Football Notebook: Gators Eye Final Stretch of Camp, McCalister Seeks Big Year, More Tidbits
Saturday, April 4, 2015 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Orange & Blue Debut is almost here. So is the debut of Jim McElwain at Florida Field.
The Gators put a wrap on their third week of spring camp with a Friday afternoon scrimmage. The Gators have three practices next week and then give fans a glimpse of the future in the spring game on April 11.
The biggest takeaway from camp so far is that the quarterback battle between Treon Harris and Will Grier is nowhere near the finish line, and that the lack of depth at offensive line – the Gators have seven scholarship linemen healthy this spring – has hampered McElwain and his offensive staff.
He said this week that the offensive line is “hanging in there,” but that they need more of them to play a traditional spring game.
Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and QB Will Grier talk at practice. (Photo: Tim Casey)
“There's going to be live scrimmaging going on,'' McElwain said. “We won't have true teams necessarily. We'll have to do just some offense against defense. We're still kind of working with that. But, you know, we'll have a lot of competition going on, there's no doubt about it.”
In an interview with ESPN.com this week, McElwain likened the program he inherited to a nice home in need of updating.
“This is an unbelievable neighborhood – it's a great place – and yet we gotta fixer-upper here,'' he said. “There are going to be some rough times. There may be a load-bearing wall that we can't move right away, figure out how we're going to put in a new support there.
“But that's part of renovation, right? That's part of fixer-uppers.”
To no one's surprise, the defense has owned the edge throughout spring camp since the unit is running a similar scheme as in the past and returns a talented core under first-year defensive coordinator Geoff Collins.
Meanwhile, as McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier have installed the team's new offense and evaluated players, they have also worked on building relationships.
Monday marks the four-month anniversary of McElwain's introductory press conference at UF. Much like players learning a new system, everything has moved faster than usual for McElwain.
He said this week that UF is starting to feel more and more like home each day.
“It's still a whirlwind every day,” he said. “I can't say that it isn't, and yet you know, I'm starting to get more comfortable because I'm starting to get to know the players a little bit.”
A week from Saturday, Florida fans get an opportunity to get to know McElwain and his team a little more.
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Alex McCalister ready to follow in path of former teammate Dante Fowler Jr. (Photo: Tim Casey)
Former Gators defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. was featured Friday on SI.com's Monday Morning Quarterback website, headlined “I'm the Type of Guy Who Likes to Stand Out.”
With Fowler departed and one of the top prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft, redshirt junior Alex McCalister seeks to pick up some of the slack. McCalister finished second on the team behind Fowler last season with six sacks.
“I know with Dante being gone, that's what everybody's saying, 'Oh, shoot, 14's gotta step up.' That's what's going to happen,'' McCalister said Wednesday. “I just feel good, ready for the season.”
McCalister showed drastic improvement a season ago and expects more under the tutelage of new defensive line coach Chris Rumph. The 6-foot-6, 238-pound McCalister has made a favorable impression on Rumph.
“Oh man, I love him,'' Rumph said. “He's the Energizer bunny man. He's bouncing all over the place. He plays hard, he practices hard. He asks the right questions. I think he's going to do a lot of great things for this university.”
The biggest obstacle for McCalister remains one he is used to: keeping weight on. He has dropped a few pounds since the season ended but wants to climb back into the 245-250 range before the season.
“I know for a fact that I have to eat no less than four, five meals a day,” he said. “I just have to.”
McCalister said his goal this season is to reach double-digits in sacks. To get there, he knows he'll have to approach the game the same way Fowler does.
That much he learned playing behind him last season.
“He always had that motor,'' McCalister said. “When it's football time, it's time to go. That's what I finally realized I had to do.”
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Walk-on quarterback Jacob Guy looks the part at 6-foot-5 and 224 pounds. He wears No. 15, which at Florida has a significant history at the position. And when Guy played at Pasco High in Dade City, Fla., he broke all the school passing records at a place that produced former UF quarterback Lex Smith in the late 1980s.
Is Guy a dark horse candidate in the competition at quarterback? That seems a far-fetched thought at this point, but Lyle Lovett was once married to Julia Roberts, so stranger things have happened. What we know is that Guy is at least on the radar of the new coaching staff.
McElwain was impressed by Guy's effort at last weekend's scrimmage as he took additional snaps while Harris mourned the loss of a family member. Harris returned to practice Monday.
“He does a nice job,'' McElwain said. “He's a big, strong guy that throws the ball well. I think he did a pretty good job on scouts last year, at least the bit I watched. He's never had this many reps. You're just never standing. He's taking advantage of the opportunity.”
If McElwain is still discussing Guy in the fall, then he'll likely be in the mix.
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QUOTE OF NOTE I
"You see the baby steps that they're taking right now, knowing that we've got a long, long way to go. With the effort, the focus and the attention to detail, we'll get there. Now how quickly, that's the question." – Nussmeier, to ESPN.com, on the offense
QUOTE OF NOTE II
“He'll jump in there when he wants a certain play called. We ran his offense. Coach [Dave] Baldwin (offensive coordinator) called the plays, but we ran Coach Mac's offense. Coach Baldwin (offensive coordinator) and Coach [Art] Valero had their nicks, but it was his offense. If he wanted something called he jumped in, 'run this right now!' But for the most part, he was a game manager guy who sat back and let coordinators make their calls -- and win games.” – Former Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson on McElwain's game-day approach
QUOTE OF NOTE III
“One thing that makes you understand quality control is their job is to make sure they get information to us. [The] Evaluation part is up mainly to the coaches. The more information that they can give us, the better we are from a standpoint of knowledge of coaches.'' – Assistant Randy Shannon on role of Florida's deeper quality control staff
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EXTRA POINTS
The Gators remain No. 1 in popularity among college football fans in the Sunshine State. In a recent Public Policy Poll, Florida (23 percent) and Florida State (22 percent) top the list among those who offered an opinion, followed by Miami and UCF (10 percent each), USF (8 percent), FAU (4 percent) and FIU (1 percent) … Fowler will draw the most attention at UF's Pro Day on Tuesday. However, more than 20 former Gators are expected to participate. In addition, UF transfers and Florida natives De'Ante Saunders (Deland) and Lynden Trail (Miami) have inquired about working out for NFL personnel … McElwain shared a story with USA Today about his 19-year-old son, Jarrett, spending 2 ½ months in the burn unit at Louisville's Children's Hospital when McElwain was an assistant at Louisville. Jarrett recovered and is currently a University of Alabama student.
