Gators Notebook: Davis Earns Carries, McElwain on suspended players, More Tidbits

Malik Davis showed his speed against Tennessee and his physicality in last week's win over Kentucky (above). (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Gators Notebook: Davis Earns Carries, McElwain on suspended players, More Tidbits

Wednesday, September 27, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter

The Gators host Vanderbilt on Saturday at noon.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Freshman running back Malik Davis has opened eyes and turned heads little by little.

On the first carry of his career, Davis picked up eight yards in the season opener, the longest run for a UF running back in the loss to Michigan. The next game Davis reeled off a 72-yard run that would have been a 74-yard touchdown if a Tennessee defender had not remained in pursuit and punched the ball from Davis' hands and out of the back of the end zone for a touchback. In addition, a week ago in Florida's 28-27 win at Kentucky, Davis took over in the second half to finish with a team-high 93 yards on 21 carries.

"That kid is fantastic,'' UF offensive line coach Brad Davis said Wednesday. "You could put me in there, he'd still probably get a yard or two. He makes us [offensive line] look good."

Davis joined the Gators over the summer following a record-setting senior season at Tampa Jesuit, where he rushed for a Hillsborough County-best 2,469 yards and 33 touchdowns. He started preseason camp behind incumbent starter Jordan Scarlett and reserves Mark Thompson and Lamical Perine.

Scarlett was suspended the week of the Michigan game, and Thompson and Perine remain significant contributors in the running game. However, Davis has earned more playing time after what he did against the Wildcats.

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"He's going to play a bunch,'' UF head coach Jim McElwain said Wednesday when asked if Davis would start against Vanderbilt. "He's been taking a bunch of reps, obviously, as he has previous weeks. He's doing a good job and will get a lot of carries."

The emergence of Davis, along with that of versatile freshman Kadarius Toney and sophomore receiver Tyrie Cleveland (13 catches, one shy of freshman total) give the Gators some flash on offense.

Davis' teammates have quickly embraced his playmaking ability.

"When Malik gets in there he does a great job of pressing the hole,'' center T.J. McCoy said. "He's a very patient back. I feel like [against Kentucky] he showed his physicalness. We had that run – it was fourth-and-1[on the game-winning drive] – and the D-line did a great job submarining us, you know, driving down our legs so we couldn't get much movement.

"He kind of just went around it and jumped over the pile and kept running to the linebacker and got some tough yards."

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MAC ADDRESSES PLAYERS' LEGAL ISSUES

News broke Monday during his weekly press conference that Florida's nine suspended players faced more than 60 sworn felony complaints for their alleged involvement in credit-card fraud, catching McElwain off-guard due to the timing.

After a couple of days of fact gathering and reflection, he addressed the situation on Wednesday after practice.

"Disappointed as we were from the get-go,'' McElwain said. "And yet, there's still a lot to be found out. I think you've just got to let it, from a legal standpoint, play out. And then, obviously from there, the university standpoint. Then we'll deal with it at that time."

While the news made national headlines and put a damper on the team as it began preparation for Vanderbilt, McElwain insists not much has changed from the day-to-day operation.

None of the nine scholarship players – Scarlett, Antonio Callaway, Kadeem Telfort, Ventrell Miller, James Houston IV, Jordan Smith, Rick Wells, Richerd Desir-Jones and Keivonnis Davis – have played this season or been part of team activities.

McElwain said the players remain enrolled in school and in contact with the program. However, their future with the program remains uncertain as the legal process unfolds.

McElwain's primary message focused on his disappointment over the whole affair.

"We obviously were alerted. We immediately took action,'' he said. "At this point, the legal process has to run. Look, I feel horrible about it. I feel horrible for those kids. I also know what it can do to wreck the rest of their lives.

"I'd say this: in a couple of the guys' cases, when you look at the sheer numbers … the idea of getting something for nothing, really disappointing."

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McElwain's entire press conference following Wednesday's practice:

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JOHNSON ON MEND

Linebacker Kylan Johnson is close to returning after missing the past two games with a hamstring injury that has hobbled him since preseason camp. Johnson came off the bench in the Michigan game and had four tackles, his only appearance of the season.

That could change on Saturday for the 6-foot-2, 236-pound Johnson, a redshirt sophomore from Dallas.

"[He] has been practicing this week,'' McElwain said. "We'll look at today's film again and see how he's moving before we make the determination if he's ready. He's definitely headed in the right direction."

Johnson entered camp as a projected starter after filling in for injured Alex Anzalone last season, making six starts and finishing with 39 tackles, seventh on the team.

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CLOSE GAME, NO PROB

In the wake of Florida's win at Kentucky, there have been several references in the media to McElwain's 9-1 record in one-score games since he came to Florida. His only loss came at LSU in 2015, a 35-28 defeat in UF's first game after the suspension of then-Gators quarterback Will Grier.

"Let's just keep it at one, how's that?" he quipped Wednesday morning on the SEC coaches' media teleconference.

45282 — Florida has played its best at home under Jim McElwain, going 12-1 over the past three seasons. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

And while it hasn't always been pretty, McElwain's home record is 12-1, which is a drastic improvement for Florida after it slumped to 17-8 at The Swamp in four seasons under Will Muschamp, including a stretch of six losses in eight games.

McElwain has touted the Gators' return to The Swamp on several occasions in preparing for the Commodores.

"The guys are ready to come back to The Swamp,'' McElwain said. "We've had a pretty good week [at practice]. I think the guys are in a good place."

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ROBINSON UPDATE

Highly touted freshman receiver James Robinson has been out of action due to a heart scan that revealed concerns about his heart.

Robinson visited a heart specialist out of state to get a second opinion and McElwain said Wednesday the next step is for doctors to examine the results in-depth for a conclusion.

"We got those results,'' McElwain said. "They have to be read by a couple other people to see exactly where it's at. He's in really good spirits and as soon as I hear the final definite one way or another, we'll definitely let you know."

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QUOTE OF NOTE I

"You don't know if a young guy has been in your culture long enough to understand what just happened. I think you've really got to spell it out. You can't assume as a coach that your football team knows and understands what happened. Because if they did, it would have never been an issue." – Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason on the his message after 59-0 loss to Alabama a week ago

QUOTE OF NOTE II

"Any time you lose out of your locker room some guys that are not only teammates, but friends, guys you've been through workouts with, I think there probably is a little bit of that. I think in some cases there was even some shock, but with that being said, that's still not an excuse." – Gators head coach Jim McElwain on impact of additional player suspensions week of Michigan game on team's performance in that loss

QUOTE OF NOTE III

"It's gone pretty well. I had a really good game against Kentucky. I won co-defensive player of the game. You'll see a lot of people and articles on Twitter, 'Oh, Garcia sucks. Garcia can't get off blocks.' They don't know what gap I have. So they can write whatever they want." – Gators linebacker Cristian Garcia, who has received extra playing time due to depth issues

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EXTRA POINTS

Freshman linebacker Nick Smith, who sustained a knee injury prior to preseason camp, is back at practice participating in non-contact drills. "He's got his helmet on now, got shoulder pads on, part of the team,'' McElwain said. There is no timetable on Smith's return to full-contact drills … McElwain said the plan is to continue to rotate offensive linemen Fred Johnson and Tyler Jordan at right guard … Vanderbilt announced Wednesday that it will not move its football stadium off-campus to the Nashville Fairgrounds, eliminating a much-debated scenario the school had considered under a proposed shared-stadium concept with Major League Soccer according to The Tennessean.