Consistency, consistency, consistency is goal of Gators receivers coach Kerry Dixon
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida-Ole Miss matchup on Saturday features one of the most hyped receivers in college football. Ole Miss junior Laquon Treadwell is a preseason All-American and leads the Rebels with 22 catches for 332 yards.
Meanwhile, the perception is that Florida's receiving corps is short on talent and has been for several seasons.
First-year Gators receivers coach Kerry Dixon has a different outlook.
“I had to hear that a lot. The lack of talent at the position,'' Dixon said Wednesday. “When I look at it, it's not a lack of talent, it's a lack of consistency.”
Dixon is Florida's seventh different receivers coach in seven seasons, a span that includes three head coaches and five offensive coordinators.
Dixon was head coach Jim McElwain's final hire as McElwain assembled his staff over the winter. Building stability with the position group was important.
"They needed someone that they knew was going to be there and teach them the details of all the things it takes to be successful to play the position,'' McElwain said. "A lot of that is understanding details. Kerry has done a great job in helping those guys."
In his brief time in charge of the receivers, Dixon has tried to develop relationships first.
“I was well aware of what I was getting myself into,'' he said. “That inconsistency sometimes hurt you. In this game nowadays, [players] want to know how much you care before they listen at all. They don't care how much you know. They want to know how much you care.”
Evidence is starting to surface that Dixon's approach is working.
True freshman Antonio Callaway, whose 63-yard catch-and-run touchdown electrified The Swamp in Florida's 28-27 win over Tennessee, has emerged as a playmaker. Sophomore Brandon Powell, who made the move from running back to receiver, has been a steady performer early in the season.
Powell is second on the team with 12 catches and is tied with tight end C'yontai Lewis for the team lead in touchdown receptions (two). Powell's biggest play so far is his block on Callaway's game-winning touchdown against the Vols.
“That's the most important thing on that play,'' Dixon said.
The Florida receiver most often critiqued by fans and the media is junior Demarcus Robinson, whose physical gifts are obvious. However, Robinson has a tendency to fade into the background during games and drop routine passes.
Still, Robinson leads the Gators with 20 receptions for 153 yards. Dixon meets with Robinson one-on-one weekly as part of his continued development.
He has also implemented some teaching methods that immediately caught on in the meeting room: a drop chart and production points scoreboard.
McElwain was not pleased at the number of drops early in camp and the Gators have worked at taking extra reps on the jugs machine.
“We chart every drop, whether it's routes-on-air, in a drill, whether it's in any team situation,'' he said. “We chart every single one of them and we actually post it so they can see it. Everyone can see it. You see where you are. There are no call-outs because everybody already sees it. You know where you have to work. It's accountability, so you have to own up to it and get better at it.”
The production chart tallies points for everything from catches to blocks to route-running assignments.
The competition between the receivers is now a part of their regular dialogue in meetings.
“They get points for that type of stuff and it encourages them to do it more often,'' Dixon said. “One thing I know is that the first time I put the production chart up, they were really competing to see who got the most production points. That's something they discuss. They say it's like their report card. They come in and they want to see what type of grade they have.”
No different than the way McElwain calls the offense a “work in progress,” the receivers have a lot of room for improvement. Dixon is working to get junior Ahmad Fulwood, Florida's biggest receiver at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, more involved.
Most of all, he is trying to build consistency within the group that the coaching carousel at the position prevented.
“Anytime you have that much turnover at one spot, then those guys are hearing so much different stuff,'' he said. “They are being taught totally different things all the time. Once you get consistency in your life in anything you do, then the better it is. You can start to reach your full potential.”
