re: 2018 Off-Season Updates and Previews

#Gators TE C’yontai Lewis on @CoachDanMullen running around the entire the practice: “That’s the kind of coach you want.”

Richard Gouriage is here. He brought a notebook and a pen, taking notes throughout practice. #Gators

UF notebook: Newcomers impress


2 of 2000 03162018 GAI_SpringPractice01­.jpg Dan Mullen, the head coach of the Florida Gators, runs a drill with players during the first spring practice at the Sanders Practice Fields on the UF campus in Gainesville Friday March 16, 2018. [Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun]

Friday’s opening football practice may have been a breath of fresh air for the Gators eager to put last season’s dismal display behind them. But for nine players, Friday marked their first opportunity to improve in Gainesville.
The two transfer wide receivers, Trevon Grimes and Van Jefferson, were active throughout practice, with Jefferson drawing a loud applause on multiple occasions throughout the afternoon.
The first came on a leaping 25-yard reception over the middle in traffic as Jefferson displayed the ball skills that made him a four-star prospect out of high school. Later, a 65-yard touchdown pass from Feleipe Franks to a streaking Jefferson possibly foreshadowed Florida’s offense in 2018.
And many of Florida’s freshmen early enrollees came to play, with safety Amari Burney the most impressive. The Clearwater native hauled in a pair of interceptions during 11 vs. 11 drills and had several pass break-ups that signaled why Burney’s a candidate to earn early playing in Todd Grantham’s 3-4 defense.

Gators feed on crowd energy
In front of a crowd of about 600, the players seemed to feed off of the energy of performing in front of Florida fans once again. And the crowd turnout might have meant a little more for junior linebacker David Reese, who was participating for the first time in Spring practice after suffering an injury setback last season. Reese felt the defense put on a show that the crowd was craving.
“Oh it was lovely. I’m mad that they only cheered for the offense today, but that’s fine. That’s expected. They’re the loved ones,” Reese said. “But a lot of guys had a lot of interceptions. I think (Amari) Burney had two, Vosean (Joseph) had one, James (Houston) had one, so it was a good turnout today.”
With the aforementioned Jefferson having his moment in the spotlight, Reese said it didn’t come as a surprise to him, considering the two hail from the Great Lakes State.
“Van Jefferson, he’s been around my area and things like that. His dad played in the NFL, so I knew a lot about him before he came here,” Reese said. “So I already knew his ability and things like that. He played football in Michigan, so I already knew he was going to be good.”

A new and improved Jordan Scarlett?
If there were any concerns about running back Jordan Scarlett losing a step, those fears were likely assuaged Friday. By all accounts, Scarlett has continued developing physically since his season-long suspension in the credit card fraud scandal last season, and the time away from the field has given Scarlett an opportunity to fine-tune his craft.
“He looked better. Way better,” Gators offensive lineman Martez Ivey said of Scarlett. “He knows the pass game, he knows the run game. And he’s been around. He’s experienced. That’s a big boost for us in the offense.”
Ivey’s sentiments were echoed by Lewis, who said the Gators will need the Scarlett of season’s past with some unproven talent in the backfield.
“We need a big running back like that. He can hit the holes like the A-gap and bring power to the team on third-and-1, fourth-and-1,” Redshirt senior tight end C’yontai Lewis said. “We need him to bring that power and get those extra yards for us. He’s a good downhill runner. And then he’s a veteran and he knows a lot more about the game than young running backs.”

Florida football: Observations from Gators second spring practice

March 17, 2018

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — More than 1,000 fans turned out Saturday for Florida football’s second practice of the spring.

