The public portion of fall football practice came to a close Friday morning as Urban Meyer put his team through a morning session that lasted almost three hours. It was just the second day on the field for the 2009 Gators but it was enough for Meyer to begin forming a few more opinions about some of his players and position battles.
Meyer spoke after the practice about injured running back Emmanuel Moody, offensive lineman Matt Patchan and the possibility of utilizing Joe Haden on offense as a “wildcat” quarterback among other things.
On Joe Haden ---- "He was a high school quarterback. He threw me a football and that thing came at me on a tight spiral and hot, and (I said) do it again and he did it again. Scot (QB Coach Loeffler) has been talking to me about it and he’s been out here throwing to Scot, so that’s a possibility."
On Emmanuel Moody ---- "He’s an injury magnet. It’s not because he’s a bad guy. It’s not because he’s not tough. He’ll be fine. We’ve just got to keep him up because he’s worked his tail off. Look at him. He’s jacked, he’s strong. I remember I got the phone call that he sprained his ankle I said what do you mean he sprained his ankle? He can’t sprain his ankle."
On Matt Patchan ---- He’s one of Mickey (Marotti’s) favorite guys. You look at him, he’s 286 pounds. He’s strong and he gained about 40 pounds. That’s not easy to do (because) he’s a nuts and berries guy. I don’t see a lot of nuts and berries guys around here (among the media). He’s done a really good job and really bought into the system."
On why Patchan can be special ---- "His athleticism. I know you hear this all the time, but he’s a legit 4.7 guy (in the 40). Everybody’s dream is a guy who can climb to the second level (of the defense) and still protect the pocket and he can do that."
On Competition for the punt block unit ---- "It’s a free for all. You’ve got a good team when people are begging, crying, screaming, 'I gotta get on this, I gotta get on this.' It wasn’t like that five years ago. The punt block team will be an all-star team."
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Meyer wasn’t completely thrilled with the practice. Florida receivers, notably All-SEC tight end Aaron Hernandez had several dropped passes and had to stay late for some extra work.
Meyer also expressed support for injured corner Jeremy Brown who is again sidelined with back problems. He says Brown will really take off once he’s completely healthy. Meyer also said he’s extremely pleased with the five freshman offensive linemen and singled out tackle Xavier Nixon for his football intellect and maturity.
