemen and it will simply come down to “who needs a guard,” to determine whether or not he earns first-round status.
“You don’t have to sell him,” Napier said. “The proof is in the pudding with this one. He’s 6-foot-5, 335, he’s athletic, he’s got power, he’s smart, he’s played a million snaps so he has that body of work. They call us to make sure they’re not missing anything and they’ve got a really high opinion of him.”
Torrence’s newly-unveiled All-American brick is evidence of the hard work that got him there and a potential sign of what could be to come.
“I love him like a son,” Sale said. “.”
Posted on 4/2/23 at 7:09 am to Partha
Yes an 8-4 record and looking like a team moving ahead for the future would be nice.
Posted on 4/7/23 at 9:52 am to Gator Fever
Ricky Pearsall comfortable with QB room, a ‘big question mark’ he had
Zach Abolverdi • 04/02/23
Zach Abolverdi • 04/02/23
quote:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall weighed whether to return to school or turn pro this offseason, one of the deciding factors was figuring out who his quarterback could be in 2023.
In his last game with Anthony Richardson at Florida State, Pearsall set a new career high with 148 yards on five receptions and had a two-touchdown performance for just the third time in his career.
Richardson declared for the NFL Draft following the regular season finale and skipped the bowl game. After the Las Vegas Bowl, Pearsall revealed he was still thinking about his future plans.
“That was a big question mark for me obviously when I was making my decision,” Pearsall told Gators Online on Saturday. “It’s like, ‘Who’s going to be throwing me the ball?'”
Pearsall only had a few weeks of practice in the fall with Jack Miller III due to his thumb injury in training camp, and he didn’t take many reps last season with true freshman Max Brown, who redshirted.
Nonetheless, Pearsall had history with Miller (more on that below) and was comfortable with Florida’s quarterback room, especially when Graham Mertz signed with UF just four days after the bowl.
“I already had a relationship with Max and Jack, and then the coaches were telling me about Mertz coming in, so I was just reaching out to him, getting a feel for him,” Pearsall said. “They just made me comfortable coming back, and I felt comfortable coming back. I know my own abilities and they know their own abilities, and just developing that relationship and trust with one another is probably the most important part.”
Pearsall’s trust in Napier and their tight-knit relationship was another driving force behind his return to Florida. Two days before the deadline for players to declare for the NFL Draft, he announced he would be staying with the Gators.
Napier and Pearsall attended a UF basketball game together a couple weeks later.
“Just really trusting in Nape,” he said when asked what ultimately brought him back. “I was going back and forth with it, but after talking with my family and praying about it, I just came to a decision and I think it was best for me to come back.
“I think this team is talented, you know, we got a lot of parts that are coming back. I think we got big plans ahead, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
Pearsall was among Florida’s top six offensive players in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus, and four of them return along with left tackle Austin Barber and running backs Trevor Etienne and Montrell Johnson Jr. The departures were Richardson and guard O’Cyrus Torrence, both projected first-round picks.
The Gators also return seven of their top nine defenders from 2022 who played at least 100 snaps according to PFF, except for linebacker Ventrell Miller and safety Rashad Torrence II.
Pearsall on the QB battle
There’s an open competition at quarterback this spring and it’s been a two-man race between Mertz and Miller. Pearsall has repped with both throughout camp and thinks they’ve played well.
“They’re both two really smart, talented guys, and they’re battling right now,” Pearsall said of Mertz and Miller. “That’s what these practices are about. Coach Napier does a job of putting them in situations where they have to battle for it, and they’re both doing a really good job. We still got a lot of practices and time left before we make that decision, but so far, I like what I’m seeing.”
When Pearsall transferred from Arizona State last summer and started practicing with Miller before his thumb injury, that wasn’t his first time catching passes from him. The two are both Arizona natives — Scottsdale for Miller and Pearsall’s from Chandler — and they connected in high school during Pearsall’s junior year. Miller was a class behind him.
