Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – When the Gators walked off the practice field late Friday afternoon, they had completed one-third of spring camp with five of their 15 practice sessions (scrimmages included) in the books.

This is an important spring for the Gators considering their youth and inexperience. In addition, after spring practice was canceled a year ago due to the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic, this is the first spring camp for a large portion of the roster.
 
"That's one of the most important developmental times,'' UF head coach Dan Mullen said. "They didn't get that."

As a result, Mullen and his staff are focused on getting a closer look at the team's young players than they were able to last fall in-season. That helps the coaches develop a more precise evaluation by the time fall camp arrives in August, a month before the season opener Sept. 4 against Florida Atlantic.

The Gators return to the practice field Tuesday to open the middle portion of camp, which due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, will conclude in late March with a closed scrimmage rather than the traditional Orange & Blue Game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
 

Thank you for your patience and understanding, Gators! #GoGators pic.twitter.com/c2sgUjzIZQ

— Scott Stricklin (@ScottStricklin) February 16, 2021

With five practices down, let's take a look at five topics of interest to emerge from what has been a relatively low-key camp for the Gators:
  EMORY WATCH

Whenever a team must replace a quarterback who was a Heisman Trophy finalist, there is work to do. That's the case for Florida following the departure of Kyle Trask, whose record-setting senior season helped the Gators lead the FBS in passing offense (378.6 yards per game). Of course, projected 2021 starter Emory Jones is no stranger. Jones has been at Florida since 2018 and served as the primary backup the last two seasons.

Jones is not a classic drop-back passer like Trask but more typical of the dual-threat quarterback Mullen has relied on over the years as one of the game's top offensive minds. A common question this spring: is Jones ready to be the face of Florida's offense?

His teammates sure think so.
 
"Emory, he's a great quarterback – great running quarterback, great passing quarterback,'' receiver Justin Shorter said. "He's really great with everything he does."

Defensive back Trey Dean III offered a louder endorsement.

"If people think Emory Jones cannot throw the ball, they need to second guess it. Emory Jones can throw the ball as well as Kyle Trask. I think he can do everything with his legs also. I think he'll be a great dual-threat and I think he's going to surprise a lot of people."

If Jones comes anywhere close to surprising people the way Trask did, Mullen has nothing to worry about at quarterback.
 

---

DEFENSIVE DEVELOPMENT

In the wake of the Gators' offensive explosion in 2020, if the defense had played anywhere near the standard set during defensive coordinator Todd Grantham's first two seasons at UF, the season likely would have ended in much better fashion than a three-game losing streak.

Instead, the Gators surrendered 30.8 points and 428.0 yards per game, both marks establishing school records in the modern era. And then the Gators capped the season with a 55-20 loss to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl that didn't exactly help calm the storm entering the offseason.

Grantham spoke with the media Wednesday for the first time since the bowl game and emphasized where his attention is aimed.

"I want to talk about this year and moving forward," he said. "The issues and reasons before are really irrelevant now in the sense that it is what it is. We're going to play good this year."

By now Florida's underwhelming defensive performance has been analyzed and scrutinized to death, with everything from communication issues to the cross-training of players to prepare for lineup changes during the pandemic blamed. Bottom line: Florida's defense needs to play better in 2021 to help an offense that based on the percentages is unlikely to be as lethal as last season.

SEC DEFENSE (2020 FBS RANKINGS -- 127 SCHOOLS)
 

SCHOOL	NATIONAL RANKING	YARDS PER GAME	OPPONENT TDs
Texas A&M	9	317.3	27
Georgia	12	321.0	24
Alabama	32	352.2	30
Kentucky	45	380.7	38
Mississippi State	52	389.7	38
Auburn	63	406.0	36
Tennessee	65	407.4	35
Missouri	66	408.0	42
Florida	83	428.0	48
South Carolina	105	451.5	47
Arkansas	106	451.7	43
Vanderbilt	121	487.4	44
LSU	124	492.0	45
Ole Miss	126	519.0	50

There is no denying that 2020 was one of those rare seasons that the old football cliché "the defense is ahead of the offense" was flipped upside down from the start of the season. The Gators finished ranked 83rd among 127 FBS schools in total defense. Believe it not, that was middle of the pack in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina (105), Arkansas (106), Vanderbilt (121), LSU (124) and Ole Miss (126) all finished below the Gators in the national rankings.

"Basically, when you look at last year, I think it was March 20 or something, for roughly four and a half months we had no contact with the players physically to be able to develop guys," Grantham said. "I think when you're a young player, particularly maybe a guy that came in, for example, [freshman cornerback] Jason Marshall Jr. is coming in this year. Well, he's getting a lot of reps right now. Whereas the guys that came in last year at this time really got nothing until we started in August. So, my focus is on the young team that we have right now and getting better."

