Center T.J. McCoy: “This whole coaching staff, they just want to win so bad, and it’s contagious. Every time we have a team meeting, it’s about winning the championship.” (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Fueled by Sense of Urgency, Gators' O-Line Vows Change is Coming
Friday, August 3, 2018 | Football
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – They've had it all, seen it all and experienced it all.
The Florida Gators' offensive lines have had size. Each of 2017's starters weighed more than 300 pounds.
They've had skill. Senior left tackle Martez Ivey was a five-star recruit in 2015. He's been named All-SEC the past two seasons and is projected by some as a potential first-round NFL Draft pick in April. Left guard Brett Heggie garnered SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors as a redshirt freshman a season ago. Junior right tackle Jawaan Taylor was a freshman All-American in 2016.
They've seen a head coach and two position coaches come and go and blocked for six different starting quarterbacks the past three seasons.
None of it has mattered.
After former coach Jim McElwain said the offensive line was the strength of the team last fall, the unit proceeded to lay an egg with 11 yards rushing against Michigan in the season opener.
In a way, that game summarized the Gators' offensive line play for the better part of a decade – so much talent and potential, yet little to show for it. In 2015 and 2016, the Gators finished last and 13th in the league in rushing. Last year, they improved to ninth but gave up the most sacks.
As the 2018 big uglies prepare for their first fall practice under new coach Dan Mullen on Friday, they insist that they've finally put together the missing pieces.
One of the main themes among the offensive linemen at Media Day on Thursday was chemistry.
"Since I've been here, this is the closest team I've been on," Ivey said.
Senior guard Tyler Jordan said the increased chemistry comes from urgency from the senior class.
"We've got one more year," he said. "We've got to do everything we can to win the East and get to Atlanta and win that and go as far as we can go."
After a recent midnight weightlifting session, the team went into the Swamp, where the seniors were given a chance to talk to their teammates about their experiences at UF and their goals for the season.
"Just believe that we can win because we've got the talent," Ivey said of his message. "Everybody can see it. Once we come together as one and believe we can win, we can do this thing. That was my goal pretty much, just saying we got one shot, why not us right now?"
Offensive line coach John Hevesy said he challenged the seniors to be leaders and set the standard for the younger linemen. He thinks younger players absorb messages more effectively when they hear it from a peer and not just a coach.
Line play is about cohesion, teamwork and chemistry, he said.
"To me, you can grade out 100 percent," Hevesy said. "If the guy next to you doesn't, we lose. So, it's your responsibility to make sure he's upped his end of the bargain. You've got to push the guys behind him. Something is going to happen where a shoelace is going to break, someone else has to come in. Are you prepared for him to go in the game? Did you make sure you pushed him hard enough whether it's practice, whether it's media, whether it's film study?"
Hevesy, who returned to Gainesville with Mullen after nine seasons at Mississippi State, said he is pleased with the ownership the seniors are taking, and he singled out Ivey as being the one to take the most leadership.
The other linemen seem to be responding and rallying behind the seniors.
"I just want … all the seniors to feel that they can come back to UF with great memories, winning football games, even a championship," redshirt junior center T.J. McCoy said. "That's our goal."
Jordan said the linemen spent more time working with each other this offseason than they have in previous years. The group went to Hevesy's house for dinner Wednesday night.
"You get closer with your brothers and you get closer to your boys, you're going to want to play harder for them, and you're going to trust them more," Jordan said. "So, you're going to feel more comfortable out there."
The 2018 line is also the first to reap the benefits of a more grueling and demanding offseason program led by Director of Strength and Conditioning Nick Savage.
"We're more intense in anything and everything we do," McCoy said. "Coach Savage tells us every day that we got to strain. Strain to be better, strain to be the best in the country."
McCoy said he's lost about 10 pounds of fat and gained about 10 pounds of muscle.
Of course, the offensive line also has Hevesy, known for being fiery and loud. He is a technician who demands 100 percent effort and attention to detail from his players.
"I felt last year we lacked a lot of accountability, a lot of just doing the little things right, kind of letting stuff go," McCoy said. "This year will be different because we have a head coach and a position coach that's ready to get in our face, tell us what we're doing wrong and not putting up with anything.
"This whole coaching staff, they just want to win so bad, and it's contagious. Every time we have a team meeting, it's about winning the championship."
Ivey said the season-long suspensions of playmakers such as redshirt junior running back Jordan Scarlett and current Cleveland Browns receiver Antonio Callaway for their involvement in a credit-card fraud case limited the offense in 2017.
"We ran the ball most of the time last year, I felt like," he said. "Then, when we needed to get into a pass situation, it was obvious, so it made it hard on us. The other team's sitting there with all their pass rushers, and it's third down and 11. It's obvious they're going to pass rush us, and they're going to blitz."
He believes Mullen's offense will produce better quarterback play, which will in turn put the line in better positions to have success.
All signs point to a turnaround. The line has experience – the top six return from a year ago – talent, confidence, chemistry, motivation and new coaches and schemes.
But they've claimed to have those things before.
