Jim McElwain hosted his weekly call-in show Thursday night, just hours after announcing freshman QB Will Grier will get his first career start against the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday.
The first-year coach also discussed last week’s 61-13 win over New Mexico State and brought on wide receivers coach Kerry Dixon II to answer questions about the passing game.
McElwain’s opening comments reflecting on New Mexico State and previewing East Carolina:
- “The fact that we had only one penalty charged against us is something I’m really proud of.”
- “(East Carolina) is a team that goes on the road and beats a lot of people. Ruffin McNeil is a guy I consider a really good friend. This is a guy who has his fingerprints all over it.”
- “They put a lot of yards on us 536 yards on offense in 101 plays last time (Birmingham Bowl).”
On the progression of kicker Austin Hardin:
- “What he’s done in offseason – you can hear in the sound in the ball. … It’s like the crack of the bat with a good hitter.”
On the importance of taking back The Swamp:
- “It’s one of the first things we talked about. We need to make sure our team understands only Gators get out alive. Mike Peterson, a former Gator great working with our strength program, gave our team a presentation about what it means to play in The Swamp, what it means to be a Florida Gator.”
Dixon on familiarity with upcoming opponent East Carolina:
- “When we talked about guys on the opposite side of the ball, the receivers knew the DBs pretty well. You could see our guys when we mentioned certain names.”
Dixon on using cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III on offense last week and in the future:
- “Using Vernon is always great for us. When he has the ball in his hands – watch out. Any time you put a playmaker like Vernon on the field, he grabs the opponent’s attention.”
McElwain on East Carolina:
- “I think first and foremost, the thing about this opponent is they’re not going to come in starry-eyed. This is a program that has gone on the road and beaten quality opponents in all big five conferences.”
- “In their mind, this is a game that’s been circled for them (since the Birmingham Bowl) to keep building their program.”
- “The one thing Ruffin (ECU coach McNeill) does is go get speed – they won’t be setback by the speed of the Gators.”
McElwain was asked to make an FSU joke a la Steve Spurrier:
- “I’m worried about East Carolina, they’re the team we play.”
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.
