One play and Urban Meyer had seen enough. It was near the end of Saturday’s practice, the first in pads of the spring, and the first team offense had just blown the first team defense off the ball for a six-yard gain off the right side by Kestahn Moore. When the defense huddled up they parted like the Red Sea when Meyer stepped in. The next 30 seconds were intense, to say the least.
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There would be two other occasions over the next 30 minutes when Meyer got in the faces of his defenders. He let it be known that it’s one thing to be beaten because the guy across from you is bigger, stronger, faster or better. It’s another thing altogether to go down for lack of intensity or effort.
And so a theme was set for the rest of the spring. That much maligned defense of 2007 is going to show improvement, if nothing more in the areas of effort and intensity. There will be no half-hearted efforts. There will be no giving up on plays. There will be only 100 percent intensity from the moment the ball is snapped until the whistle blows every single down.
Once Meyer established the ground rules --- that there would be no slacking off in full pads --- the defensive effort started picking up. There were some big hits including one by Major Wright that left Aaron Hernandez wondering which huddle he should join and a sack of Cameron Newton by Ahmad Black that sent the entire defensive roster rushing slap the helmet and pads of the sophomore safety from Lakeland. There were a couple of forced fumbles, one by Brandon Spikes that was a man-sized hit on Moore. Justin Trattou continues to show up wherever the ball is. He recovered two fumbles. There was tighter coverage in the secondary, particularly by Jacques Rickerson, whose 17 pounds of added muscle have given him the strength to jam a receiver at the line. Wondy Pierre-Louis is starting to look like he could turn into a lock down corner.
It wasn’t a perfect scrimmage and Meyer would be the first to say that the defense has a long way to go and much to prove, but what was important about this first day in pads was that the coach got the attention of his defensive troops and let it be known that things were going to change or else.
Things have to change.
Last year the Gators won nine games, often by simply outscoring opponents. There were some good defensive efforts like the one against Florida State when the Gators made the Seminole offense look like something out of a junior high playbook, but then there was that fourth quarter against LSU when they couldn’t stop the Tigers on five critical fourth downs. And then there was Michigan in the Capital One Bowl. That was a defensive effort that Meyer would just as soon forget.
Offensively, the Gators figure to be improved over last year. Tim Tebow’s numbers caught the country by storm and earned a Heisman Trophy. He’ll be a junior this year and if what we’ve seen through three practices is any indication, he’s seeing more of the field and finding that second and third receiver. The running game already has a better look. Perhaps the infusion of energy from new running backs coach Kenny Carter has a lot to do with that. After three years of Stan Drayton, it’s obvious that a fresh new outlook was needed there. The wide receivers are a year older and more mature and they’re looking like a hungry unit that wants to put up some record-breaking numbers. Deonte Thompson is the real deal, Carl Moore catches everything that comes his way with hands that look like meat hooks and David Nelson and Louis Murphy are putting together great springs. If Tebow doesn’t get his second straight Heisman Trophy, don’t be surprised if Percy Harvin does. Every single practice including the one Saturday, he’s had at least two or three highlight reel plays.
But you can’t rely on the offense to blow out all the bulbs on every scoreboard that tries to keep track of what the Gators are doing. At some point, someone will come up with a defensive look or else the offense will be off just enough that it gives the opposing defenders just enough edge that they can keep the game close enough to win.
And that is where the defense has to be ready to take over. When the Gators made their national championship run in 2006, the defense was always poised and ready to make a big play or even take over completely if that is what the situation called for.
Meyer needs a defensive unit that makes plays. He needs a defensive unit that can get stops. He needs a defensive unit that is willing to step up and take over a game if that’s what it takes for the Gators to win.
So that is why he got in the huddle and chewed out his defenders Saturday. As a group they are still very young --- perhaps as young as any defensive unit in the entire Southeastern Conference --- but if they will grow up in 2008, then there is every good chance the Gators can make it two national championships in the last three years.
All the pieces are in place if Meyer can just get this unit to give maximum effort one play at a time.
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The Gators are five deep at tailback and each of the five had at least one highlight Saturday. Other than the fumble at the goal line, Moore had some nice runs, particularly when he dipped his shoulders to the inside, then cut outside the tackles.
Emmanuel Moody, the transfer from Southern Cal, showed the ability to cut back quickly. He caught a pass from Cameron Newton, spun away from the tackler and then sprinted across the field to daylight. He also had a couple of very nice runs during the goal line scrimmage including an 11-yard touchdown where he stutter stepped twice to freeze tacklers before he applied the jets to get the final five yards.
Brandon James showed that he’s tough enough to run between the tackles, twice emerging from the pack to break clear into the secondary. He also made a nice block in which he helped slow down Jermaine Cunningham, giving Tebow time to complete a pass to Harvin.
Mon Williams, who went down with an ACL injury the first day of last spring, is showing a nice burst and no signs of a limp. He has the power to bowl over tacklers.
Even Chris Rainey showed that he can get it done between the tackles. He made a seven-yard run pretty much on his own, breaking a tackle in the backfield and another at the line of scrimmage. He dived forward for the final three yards and that got the attention of Meyer who grabbed him by the shoulder pads and praised his toughness.
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The offensive line is starting to take on a dominant look. They have that hostile, agile and mobile look about them and things will only get better in the fall when Phil Trautwein and Mo Hurt are back from the injuries that are keeping them sidelined in the spring.
Maurkice Pouncey has an occasional problem with the center snap, but he’s got a few months to get that down. Mike Pouncey looks nasty at the right guard and Jim Tartt is in the best shape of his life on the left side. Tartt pretty much defines nasty attitude on the interior of the line. Coaches Steve Addazio and John Hevesy have to love it that the three big guys on the interior get their kicks out of dealing out the pain.
Jason Watkins is versatile enough to flop between the right side and the left. He buried Carlos Dunlap during one drill and got him again during the goal line scrimmage. All that potential we’ve been talking about for two years with Carl Johnson is starting to show up on the field. He is coming off the line quickly and when 345-pounds moves quickly, anything in his path moves in the opposite direction. Marcus Gilbert has pass blocker written all over him.
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Inside the five-yard line, the Gators are showing off the wishbone with Steve Wilks handling the fullback job. Wilks had four absolute bone-crushing blocks. He also had a very nice block in pass protection on Torrey Davis. Wilks loves to hit so he might have found the ultimate position to play. He gets to hammer someone every single play.
The best play of the day out of the wishbone was made by Cam Newton, who slid down the left side of the line, forced the defensive end and linebacker to converge on him and then he pitched to Moody, who sprinted into the end zone.
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During the passing drills, Newton launched a bomb to Percy Harvin that was a thing of beauty. Newton throws a deep ball with plenty of accuracy and touch.
The throw of the day was made by Johnny Brantley, who hit Deonte Thompson with an 18-yard laser that Thompson grabbed on the fly and turned immediately up the middle of the field. It seemed like he was 20 yards past everyone before anyone could even react to his sudden acceleration.
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The final segment of the goal line scrimmage was a fourth and goal drill that consisted of 13 plays. The defense came out a winner eight times and the offense got the ball in the end zone five times.
The offensive highlights were a Newton scramble for a touchdown from six yards out and a two-yard burst into the end zone behind Maurkice and Mike Pouncey by Brandon James.
On the defensive side, Trattou (who else?) found his way to the bottom of a pile to recover a fumbled snap by Tebow and Jeremi Finch put a big hit on David Nelson in the end zone.
The scrimmage came to an end on a fourth and two when Lawrence Marsh got the initial hit on Moore and then Ahmad Black and Dustin Doe came in to finish him off.
