GAINESVILLE
— One
of the few regrets Will Muschamp had in his first year as Florida’s
head coach was feeling that training camp was not difficult enough.
He believed he went easy on his team and it made his players “soft,”
to use his word.
That
will change this summer.
Muschamp
has to fix a team that went 7-6 last season, narrowly avoiding the
Gators’ first losing season since 1979. The urgency heightens as
Florida takes the field Friday for the first day of training camp.
The veterans will get a wake-up call at 4:30 a.m. and be on the field
before sunrise, and the younger players will practice in the evening.
The
next three weeks will be about fine-tuning one of the country’s
best defenses, implementing a new offense and picking a starting
quarterback, but it is also an opportunity for Muschamp to work his
team in such a way that no one can ever call it soft.
“More
contact drills,” he promised at the team’s pre-season media event
Thursday. “A little bit of our issues last year were because of
numbers. At the end of the day … it’s hard to simulate game-day
situations when you are only working with one line of scrimmage on
both sides of the ball.
“That’s
not going to be the case this year. We are going to be able to do
more things.”
In
a team meeting Thursday afternoon, Muschamp already was at mid-season
intensity. He told the players to expect more tackling and more
hitting this year — and delivered the message loudly.
“He’s
fired up,” said linebacker Jon Bostic, a senior from Palm Beach
Central. “He’s always like that. He’s ready to go.
“We’re
going to do a lot of hitting. He said you better be ready. Don’t go
in thinking this is going to be easy and fun.”
One
player who looks ready for a heavy-hitting August is safety Matt
Elam. Elam, a junior from Dwyer, is beginning his second season as a
starter and has been a regular player since the day he arrived in
Gainesville. A breakout performance in 2012 could vault him into NFL
Draft conversations.
He
spent every day of the off-season on campus and showed up Thursday at
5-foot-10, 200 pounds. He lost about 10 pounds in the off-season
mainly by doing abdominal workouts and watching his diet.
When
Elam walked into the meeting room, Muschamp immediately noticed the
change in his physique.
“I
certainly know based on what I just saw today from a body standpoint,
he’s ready to make that next step,” he said. “I know he’s
worked hard.”
Like
most of the defensive players, Elam’s starting spot is virtually
secured. The Gators return 10 of 11 starters from a defensive unit
that finished eighth in the country last year at 299.5 yards allowed
per game.
No
position battle will get as much attention as the quarterback race
between true sophomores Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett. Driskel
enrolled in January last year, but Brissett showed up in August and
surpassed him on the depth chart by the middle of the season.
Muschamp
said he has not determined a starter for the season opener, Sept. 1
against Bowling Green, and both players believe they are even.
“We’re
tied,” said Brissett, another former Dwyer standout. “There’s
no clear starter.
“Hopefully
they name a starter soon, but it’s whatever Coach says. It’s a
good thing to be looking over your shoulder. That just pushes you
more.”
Almost
every position on offense is open:
—
Muschamp said the only
offensive line position that is settled is Jon Halapio at guard.
—
No receiver is locked
into a spot, and Muschamp said true freshman Latroy Pittman may grab
one.
—
Mike Gillislee, a
senior, ended spring as the No. 1 running back, but his hold on that
seems tenuous. True freshman Matt Jones could be his main challenger,
and several other players will want a share of carries.
“That’s
really good for our team right now,” Muschamp said of the position
battles. “Competition is the best motivator for a player to
understand that he needs to play well. That promotes the consistency
and performance that you’ve got to have in this league to be
successful.”