“I don’t remember exactly when I first met him, but it was over a throwing session,” Pearsall recalled. “We had a mutual coach that we knew, and he invited me out and then Jack was out there, so that’s when I first got to know him. And then he was throwing me the ball and I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’ Because he was launching them, and then I did my research and we became friends.”
They were reunited in Gainesville, but Miller spent the regular season sidelined before making his UF debut and first career start in the Las Vegas Bowl. He threw for 180 yards on 13 of 22 pass attempts with no touchdowns or interceptions in the 30-3 loss to Oregon State.
Pearsall caught four of Miller’s completions for 65 yards. It marked his fourth contest of the season with four or more receptions as well as his fourth-highest receiving yardage in a game.
“Playing an actual game for the first time was a big step for him and his experience,” Pearsall said of Miller. “I could tell when the game was going through that he was starting to calm down a little bit and keep his poise. I think he grew a lot from that.
“Then I can obviously tell even his demeanor at practice, he’s really poised out there. He’s taken on that leadership role as a quarterback. He’s looking real good right now. He’s got a good touch on the ball.”
While Pearsall and Miller already have an established connection, he’s had to form one with Mertz this offseason. Mertz said they put in extra work watching tape in the film room and discussing different concepts and coverages.
Pearsall has been impressed with Mertz so far and also likes when he’s seen from Brown. And with the addition of two freshmen receivers to go along with the returning wideouts, he’s confident in Florida’s passing attack for this year.
“Graham, he’s a talented guy. He’s a really smart guy, you know, he knows how to read defenses,” Pearsall said of Mertz. “[Max]’s got a talented arm. He’s really gifted, he’s got a good touch on the ball, he’s got that zip to it. So, he’s gonna be really good, too.
“We have a really strong group in the receiver room. I think we got some new pieces we added to that are going to make our receiver room even stronger. … Gator fans should be excited about [Andy Jean]. He came in right away, and the first thing I noticed is he’s really polished. He’s got a big future.”
Posted on 4/8/23 at 1:14 pm to Partha
I wonder if we ever had this situation before. Only 1 QB on the roster has taken a snap against against an SEC opponent and he is 4th in the pecking order.
Posted on 4/14/23 at 10:28 am to Partha
After last night
quote:
Game 1
Aug 31 (Thu) Sep 2 (Sat) TBA
at Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah L
Game 2
Sep 9 (Sat) TBA
vs McNeese State
Gainesville, Fla. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium W
Game 3
Sep 16 (Sat) TBA
SEC
vs Tennessee
Gainesville, Fla. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium L
Game 4
Sep 23 (Sat) TBA
vs Charlotte
Gainesville, Fla. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium W
Game 5
Sep 30 (Sat) TBA
SEC
at Kentucky
Lexington, Ky. L
Game 6
Oct 7 (Sat) TBA
SEC
vs Vanderbilt
Gainesville, Fla. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium W
Game 7
Oct 14 (Sat) TBA
SEC
at South Carolina
Columbia, S.C. L
Game 8
Oct 28 (Sat) TBA
SEC
vs Georgia
Jacksonville, Fla. L
Game 9
Nov 4 (Sat) TBA
SEC
vs Arkansas
Gainesville, Fla. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium L
Game 10
Nov 11 (Sat) TBA
SEC
at LSU
Baton Rouge, La. L
Game 11
Missouri Tigers
Nov 18 (Sat) TBA
SEC
at Missouri
Columbia, Mo. W
Game 12
Nov 25 (Sat) TBA L
vs Florida State
Gainesville, Fla. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Posted on 4/14/23 at 12:50 pm to UFMatt
I see 6-6 if we dont get a QB in the next 2 weeks. To me Mertz is what he was at Wisconsin and Miller is really bad when he has to deal with pressure. If Miller had to take over early in the season I could see a 2017 like collapse as you have there.
This post was edited on 4/14/23 at 12:59 pm
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