GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators are on spring break this week but open their first camp under head coach
Dan Mullen in 10 days. If you haven't heard, the first two practices are
open to the public.
For Mullen, this week is an opportunity to take a breath after three months of non-stop activity, including last week's speaking tour in Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando.
Mullen charged up the fan base with his energy behind the mic. He also dropped some noteworthy items of interest. Here are some of the highlights:
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Mullen isn't writing off redshirt sophomore quarterback
Feleipe Franks as some fans are, nor should he. Franks has all the physical tools to succeed and Mullen sees it. "I watchedÂ
Feleipe Franks throw the ball 75 yards against Tennessee,'' he said. "The last quarterback I coached that had that arm talent was
Cam Newton."
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Mullen's excitement and enthusiasm showed through and based on social media reaction, fans appreciated the tone Mullen brought to the events. "I loved being at Florida when I was here before. I'm thrilled to be back here at Florida. Hopefully one of these days I can have an office next to Coach Spurrier after I have a good, long career here and get an office next to him and be here the rest of my life."
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Sophomore running back
Malik Davis won't be at full-speed for the start of spring camp, but Mullen likes Davis' play-making ability from what he has watched on film. "I like to give play-makers the ball. He's working really hard to get healthy,'' Mullen said. "We'll probably make a judgment in August for where he will be for the season."
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Receiver/Wildcat quarterback
Kadarius Toney is another player who Mullen views as dangerous with the ball. "He's an H receiver. He'll play the same position
Percy Harvin played when we were here before. You will see him line up at a lot of different positions, including quarterback, this year."
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Mullen is urging students to set the tone during home games and will meet with student groups to encourage their involvement and arrival at games earlier than in the past. "Every one of the fans in our stadium are going to take the students' lead. If the students are jumping up and down, having fun, going crazy, so is everybody else," he said. "If the students don't, they're not. So, we've got to do a great job of cultivating and teaching the students how, one, we need them there and, two, how we need them to act during the course of the game."
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The University Athletic Association continues work on finalizing plans for several facility improvements, including a stand-alone football facility. Mullen is excited about having a say in the project. "Here's the great thing, and this is what I'm really excited about, is I'm glad personally that we didn't throw one up,'' he said according to SECCountry.com. "Because I'm here to make sure we get it built and we get it done the right way. Because anytime when you deal with facilities, the most important thing we're looking for in the operations building in football is how do we maximize performance in student-athletes, and that's what it's all about. How do we maximize their performance in everything that they do."
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Mullen admitted he was not a fan of Florida's "swamp green" uniforms it wore against Texas A&M last season. However, he is not adverse to straying away from traditional uniforms to change the look occasionally. "The favorite uniform of every kid we recruited was the green uniform, and they are the ones that have to win games for us," Mullen said. "Yeah, whatever they want to wear. It is what it is to get those guys. I mean, we'll be wearing a black jersey combination at some point. We'll be doing some cool stuff for the guys, because that's what they like to do. That's what it's about."
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EXTRA POINTS
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Glad to see
Kevin Barbay, Florida's director of player development under
Jim McElwain,
get hired as quarterbacks coach at Stephen F. Austin University in his native Texas. Barbay sought a return to coaching after his stint as a member of UF's support staff …
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Former Gators linebacker
Cristian Garcia is another good guy who has landed well after his time with the Gators. Garcia recently rejoined his position coach last season,
Tim Skipper, as a defensive graduate assistant at UNLV. Skipper was named UNLV's defensive coordinator in late January …
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Former Gators offensive lineman
Phil Trautwein, announced as Yale's offensive line coach Feb. 12, joined his former position coach at UF two weeks later when Boston College head coach
Steve Addazio hired Trautwein to coach the Eagles' O-line.
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COMINGS AND GOINGS
Mark DeBastiani and
Ryan Smith, two quality control defensive analysts for the Gators under McElwain, have resurfaced. DeBastiani, who served as Florida's interim linebackers coach in the Outback Bowl win over Iowa after the 2016 season, is the new defensive coordinator at Alabama A&M. Meanwhile, Smith is the new linebackers coach at Florida A&M under first-year Rattlers head coach
Willie Simmons ...
Kerry Dixon II, Florida's receivers coach the past three seasons, is reportedly headed to Toledo as running backs coach. The school has not made an official announcement as of Tuesday ...
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QUOTE OF NOTE I
"It's great for Florida, a great hire. He knows the landscape, knows Florida … the SEC East will feel
Dan Mullen." – Former Gators head coach
Urban Meyer to
The Florida Times-Union
QUOTE OF NOTE II
"I think it's because I left." – Mullen (jokingly) after being asked in Tampa why Meyer left UF after the 2010 season
QUOTE OF NOTE III
"I'm ready. I've seen him give his talks to the booster clubs and he might have used the phrase 'relentless effort' 7,000 times. It's motivating me." – Ex-Gators quarterback
Danny Wuerffel on
Mullen's enthusiasm
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IN MEMORIAM
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Bob Vosloh (Tampa Tribune, 1956)
Harold "Hal" Seymour was a big story for the 1963 Gators football team. Seymour, who grew up kicking footballs barefoot, put shoes at the urging of head coach
Ray Graves.
He tried to punt like most punters, but after four games, Seymour was not getting the results he wanted and went back to punting barefooted.
His average increased more than five yards per kick the rest of the season according to the Dec. 8, 1963, edition of
The Pensacola News Journal. The 73-year-old Seymour
passed away on Feb. 24 …
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Former Gators offensive lineman
Bob Vosloh, who lettered at UF from 1954-56,
passed away Feb. 26 at the age of 82.
Vosloh signed with the Gators out of Miami Jackson High in 1953 and later settled in Iowa Falls, Iowa.
