Florida embarks on one of its most important spring practices in quite some time. Jim McElwain and his new coaching staff will be installing their new offensive and defensive schemes.
Although Florida has many priorities during spring practice, here are the top five:
1. Identify the offensive strengths: This is from a coaching staff perspective. Jim McElwain will cater to the players’ strengths on offense, not just force a particular scheme down their throats. At Alabama, McElwain was known as a pro-style offensive guy. He had great running backs in Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. At Colorado State, McElwain had an elite quarterback and was known as a spread-style coach. What will he become at Florida? McElwain and Doug Nussmeier will learn their players’ strengths this spring, and they will be ready to cater to their strengths this fall.
2. Develop the quarterbacks: This is the obvious one. Florida’s passing game has massively underachieved the last several seasons, and it’s because of a lack of development. Jeff Driskel is no longer on campus, and returning starter Treon Harris and redshirt freshman Will Grier will battle to become the starter. We know Harris’ strengths: he can run the football and has a knack for making plays. Grier was the Parade Player of the Year in high school, and he made defenses look silly. Harris is more of the dual-threat signal caller, while everyone’s hoping Grier is the elite passer he was promised to be. McElwain and Nussmeier will look to develop both players this spring.
3. Solidify the offensive line: Florida loses three starters along the O-line: left tackle DJ Humphries, center Max Garcia and right guard Tyler Moore. Of the three, Humphries and Garcia will be missed the most. Moore should have stayed for another season. Rod Johnson and Trip Thurman are the returning starters. 2015 should be the year of offensive tackle David Sharpe. The highly ranked 2014 prospect is now up to 350 pounds, and he looks like he’ll start at one tackle position. Incoming five-star Martez Ivey will also compete for a starting tackle position this fall, along with incoming center Tyler Jordan. The offensive line will be a focus this spring.
4. Develop the passing game/wide receivers: With developing the quarterback, the wide receivers will benefit the most. Although McElwain hired Kerry Dixon to coach his receivers, McElwain will also have a hand in the development, having coached receivers at four different stops in college. Demarcus Robinson and Ahmad Fullwood could become a nice duo for the offense to target. Another huge addition to the passing game is tight end Jake McGee, who missed last season with a broken leg. He’s an NFL-type pass catcher who could excel in McElwain’s offense and give the Gators another offensive weapon.
5. Solidify the linebackers: The thinnest position on the field, Geoff Collins’ biggest concern is the linebackers. It’s so thin that Collins may need to move some players around to create better depth at the position. One likely candidate is safety Marcel Harris, who’s built more like a linebacker. This spring will be paramount for returners Alex Anzalone, Jarrad Davis, Daniel McMillian, Jeremy Powell and Matt Rolin. In addition to Antonio Morrison, all five are massive pieces to the Gators’ defensive puzzle. The success of the defense could hinge on this position, because the defensive line and the secondary look really good.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
