Dan Mullen discusses win over Tennessee, gives update on Anthony Richardson
Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators were given a tough test from Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers in The Swamp on Saturday night.
However, after halftime, it was all Gators, as Florida rolled to an easy 38-14 victory over an SEC East rival.
After the game, Mullen met with the media and discussed several topics, including a couple of key injuries for the Gators.
Here’s some of what he said in his postgame press conference:
On Tennessee’s improvements under Josh Heupel:
Mullen says you can see the improvements Tennessee has made under Heupel. Challenged #Gators at half that if they want to be a great team, they have to execute every snap. Liked the response.
— Scott Carter (@GatorsScott) September 26, 2021
On the health of backup QB Anthony Richardson:
Mullen says they got Anthony Richardson up to full speed on Friday. Was still a little tight with accelerating and decelerating. He's cleared to play but wanted to get through tonight with him in backup role again.
Moving forward, feel he'll be at 100% by Monday.
— Kassidy Hill (@KassidyGHill) September 26, 2021
Dan Mullen on AR15: 'If he had pressed it he could be out for six weeks. We were fortunate he didn’t have to go in the game the past two weeks and he’ll be ready to go.'
— Edgar Thompson (@osgators) September 26, 2021
On the defensive effort, particularly after halftime:
Mullen says the defense played excellent. "I thought Todd did a great job of getting the guys ready to play."
Missed tackles and a blown coverage on touchdowns.
"You saw what Todd and his guys were able to do to make adjustments and pitch a shutout in the second half."
— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) September 26, 2021
On star CB Kaiir Elam, who missed the game:
Dan Mullen said he expects CB Kaiir Elam will be probable against Kentucky.
— Edgar Thompson (@osgators) September 26, 2021
Florida takes a tough road trip to Lexington next weekend to play Kentucky. The winner of that game will emerge as the biggest challenger to Georgia in the SEC East.
How the world has changed where UF sits difference makers like AR and Elam so that they can be ready for UK. Hope we have an excellent game at Lexington. Stoops will have his team playing their best next week.
That’s why a 50% Blue Chip Ratio is such a big deal. It’s not about the first 22 guys. It’s about quality depth: guys 23-44.
^^^This 1000% …for as much grief as fans give him about recruiting the depth has never been stronger. With the different paths that are now available we ought to move away from the term ‘recruiting’ and just call it ‘roster building’.
Man, if we had a better defense we could really have a playoff run, but this defense is still a liability. It’s better than last year, but that’s not saying much. I’m scared of the UK game, a little bit the LSU game because it’s in Death Valley, and of course, UGA.
Run game is still phenomenal, though. Like McElroy said: squeezes the life out you.
As long as you have 3rd & Grantham running your defensive show, your defense will always be a liability. Just the facts. Grantham strings together really good defenses wherever he goes once his kids buy into the 3-4 scheme, but he never puts together the elite defense needed to make a deep run. And he is always – take it to the bank – good to blow a game against a dynamic offense.
^^This^^ Florida will never be elite as long as Grantham is on the sidelines. Some things in life aren’t simple. This is…
Gotta agree.
Eddie Gran is no longer OC and UK can throw the ball again. IF (and it’s a big if) they can hold onto the ball this is going to be a close game and UK can score on Grantham’s defense.
We have to find a way to get out of the gate faster. I’m happy with the adjustments by the coaches but if we start flat against Kentucky we could get into a knockdown drag out. Id like to see a better first quarter against big blue
If Calloway doesn’t drop that pass on 4th and 5 it would have been a different game. I think it deflated them. It was a good win for Florida, but not a great win. Some of our issues were masked by Tennessee’s mistakes, like dropped passes, overthrows, fielding punts with 9 players and no one back to receive it. Game also showed how much we need Elam. Love how EJ is developing and the strength of our running game.