On his weekly radio show, Florida coach Jim McElwain recapped his team’s big win over Kentucky and stressed the importance of maintaining the same focus and energy for the Week 3 matchup with North Texas.
On the injury front, McElwain said that WR Antonio Callaway remains “doubtful” for the game Saturday. The coach said that Callaway is still sore after injuring his quad against Kentucky.
“He had a pretty good practice on Tuesday,” McElwain said. “It really tightened up on him yesterday. He kind of bounced around a little bit out there today, but we’ll see.”
Callaway’s absence could lead to more opportunities for C.J. Worton, who missed Week 1 due to a high-ankle sprain, as well as freshmen Freddie Swain and Josh Hammond.
McElwain also confirmed that OG Tyler Jordan will be out against North Texas. He said it will lead to more playing time for other linemen, including Richard Desir-Jones, who will start, Nick Buchanan and Kavaris Harkless.
McElwain took various questions from fans and host Jeff Cardozo.
Tonight's #GatorTalk at @Piesanos1 with @CoachMcElwain and @togray14! pic.twitter.com/FNwynzpGtI
— Deidra Church (@Deidra_Church) September 15, 2016
On Luke Del Rio’s long touchdown pass to Antonio Callaway, similar to a play that missed in Week 1:
“There was no way that Antonio was not going to catch that one.”
“It proved to some guys and some opponents that we have the arm that can stretch the field.”
On staying focused on North Texas with the Tennessee game coming up in Week 4:
“There’s been a historical precedence that certain teams come into The Swamp and gives us more than we can handle.”
On what he’s seen from North Texas and QB Mason Fine:
“They’ve got a freshman quarterback that is fearless. This guy runs around and breaks contain. We’ve got to do an unbelievable job in our pass-rush lanes.”
“(Fine’s) come from a Texas high school program that has won a bunch of games.”
“Discipline is going to be key for us this week in the red area.”
“They know how to throw the ball. They know what they’re trying to attack. We need to match that pace with how we go about getting set, knowing our keys and playing fast.”
On the touchdown to Swain, in which two Gators pass-catchers were open:
“I think DeAndre (Goolsby) was probably the most upset guy on the play because it was designed to go to him.”
On Eddy Pineiro’s missed field goals:
“At times, he gets so excited, he’s got such a strong leg that he over kicks. It happened to him on a kickoff and two of those field goals.”
Secondary coach Torrian Gray was the guest assistant of the week.
"He runs the show back there for us." – #Gators coach Torrian Gray on Marcus Maye
— Andy Olson (@ByAndrewOlson) September 15, 2016
"You've got to have some moxie to jump that route the way he did, and he has some moxie." Gray on Tabor's screen INT
— Andy Olson (@ByAndrewOlson) September 15, 2016
"A silent defense is a dead defense." – Gray on communication
— Andy Olson (@ByAndrewOlson) September 15, 2016
"It's been great. It's been a blast." – Torrian Gray on joining UF
— Andy Olson (@ByAndrewOlson) September 15, 2016
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
