GAINESVILLE — New Florida football coach Will Muschamp made it clear what his attitude will be in his first spring as the Gators' leader.
"You either do it our way,'' the former Texas defensive coordinator said, "or you leave.''
UF opens spring workouts today. The Orange and Blue Game is on April 3, marking the end of spring practices. What's ahead? A lot of time spent studying the talent Urban Meyer left behind when he resigned in December after six years and two national titles.
"What can our players handle and who will be our playmakers, those are the big things to me going into the spring,'' Muschamp said of his offense. Former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis is the offensive coordinator and seemed relaxed and excited about his new task.
He sounded impressed with John Brantley, who will be a senior in the fall. Weis tried to recruit him when he was at Notre Dame. His system, he said, better suits the Ocala native than Meyer's spread offense.
Weis said he jokingly told Brantley, "You came here to run the spread, that made a lot of sense. That was a smart decision on your part.''
Added Weis: "Fortunately for him, what he does the best athletically fits with what I like to do. That doesn't guarantee him a spot, but it gives him the upper hand.''
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will run a 4-3 defense. Like Weis, he has problems on his line that he will try to answer with some flexibility. A lot of linebackers will be learning the defensive end position.
His motto seems to be, "Relentless effort.''
Quinn came from the Seattle Seahawks, Weis was with the Kansas City Chiefs. They talked, explained and stressed attitudes that sound straight out of the NFL.
Weis made one thing clear: "This is Will Muschamp's team. This is not Charlie Weis' offense."
Muschamp said he will actually have a strong role in the defense, but it's Quinn's unit.
"It's our job as coaches to evaluate what our players can do,'' Muschamp said. "That's the big part of the spring. ... I know we'll all be excited (today), we want to see where we are at practice 12. That will tell you what kind of team that you have.''
