Addazio confident in his young guys

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

Phil Trautwein, an All-SEC type of tackle, is out for awhile and maybe for an entire season. You might think Steve Addazio is pacing the floor tonight, worried about what's going to happen with his offensive line now that his left tackle is gone but the offensive line coach of the Florida Gators sounds anything but worried. In fact, you might even call him confident that his guys will come through now that the line has been re-shuffled.

Trautwein’s stress fracture could keep him out a couple of games or even longer. It’s up to the doctors, the healing process and the trainers to determine when he will play again. So, there’s no time to sulk and no time to worry about things that are out of his control. Addazio figures he’s got just the guys to step in and he believes they’re ready to handle the task.

The group that was supposed to start Saturday’s season opening game was Trautwein, left guard Jim Tartt, center Drew Miller, right guard Carlton Medder and right tackle Jason Watkins. That group looked pretty formidable with three seniors (Trautwein, Miller and Medder) and two juniors. Trautwein, Miller, Medder and Tartt all started last year and Watkins got in valuable experience as a tight end in short yardage and goal line situations.

But now Addazio has had to shuffle the deck.

Medder has moved back to the right tackle position he started 14 games last year and Watkins, a fourth-year junior, has moved from right tackle to left tackle. The right guard spot has been taken over by true freshman Maurkice Pouncey.

Addazio figures the experienced veterans will do their part so that Pouncey and Watkins will make a smooth transition into the starting lineup.

“We have a veteran group up there,” Addazio said Wednesday. “Carlton Medder is responsible to make sure we have for communication with Maurkice Pouncey. Drew Miller is responsible for coordinating the whole deal. Jim Tartt has a bunch of playing experience and Jason Watkins has had an unbelievable preseason camp. It’s all about communication and we believe the older guys are supposed to help the younger guys.

“Helping [Maurkice Pouncey] is directly on a guy like Carlton Medder that has started 14 games and in a national championship. We need to rely on the veterans for experience and rely on the young guys to take ownership to do their job.”

Addazio also had some high praise for the newest starter for the Florida Gators. Maurkice Pouncey was playing for Lakeland’s national championship team a year ago and now he is going to be on the big stage at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Saturday afternoon.

“He will be playing right guard and he has done a wonderful job and he is ready to go,” Addazio said. “That is what it is all about, one guy goes down and the other guy has to step up. That is when you find out how your depth is and we know how tough it is in the SEC. It is a long year and we need all those guys to be functional and that is what we are doing right now.

“He has really prepared himself real well. He is a tough guy and competes like crazy. I am looking forward to watching them play.”

With the loss of Trautwein, Maurkice’s twin brother Michael has also moved higher on the depth chart. If starting center Drew Miller comes out of the game Saturday, freshman Michael will be inserted in his place. It is a position he has never played before.

“He has done a great job ... he really has,” Addazio said. “For a guy that has never done it before, he has a knack just like Maurkice. They obviously came from a great football program. They have been well prepared. They have something about them that they get in there and function really well. They have technique and a sense of the game. They understand play structure and protections, so he is taking on real well.”

Behind the starters are a bunch of young guys ready to play. Freshmen abound on the second unit, but Addazio knows these guys are itching to get on the field.

“We have guys like Mo Hurt, Marcus Gilbert, and Carl Johnson, guys that prepare themselves to be able to step in,” Addazio said. “We have talked about this from day one. The reality is the next guy has to be ready to go. That is why there is so much pressure to get the next guy ready to go. That is always the challenge in college football. We feel like we have prepared the depth and we feel like we we are rocking, we are going.”

On Saturday, there will likely be some substitution along the line as players shuttle in and out but the loss of Trautwein has not really effected the rotation too much.

“We are going to go according to our plan,” Addazio said. “Nothing has altered from that stand point. The next center, Mike Pouncey, is ready to go. At what point he is ready to be in that game, he’s in that game. That is our mindset. We have the next guard ready to go, the next tackle ready to go, the next center ready to go. We are prepared for all of that right now.”

It is the start of the season, and from the sounds of it, Addazio’s troops are ready to go.

[radbag]

atta boy hater....cheers ol' boy!