With Dan McCarney running the show, observers should refrain from continuous blinking when watching Florida’s defensive line Saturday.
“I’m hoping to play 10 or 12 guys regardless of the score or what time of the game it is,” McCarney said before Tuesday’s practice. “I really want to play a lot of guys and I’m planning on it.”
Besides starters Justin Trattou and Duke Lemmens at the ends and Omar Hunter and Jaye Howard inside, Florida’s defensive line coach wants to play senior Brandon Antwine and freshman Dominique Easley at nose tackle and rotate freshmen Ronald Powell (defensive end) and Sharrif Floyd (tackle) in and out early.
Of the veteran variety, junior William Green and redshirt sophomore Lerentee McCray will rotate in at end, along with redshirt freshman Kedric Johnson.
McCarney isn’t waiting for the second or third quarter and he’s not waiting for the scoreboard to get lopsided in Florida’s favor before he gets inexperienced guys in. A blowout would take away some of the stress, but McCarney is ready for all his players to get some true game action.
“We’d like to see (an early blowout), but I’m not waiting around for that,” he said. “I’m rotating regardless of the score.”
Regarding the freshmen, McCarney said they’ve all come a long way since their arrivals. None expected camp to be so hard, which caused some expected trepidation from the class. McCarney said each has gotten over the offseason’s grind and he anticipates solid playing time out of each.