Will they finally break through, or will they underwhelm yet again? If they do show marked improvement, what does that mean for the rest of the offense?
We'll start to find out Friday.
The Florida Gators' offensive lines have had size. Each of 2017's starters weighed more than 300 pounds.
They've had skill. Senior left tackle Martez Ivey was a five-star recruit in 2015. He's been named All-SEC the past two seasons and is projected by some as a potential first-round NFL Draft pick in April. Left guard Brett Heggie garnered SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors as a redshirt freshman a season ago. Junior right tackle Jawaan Taylor was a freshman All-American in 2016.
They've seen a head coach and two position coaches come and go and blocked for six different starting quarterbacks the past three seasons.
None of it has mattered.
After former coach Jim McElwain said the offensive line was the strength of the team last fall, the unit proceeded to lay an egg with 11 yards rushing against Michigan in the season opener.
In a way, that game summarized the Gators' offensive line play for the better part of a decade – so much talent and potential, yet little to show for it. In 2015 and 2016, the Gators finished last and 13th in the league in rushing. Last year, they improved to ninth but gave up the most sacks.
As the 2018 big uglies prepare for their first fall practice under new coach Dan Mullen on Friday, they insist that they've finally put together the missing pieces.
One of the main themes among the offensive linemen at Media Day on Thursday was chemistry.
"Since I've been here, this is the closest team I've been on," Ivey said.
Senior guard Tyler Jordan said the increased chemistry comes from urgency from the senior class.
"We've got one more year," he said. "We've got to do everything we can to win the East and get to Atlanta and win that and go as far as we can go."
After a recent midnight weightlifting session, the team went into the Swamp, where the seniors were given a chance to talk to their teammates about their experiences at UF and their goals for the season.
"Just believe that we can win because we've got the talent," Ivey said of his message. "Everybody can see it. Once we come together as one and believe we can win, we can do this thing. That was my goal pretty much, just saying we got one shot, why not us right now?"
Offensive line coach John Hevesy said he challenged the seniors to be leaders and set the standard for the younger linemen. He thinks younger players absorb messages more effectively when they hear it from a peer and not just a coach.
Line play is about cohesion, teamwork and chemistry, he said.
"To me, you can grade out 100 percent," Hevesy said. "If the guy next to you doesn't, we lose. So, it's your responsibility to make sure he's upped his end of the bargain. You've got to push the guys behind him. Something is going to happen where a shoelace is going to break, someone else has to come in. Are you prepared for him to go in the game? Did you make sure you pushed him hard enough whether it's practice, whether it's media, whether it's film study?"
Hevesy, who returned to Gainesville with Mullen after nine seasons at Mississippi State, said he is pleased with the ownership the seniors are taking, and he singled out Ivey as being the one to take the most leadership.
The other linemen seem to be responding and rallying behind the seniors.
"I just want … all the seniors to feel that they can come back to UF with great memories, winning football games, even a championship," redshirt junior center T.J. McCoy said. "That's our goal."
Jordan said the linemen spent more time working with each other this offseason than they have in previous years. The group went to Hevesy's house for dinner Wednesday night.
"You get closer with your brothers and you get closer to your boys, you're going to want to play harder for them, and you're going to trust them more," Jordan said. "So, you're going to feel more comfortable out there."
The 2018 line is also the first to reap the benefits of a more grueling and demanding offseason program led by Director of Strength and Conditioning Nick Savage.
"We're more intense in anything and everything we do," McCoy said. "Coach Savage tells us every day that we got to strain. Strain to be better, strain to be the best in the country."
McCoy said he's lost about 10 pounds of fat and gained about 10 pounds of muscle.
Of course, the offensive line also has Hevesy, known for being fiery and loud. He is a technician who demands 100 percent effort and attention to detail from his players.
"I felt last year we lacked a lot of accountability, a lot of just doing the little things right, kind of letting stuff go," McCoy said. "This year will be different because we have a head coach and a position coach that's ready to get in our face, tell us what we're doing wrong and not putting up with anything.
"This whole coaching staff, they just want to win so bad, and it's contagious. Every time we have a team meeting, it's about winning the championship."
Ivey said the season-long suspensions of playmakers such as redshirt junior running back Jordan Scarlett and current Cleveland Browns receiver Antonio Callaway for their involvement in a credit-card fraud case limited the offense in 2017.
"We ran the ball most of the time last year, I felt like," he said. "Then, when we needed to get into a pass situation, it was obvious, so it made it hard on us. The other team's sitting there with all their pass rushers, and it's third down and 11. It's obvious they're going to pass rush us, and they're going to blitz."
He believes Mullen's offense will produce better quarterback play, which will in turn put the line in better positions to have success.
All signs point to a turnaround. The line has experience – the top six return from a year ago – talent, confidence, chemistry, motivation and new coaches and schemes.
But they've claimed to have those things before.
Will they finally break through, or will they underwhelm yet again? If they do show marked improvement, what does that mean for the rest of the offense?
We'll start to find out Friday.
Players Mentioned
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