Dan Mullen on what he wants to accomplish during the final week of spring practice in Gainesville
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Believe it or not, spring practice is nearly over in Gainesville as the Gators are poised to hit the field this weekend for the Orange & Blue Game Saturday, April 13 at 1 p.m.
While the Georgia hype continues to grow during the offseason, there appears to be a quiet confidence growing in Gainesville, led by Dan Mullen, that Florida will not only once again challenge the Bulldogs for the right to finish the season in Atlanta but that the Gators could dethrone Kirby Smart’s program in the SEC East next season.
In order to accomplish that goal, Mullen and his coaching staff will need some young players to step up on the field next season. According to Mullen, that’s the main goal of his program exiting the spring.
“You hope to see the foundation of guys ready to go play. Obviously, you already feel good about a bunch a guys… before you even started spring practice,” Mullen said on Monday. “They’ve played a bunch of football and you hope they are continuing to make improvements. For us, the biggest thing is we have to continue to build depth.
“Hopefully we add guys that we feel are comfortable to play.”
While he apparently didn’t want to discuss his quarterbacks at length, Mullen was asked about their progression this spring and again, his response was reminiscent of quiet confidence.
“They’ve done good, they are a lot more comfortable in the system in Year 2,” Mullen said regarding his Florida signal callers.
Last spring, the Orange & Blue Game featured a unique set of rules and it was by no means a traditional game on the field. Will this year be the same? Mullen didn’t quite offer a firm answer, as he noted the format will be dictated by injuries and other factors. While he didn’t get into the format of the game, Mullen did make one vow.
“The game will last two hours on the dot,” he stated.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