The Gators were once again in shorts and helmets and the offense made a couple big plays during 11-on-11 work. Here are SEC Country’s observations from the second practice:

Florida’s quarterbacks performed better as a group on Saturday. Feleipe Franks once again opened as the starter and ran with the first-team offense for the majority of practice, throwing a pair of impressive passes to wide receivers Josh Hammond and Trevon Grimes.
For the second day in a row, Kyle Trask (No. 2), Jake Allen (No. 3) and Emory Jones (No. 4) received reps in that order. Trask was on point with his accuracy and ball placement in 7-on-7 work, connecting with receivers Dre Massey, Kadarius Toney and Rick Wells. Trask also received first-team reps during the 11-on-11 portion and found tight end Moral Stephens along the sideline for a nice play.
Allen had the top play of the day, throwing a bomb to Grimes — his former high school teammate — for a 65-yard touchdown pass during 7-on-7 work. Grimes had a better showing in his second practice with the Gators.
Jones hit a wide open C’yontai Lewis on a corner route with his first rep of 7-on-7 work. During passing drills, the early enrollee threw the ball in the net more than any other quarterback. In the 11-on-11 portion, Jones found Toney in a tight window and he extended his arms out to haul in the reception, drawing an applause from the crowd.
Florida running back Jordan Scarlett took it to the house on the first play of 11-on-11 work, another crowd pleaser. Lamical Perine and Iverson Clement also broke free for touchdown runs. Adarius Lemons improved his play on Day 2 and seemed to retain some of the pointers Friday from new position coach Greg Knox.
The tight ends had several passes thrown their way Saturday and appear to be much more involved in the new scheme, something Lewis alluded to after the first practice. “They use the tight end. It’s the main piece of the offense,” Lewis said. “We do a lot of running around, we do a lot of moving. We get the ball a lot now. They run most of plays off of the tight end. We got reads and all type of stuff now, so I’m excited about it.”
Florida’s starting offensive line: Martez Ivey (LT), Tyler Jordan (LG), T.J. McCoy (C), Fred Johnson (RG) and Jawaan Taylor (RT). Second-team offensive line: Jean DeLance (LT), Kavaris Harkless (LG), Nick Buchanan (C), T.J. Moore (RG) and Stone Forsythe (RT).
Florida’s starting defensive line: Jabari Zuniga (DE), Khairi Clark (NT) and Luke Ancrum (DE) with CeCe Jefferson at outside linebacker. Second-team defensive line: Zach Carter (DE), T.J. Slaton (NT) and Elijah Conliffe (DE) with Jachai Polite at outside linebacker.
Sophomore safety Shawn Davis was a standout performer on defense, recording a pass breakup and one of only two interceptions on the day. He worked with the second-team secondary, which also includes safety Donovan Stiner, nickel C.J. McWilliams and cornerbacks Trey Dean and Brian Edwards.
Linebacker Ventrell Miller tipped a pass during 11-on-11 work, leading to an interception for walk-on cornerback Austin Perry. Freshman safety Amari Burney got his hands on another pass Saturday, but could not hang on to the ball. He had a pair of picks in the opening practice.
The Gators had a handful of elite recruits on hand Saturday: 5-star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux (Thousand Oaks, Calf.), 5-star running back Trey Sanders (Bradenton, Fla.), 4-star wide receiver Mycah Pittman (Calabasas, Calif.) and 4-star defensive end Derick Hunter (Fort Myers, Fla.).

highlight vid from practice. kinda makes me feel like we'll be national champions this year.

LINK

Trask was injured most of last season right? Trying to remember why he didn’t see the field...

I believe he tore his meniscus and then had foot surgery.

Nope, this train ain't got no brakes.

''Two points make me think Mullen is high on Trask as well.''

"Accuracy, though, is the most important thing. I’d rather take a very, very accurate quarterback over a guy that throws it 70-80 yards and just explaining that to them and understanding that."

"And watching him, I think he’s bought in to what we want to do. … The running aspect of the quarterback in our offense, I just want you to be a willing runner. If the defense gives you the opportunity to run, go run and go do it. He’s shown a decent bit of athleticism to be able to run the ball, too."

Also he is smart, has a good understanding of the game, learn stuff quickly.

Get on in here, finch, unless you're related to Franks.

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Franks doesn't have it.

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I'm not writing off any of our QBs yet. Franks was put in a situation that he was not prepared for last year and got poor or no coaching to make him better. As fans, We should have an open mind this spring and summer and believe that Coach Mullen can develop one of our QBs into a functional SEC caliber player next fall. Franks has as good a chance as any of being that guy.
Go Gators.

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Lets not etch starters at QB just yet (hear me Straw?) Its freaking MARCH.

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This. But I have a lot more confidence in Mullen than I did in Mac to put us in the best position.