Gators Camp: 'It's going to be hard and that'll be intentional'

Linebacker Kylan Johnson and defensive lineman Jordan Sherit (middle) and Khairi Clark on Wednesday heading to media day. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Gators Camp: 'It's going to be hard and that'll be intentional'

Wednesday, August 2, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter

Head coach Jim McElwain plans to turn up the intensity in preseason camp with a heavy emphasis on attention to detail.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida head coach Jim McElwain spent a large chunk of his offseason talking about how the roster is shaping up nicely as he enters his third season.

McElwain is now ready to put the Gators to the test and see exactly what that means on the field. Florida opens preseason camp Thursday afternoon seeking a third consecutive Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title.

"This camp is going to be uncomfortable for our guys,'' McElwain said Wednesday. "It's going to be something where there's going to be a lot of things stressed as simple as sweating every small detail. There is no detail small enough to be overlooked. It's going to be hard and that'll be intentional."

The Gators are 19-8 in McElwain's first two seasons and 13-3 in the SEC. At last month's SEC Media Days, the league's media picked UF to finish second in the East behind Georgia. The Gators were picked to finish second in 2016 and fifth in 2015, so they are used to being overlooked this time of year.

The urgency level is on high going into 2017 and the approach is multi-pronged. Florida opens the season against top-caliber competition in Michigan, there is a quarterback battle to solve, and the defense lost seven players to the NFL Draft and last year's leading tackler, safety Marcell Harris, to a season-ending injury during a summer workout two weeks ago.

Add all those factors into the big-picture puzzle, and McElwain introduced "Sweat the Small Stuff" as the team's motto when the team reported early Wednesday. It's time to get to work and get serious.

"He already told us that camp is going to be really, really hard,'' sophomore defensive end Antonneous Clayton said. "I love it. There's a lot of competition out there. This camp is really going to show us who's ready and who's not ready. I think it's a great opportunity for the coaches to evaluate us as players."

McElwain and his coaching staff speak highly of the talent on hand, but they know many of the players lack experience. That is especially true in the secondary. In the wake of Harris' Achilles heel injury, the Gators have just three defensive backs (Duke Dawson, Nick Washington and Chauncey Gardner) with significant playing time.

First-year defensive coordinator Randy Shannon will try and find solutions from a youthful group that includes six true freshmen.

"By the end of this camp, it may be three corners playing, four corners on the football field,'' Shannon said. "It may be four safeties on the football field. I cannot tell you. It's just whoever is the best fit and gives us a chance to win."

Gardner, a sophomore who can play corner and safety, was the Most Valuable Player in the Outback Bowl win against Iowa in January. He is ready for the challenge McElwain has put forth to the Gators about sweating the small details.

As he learned a year ago watching veterans Teez Tabor, Quincy Wilson and Marcus Maye, there is no other way to improve.

"Uncomfortable equals mentality,'' Gardner said. "If it's easy you are not getting any better. It's not going to be easy in a game so you've got to go out there and have fun and compete."

On the opposite end of the spectrum is walk-on linebacker Cristian Garcia, who due to season-ending injuries last season to linebackers Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone, found himself in the starting lineup in the Outback Bowl following a month of stellar practices leading up to the game.

When Garcia heard the rallying cry of "Sweat the Small Stuff," he knew exactly what McElwain meant.

"It means pay attention to details even when you are uncomfortable,'' Garcia said. "He's going to try and push us to be as tired as we can possibly be and then we have to execute while we're tired because there are going to be moments late in the game when we are playing Michigan in September that we are going to be tired, but you've still got to make the checks, you've still got to execute the call. Coach Mac has instilled a culture in this program that sweats the small stuff."

The Gators have a month to prepare for Michigan, a team expected to be ranked above the Gators when the official polls are released. While McElwain's message should help maintain a high sense of urgency throughout preseason camp, it won't stop there.

He sees a team close to competing at an elite level. The final steps to climb are often the most difficult.

"I'm really looking for us to take the next step to where the uncomfortable becomes comfortable, where when things aren't really going your way, so what. Let's do something about it. Where that'll stem from is the competition moving forward."