Good news, Gator fans! Florida football has returned and the Florida Gators are guaranteed a victory today. Bad news: the game is a scrimmage and the Gators are playing the best team in the nation--the Gators. More bad news: due to injuries the game will be a mix of 11-on-11 scrimmage, 11-on-11 situational drills, 7-on-7 drills, and position exhibition drills.
Where to watch: http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/ncaa/florida-gators/streaming
What to watch for:
- Quarterbacks. Without any pressure, the Gator fans will expect some crisp execution from the incumbent start, Jeff Driskel. In spring practices leading up to today, he has been rather underwhelming. He needs to stop under-throwing his receivers, especially in 7-on-7 drills. He needs to stretch the field in today's game, since this will be the vanilla defense he sees all season. Tyler Murphy has looked good in practice, so fans will want to rest easy knowing that he is ready should JD get knocked out of a game (I predict JD getting "accidentally injured" against Miami). Like Driskel, Murphy is very mobile, but we will want to see how he throws against an easy defense. Skyler Mornhinweg is now the clear scout team QB, but I would hope to see a flash of brillance from the kid, just to keep Driskel and Murphy on their toes.
- Tailbacks. In relief of Mike Gillislee, Matt Jones silenced the critics last season when he figured out how to hit the hole and stop dancing in the backfield. Many eyes will be on Kelvin Taylor, but do not expect too much from a kid that should be at the high school prom now and has only practiced the complicated playbook for three weeks. Mack Brown actually rushed for over 4 yards per carry, but has not shown any flashes that will put him over Jones or what we expect of Taylor. In today's game, expect to see a lot of passes to the running backs. With a banged up offensive line and a limited defense, Brent Pease will probably not want to risk injury in practice, and will probably evaluate the tailbacks' abilities to hit the holes in 7-on-7 or positional drills. Look to see how the freshman Taylor handles the situational drills. Coach Pease will probably want to stress him out with a 3rd-and-short on the 10 yard line with 1 minute to go, just to see how he thinks under pressure.
- Fullbacks. Hunter Joyer is the established bulldozer here, but Coach Pease has converted a much faster, more explosive LB Gideon Agajbe as backup. Before he bulked up, Agajbe played RB in high school. If Joyer does not block better or create holes for the tailback, we might see a full-time switch to Agajbe. Trey Burton plays everything from FB to TE to WR to waterboy, but I expect Coach Pease to put Trey in at TE for today's game.
- Wide receivers. The expectations are low today. Just catch a ****ing ball, guys. Do not drop the easy passes. Make Driskel look good. I have no idea what to expect from Andre Debose. Quinton Dunbar will probably look good today. Nobody is certain what to expect from Louchiez Purifoy, but he continues to impress. Dunbar has looked the best in practice. The remaining receivers are injured and are doubtful for today.
- Tight ends. Jordan Reed took one-third of the offensive output with him to the NFL and will be sorely missed. It will be up to Trey Burton, Clay Burton, Kent Taylor, Colin Thompson, and Tevin Westbrook to fill that void. This competition is wide open. Expect to see the biggest changes in the offense at this position as it becomes more important to block than catch, which was one of Reed's weaknesses last year.
- Offensive line. Keep your eyes on former 5-star recruit D.J. Humphries. He is a bit small to protect Driskel's blind side, but the coaches expect him to bulk up and use his quickness to stop opposing DEs and backfield blitzers. Also keep an eye out for the few healthy players we have, just to see if they can move well at 300 pounds.
- Defensive line. Watch how Dominique Easley takes over as the anchor for this side of the trenches, and does it without Shariff Floyd. Look for Bryan Cox to get his reps on the DL due to injuries to Jonathan Bullard.
- Linebacker. Dante Fowler needs to make an impact until Ronald Powell can return from his injuries. With injuries to both Alex Anzalone and Neiron Ball, Antonio Morrison should get lots of practice confusing the offense even from a vanilla formation. Darrin Kitchens, the sole Gator that stayed behind for the school song after the loss to Louisville, deserves some playing time today.
- Secondary. Let us see how the No Fly Zone evolves without Matt Elam. Cody Riggs, Jabari Gorman, Jaylen Watkins, and Louchiez Purifoy will have high expectations in the season, but today they need to let the offense learn how to go deep.
- Special teams. Brad Phillips and Austin Hardin will battle it out today for the kicking role. Kyle Christie is set as the punter, but Todd Fennell will start today due to injuries. Yes, even the punter can get injured. Andre Debose will likely return kicks today, but he could be swapped out in the regular season once other players are healthy.
