Muschamp's Intensity Cranks Up As Season Opener Nears
Monday, August 29, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – With his first game as a head coach a mere five days away, Will Muschamp showed little interest Monday in romanticizing about what the first time will be like when he leads the Gators onto the field Saturday.
You'll have to forgive Muschamp's case of tunnel vision. He has more pressing concerns.
“We are still very unsettled on the offensive line and in the secondary,'' Muschamp said. “We need to be more consistent in what we're doing. Generally, in those two groups, when you have a breakdown, it's not good. You've got to be on top of your game all the time.
“We're not there yet. We've got a lot of things we've got to accomplish through the week and I'm really focused on the task at hand, and that's getting our guys ready to play.''
Muschamp has yet to coach his first game, but that famous intensity he is known for appears in midseason form.
While the offensive line and secondary remain closely contested with Florida Atlantic coming to town in a few days, Muschamp sounded like he is ready to get the main course started after months of appetizers ranging from booster functions to ESPN visits to spring practice.
“We won't be in shorts,'' he quipped.
Muschamp didn't wax poetic about what Saturday will mean to him – he and Florida fans have waited on the day since he was named Urban Meyer's successor in December – but he did acknowledge that it will be special.
In his own intense way.
“Unfortunately it's at 7 o'clock,'' he said. “I wish we were playing at 1. You wake up and you're ready to play. That's kind of the way you feel, but once you get out there at night – what a great atmosphere we're going to have – we've got the best fans in the country. They will be excited at 7. They'll be excited at 1.
“They would be excited at 11:30 if we played. We'll be fine.''
Prior to Monday's press conference, the last time Muschamp had met with the media was following Wednesday night's scrimmage at The Swamp. He wasn't too happy and voiced his concerns, leveling his harshest criticism of the Gators since camp started.
The way Muschamp saw it there were too many mental errors for a team about to open the season. The Gators returned to practice on Thursday and Friday before taking the weekend off. They reconvened Sunday night for a team meeting and Muschamp left in a much better mood than a few days before.
“I'm very pleased with our preparation at this point,'' Muschamp said. “The guys are bouncing around a little bit.''
When he first heard about Muschamp's criticism following Wednesday's scrimmage, middle linebacker Jon Bostic didn't think the Gators had performed that poorly. However, after looking at film of the scrimmage, he understood some of Muschamp's concerns.
Bostic has also seen a renewed energy since Muschamp lowered the boom.
“Everybody right now is focused and ready to go,'' Bostic said Monday. “It was a lot of things that went wrong in the scrimmage. There were a lot of little mistakes that he kind of gets tired of. A lot of people were still making those same errors and some of those things were from the first days of camp.''
The Gators will practice Monday through Thursday and then go through a walk-through on Friday in preparation for the Owls and head coach Howard Schnellenberger.
While there are still question marks about the team considering a new pro-style offense was installed by offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, working closely with Muschamp, installed a more complex defense than the Gators ran a year ago, Muschamp likes the way the staff has come together over the past eight months.
He hired a staff heavy with NFL experience and the group's professionalism shows around practice and the team's locker room. It's obvious that this isn't their first rodeo.
“I've been very pleased with how we've come together and understanding where we're heading with this thing,'' Muschamp said. “First of all, philosophically being on the same page, and that starts with offensively, defensively, special teams, recruiting, public relations – it's everything.''
“I feel like our staff is and that they understand and they know what I want done in the program.''
The players are learning as well. And if they have a lapse like Wednesday's scrimmage, Muschamp is quick to remind them.
“The bottom line with me is that you have to earn the right to start. So if a guy doesn't practice, he is not going to start,'' Muschamp said. “I'm young but I'm old-fashioned, and generally how you play is how you practice during the week.''
The Gators have won 21 consecutive season openers, and if all goes well on Saturday, the Muschamp Era will kick off by making it 22 in a row.
Muschamp reminded everyone Monday that's why he is here in the first place.
“I've been very pleased with the results to this point, but we're measured on game day,'' he said. “We can talk about all this other stuff, but we are measured on how we play.''