Meanwhile, national champion Alabama finished 32nd nationally in total defense, further proof that in 2020 the offense had the upper hand. The SEC's top two defensive teams nationally – Texas A&M finished ninth in the country and Georgia 12th – both allowed more than 317 yards per game. That's more than the Gators allowed in 2019 (304.8 ypg) when they finished ninth nationally in total defense.
 

The Gators will rely on veterans such as cornerback Kaiir Elam, linebackers Ventrell Miller and Mohamoud Diabate, and defensive linemen Brenton Cox Jr. and Zachary Carter to pick up the leadership and production. In addition, interior defensive linemen Antonio Shelton and Daquan Newkirk have transferred into the program and received positive reviews from Grantham.

The unit is a mix of old and new, offering renewed optimism.

"We've brought in a lot of young players. I think when you look from the front to the back, we have a lot of young players at key positions. Really, spring is about developing your players, identifying roles for guys," Grantham said. "We always talk about cross-training guys because you're going to have to have some guys that could play corner or safety, safety or nickel, outside/inside 'backer-type deal. So, you're going to kind of identify those roles. And really the thing we always strive in spring, which we didn't have last year, is you're developing your competitive toughness."
  BIG DES

While Marshall is perhaps the most highly-touted Gators freshman this spring, and the quarterback tandem of Jalen Kitna and Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is sure to garner attention, no newcomer provides as much intrigue to me as defensive tackle Desmond Watson.

Even his uniform number (21) is noticeable considering his position. But the numbers that really stand out are Watson's height (6-foot-5) and weight (432 pounds).
 
"He's obviously a big human," Grantham said. "The thing that impresses me about him for his size and where he is, he's really a good athlete. He's really got quick feet. He's got ability to change direction. He's obviously going to be a guy that can hold the point, do those things. But I think if he works to get in the kind of shape he wants to be – that we want him to be – you're going to see a guy that that will be able to make some range plays, and maybe get from point A to point B a little bit better than you may anticipate right now."

Mullen joked in December that Watson said he had "slimmed down" to about 385 pounds. Obviously, after his senior season at Armwood High outside of Tampa was finished, Watson enjoyed a few meals. He is now under the direction of Gators strength and conditioning coordinator Nick Savage, which is a recipe for weight loss.

Watson's new teammates want to see what he can do like Gators fans.

"I'm really excited for big Des,'' Carter said. "He's going to have a bright future. He's a big kid, though. Big kid. Dang."
  REPLACING PITTS
 
Tight end Kyle Pitts is still around the Gators, but rather than catching passes from Jones at practice, he is preparing for the NFL draft. Meanwhile, UF tight ends coach Tim Brewster is a popular interview subject with NFL types since Pitts is projected as a high first-round pick in the draft.
 

In a story Sunday in the New York Post, Brewster raved about Pitts' potential at the next level.

"There is no reason why this kid can't be the best tight end to ever play the game," Brewster said. "You speak it into existence. We've talked about it. He's got that type of ability. And, more importantly, he has the mindset to match his ability."

When he is not talking about Pitts, Brewster is busy developing tight ends Kemore Gamble, Keon Zipperer, Jonathan Odom and Nick Elksnis. Gamble and Zipperer flashed their ability last season when Pitts missed time with a concussion. Odom redshirted in 2020 and Elksnis is a mid-year enrollee in his first camp.

Brewster considers Pitts a "generational player" he was fortunate to coach in his first season with the Gators. Still, the Gators' talent at the position is hardly empty in Brewster's view.

The quest is for each player in the group to develop his game the way Pitts, a reserve as a freshman, did in his three seasons with the Gators.

"I take Kemore Gamble and I say, 'Let's accentuate the things that you do. Let's not try to be Kyle. Let's not do the things Kyle did. But let's be the best version of you that you possibly can be and let's look at the areas that you need to improve and let's work on them,' " Brewster said. "That's what makes spring ball so special."
  DEAN APPROVAL
 
Dean enters his senior season as a veteran leader with something to prove following an up-and-down past couple of seasons.

As a freshman in 2018, Mullen's first season, Dean was thrown into the starting lineup following a season-ending injury to cornerback Marco Wilson. He held his own but was plagued by inconsistency and position changes as a sophomore. He started slow as a junior but in the second half of the 2020 season, Dean became one of the much-maligned secondary's most consistent players.

Dean can play cornerback, safety or STAR, adding versatility to a secondary with a lot of questions heading into next season. As Dean prepares for what he hopes is a successful final season, he has quickly bonded with defensive backs coach Wesley McGriff.
 
McGriff joined the Gators from Auburn following the departures of cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray and safeties coach Ron English after the Cotton Bowl. In McGriff's brief time with the Gators, he has made a favorable impression on Dean.

"Coach McGriff, I think, is second to none. He's one of the best defensive back coaches in the country," Dean said. "It's a lot of discipline, a lot of man-to-man concepts. And at the end of the day, we gotta win our one-on-one battles, no matter what call Coach Grantham calls. We gotta go out there and execute and win our one-on-one battles. And what Coach McGriff's bringing to the table is teaching us how to win our one-on-one battles."