Jim McElwain not making excuses when it comes to youthful offensive line
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Through five games, Florida (4-1, 2-1) ranks 9th in the SEC in total offense (407.2 yards per game), 9th in scoring (28.4), 11th in rushing yards per carry (4.28), and 8th in passing yards per attempt (7.1).
Mediocre quarterback play has been an issue for the Gators, but arguably the main catalyst for the team’s struggles has been inconsistency from a young offensive line.
But coach Jim McElwain does not care. He’s done with any and all excuses.
“You know what? This whole young offensive line thing, I’m over that,” McElwain said Monday, per 247Sports. “These guys have played enough. I’m not one of these coaches who’s going to sit up here and pull the youth card. They’ve played enough.”
Florida needs more push up front in order to establish an effective running game, which would then (ideally) open up the downfield passing game. The Gators are just looking for some balance.
“It starts up front. We’ve got to be able to run the ball against any look,” quarterback Austin Appleby said. “Whether they’re putting nine or 10 guys in the box or whether it’s middle of the field, open Cover 2. We’ve got to be able to run the ball against anybody. And from that, everything kind of branches off of that. We’ve got to be able to play that smash-mouth style football that we’re capable of. We do it at times, we’ve just got to bring it every single day.”
Florida is set to host LSU (3-2, 2-1) this Saturday in The Swamp at noon ET.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
