Muschamp says Gators must add depth on line to win in SEC
Monday, November 14, 2011 | Football, Men's Golf, Scott Carter
During his postgame press conference following Saturday's 17-12 loss at South Carolina, Gators coach Will Muschamp addressed in a roundabout way what differentiated his team from the Gamecocks.
The Gators certainly didn't help themselves with two lost fumbles and ill-timed penalties and going 2-for-9 on third down, but the problem was deeper than those issues.
It has been all season as Florida limps into Saturday's game against Furman at 5-5, having lost five of its last six games.
“They are good up front. They are talented. They have recruited very well up front. They are deep,'' Muschamp said, his voice intensifying with each word. “They roll a bunch of guys in there. They are very deep. They have recruited very well.''
Muschamp can't discuss recruiting in specifics due to NCAA rules, but there is little doubt that building depth on both lines of scrimmage is a primary concern for next season.
One of Muschamp's common phrases is that the “SEC is a line-of-scrimmage league.”
Several SEC teams appear to be shifting back to more traditional grind-it-out running games and defenses built on size and physicality more than speed and quickness. The Gators have fared better defensively up front of late than on the offensive line, where there is little depth.
The offensive line was a point of emphasis right from the start for Muschamp and his staff, highlighted by the addition of sixth-year senior Dan Wenger from Notre Dame over the summer. Not only did Wenger help in the transition to Charlie Weis' pro-style offense, he is a regular starter and one of the team's leaders despite this being his only year in the program.
Asked about the Gators' performance at the line of scrimmage throughout the SEC schedule – Florida finished 3-5 in the conference -- Muschamp didn't mince words.
“Not very good,'' he said. “It's real simple. We're not deep enough, we don't have enough numbers. It's real simple. Just look at the roster. We practice like a pro team. We do crossover work.
“We've got good talent we don't have enough numbers.''
