Gators Remain Unfazed by Latest Transition Phase
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A lot has changed since the night of Nov. 26 when the Gators closed the regular season with a loss to Florida State.
One of the last people to enter the locker room that night was offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. Weis is now head coach at Kansas.
Several hours earlier in the day when the Gators entered The Swamp following Gator Walk, strength coach Mickey Marotti was at the front of the line. Marotti is now at Ohio State.
The reason Marotti left was to rejoin the coach who a year ago at this time was preparing the Gators for the Outback Bowl and his swan song at UF: Urban Meyer.
Constant change is commonplace in big-time college football. The players know that. Still, continuity is an important ingredient in winning, and as Florida prepares to face Ohio State in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2, regaining a sense of normalcy is important to head coach Will Muschamp and his staff.
When the team returned to practice last weekend to begin preparing for the Buckeyes, a large portion the first couple of days was spent on a return to basics.
“Our guys are really getting coached and developed,'' Muschamp said. “There is no question, the extra turns and reps that those guys get are really priceless for a young player to continue to develop and for our older players as well.”
The players appear to be handling the transitions with little trouble.
With Weis gone, running backs coach Brian White is serving as interim offensive coordinator for the Gator Bowl. White was on the road recruiting when news broke of Weis' surprise departure.
Since returning and taking control of the offense, he has been pleased with the way the players have approached practice.
“I really like where the players are at right now,'' White said Tuesday. “They seem very motivated and look forward to playing in a big-time bowl game.''
White has no plans to overhaul the pro-style offense Weis installed. As a former offensive coordinator at Wisconsin and Syracuse, White also used a pro-style offense heavy on balance and light on trickery.
“It's not nuclear physics,'' he said. “It doesn't matter if you run the wishbone, the spread, or a pro-style, it's about execution … and putting your players in the best opportunities to make plays and score points.''
Most of the focus leading up to the Gator Bowl has been the matchup between Meyer's former team and his future team. Meyer has spent most of his time since being hired at Ohio State on the road recruiting.
He said as recently as last week that he doesn't plan to attend the game and will watch from afar as interim coach Luke Fickell serves as head coach for the final time at Ohio State.
It's impossible for the players to ignore the popular storyline, but Gators safety Josh Evans doesn't see the Meyer factor playing a major role in the game.
“You talk about it a little bit,'' Evans said Tuesday. “It was a little surprising, but we move on and we're past it. He's a good coach and I wish the best for him.''
Evans and teammate Andre Debose were both signed by Meyer. While they voiced some surprise at Meyer returning to coaching so soon, they said Marotti's departure is the one the Gators have had to adjust to the most.
“That's our strength coach,'' said Debose. “He makes a lot of decisions. He helps our bodies. He told us to work hard for whoever comes in.''
“That was big for us,'' Evans said. “Not only was he a good coach, he was like a father to some players. We kind of figured that once Meyer took the job that there was a chance [he would leave].''
Muschamp continues his search for replacements for Weis and Marotti and has said that neither hire will be made until after the Gator Bowl.
The recent staff changes have provided another test for the young Gators but Muschamp is confident they will handle the latest transition phase smoothly.
“I told our freshmen in the middle of the season that you're not freshmen now; you're sophomores, so it's time to start acting like it and playing like it,'' Muschamp said. “Sophomores become juniors at that point, and juniors become seniors.
“Once you have accumulated a lot of snaps it's time to start playing better, developing and understanding what it takes to be successful – I have seen a lot of that with our football team.”
The goal remains the same as prior to the recent wave of staff changes: beat Ohio State in the Gator Bowl and finish with a winning record.
| “We can come together and be a really good team,'' Evan said. “We're trying to finish on a good note, which would be a win.” |
