The highlight of Florida’s ninth practice of the spring was great battles all over the field. Effort certainly wasn’t lacking. Grading the offense was a mixed bag on Wednesday, but one highlight is the low number of turnovers. All in all it was a productive day on both sides of the ball, but here is a look at some of the plays of the day and what the offense did in general.
The team had a short mini-segment of practice where they squared off 11-on-11. I missed a lot of this, but the highlight was an interception by defensive end Carlos Dunlap, who tipped a Tim Tebow pass to himself.
The teams then entered the pure passing portion of the practice and the skill guys squared off.
7-on-7 PLAY BY PLAY:
Tebow scrambled after his receivers were covered ... Tebow slightly overthrew WR David Nelson in the back of the end zone ...WR Deonte Thompson makes a great catch of a Tebow pass right at the back line of the end zone for a touchdown ... Delay route on the far side complete to RB Chris Rainey from QB Cam Newton ... Newton threw into double coverage with CB Janoris Jenkins in man coverage and S John Curtis coming over the top at the front of the end zone to intercept the pass ... Newton hits RB Brandon James for a quick 12 yard slant ... QB John Brantley hits WR Louis Murphy on a deep Go route on the far left sideline … TE Cornelius Ingram drops the ball thrown over the middle as he was about to get pounded by LB Dustin Doe ... Murphy on the receiving end of a 12 yard slant from the right slot position from Brantley ... Brantley then hits Thompson on a slant from the outside right wide receiver position ... Tebow hits another slant to Ingram ... Brandon James backpedals and catches the ball with CB Markihe Anderson in good position. James still makes the catch for a touchdown ... Murphy drops a wide open pass, but Newton kind of fired it in there too hard for a short pass ... Murphy used his body to shield safety Ahmad Black as he catches a pass right inside the end zone ... CB Wondy Pierre-Louis is all over Murphy who somehow catches the ball on the opposite side from where he started on a deep corner pass on the far sideline ... Brandon James catches a corner pass in the back of the right corner of the end zone, with CB Jeremy Brown and John Curtis in a Cover 2 over there ... Brantley waits a bit then catches WR Carl Moore on a mid-range crossing pattern, not sure he would have that long to throw ... Tebow has a short pass to Ingram broken up in the middle of the field as the ball is now being spotted at the five yard line ...S Major Wright breaks up a slant pass to WR David Nelson in the back of the end zone
TEAM (25 yard line- Red Zone):
First Series: Three runs did not merit a first down from the 25 yard line, but RB Kestahn Moore busted several tackles to get five yards on fourth and one ... TE Aaron Hernandez takes a little dump pass for seven yards and Murphy and Janoris Jenkins get into it a little bit ... Newton takes off outside and LB Brandon Spikes is there to stop the run for only a half yard ... Triple I formation and Newton hands to Brandon James who had Kestahn Moore and FB Steve Wilks in front of him blocking. James takes the ball wide right and dives for the corner of the end zone and a touchdown ... Brantley tucks the ball and runs for nine yards and Tebow comes running after him yelling “I see you Johnny, I see you Johnny, I see you Johnny!!!” The crowd loved it ... The next play Brantley tucks and runs wide left and one of the defensive players yells out “Dual Threat!!”… RB Emmanuel Moody runs hard for two yards when there was absolutely nothing ... Rainey takes a couple of inside runs to break into the end zone. It was good to see him running up the middle ... From the 11 yard line on first down, Tebow rolls to his left and dumps to Hernandez who gets seven yards to the five ... Rainey again up the middle for two yards ... Tebow under center hands off to Rainey who gets a touchdown from two yards out ... Next series and RB Mon Williams spins behind the line and gets a half yard ... Carl Moore ran to the opposite sideline and the back of the end zone, he turned at the very last moment to see the ball on him already from Newton, and just missed catching it ... penalty offense, five yards ... David Nelson gets about four yards on a short pass, so it is fourth and 11 ... FG try and Chris Rainey blocks a Caleb Sturgis try.
FROM THE 25-YARD LINE:
Tebow to Kestahn Moore who breaks one tackle and rumbles for 17 yards and a first down ... Murphy catches a quick out pass for eight yards, making it second and two ... DE Jermaine Cunningham nails Tebow for a sack when he was just about to take off scrambling ... Wondy breaks up a third down out pass from Tebow to Murphy ... Tebow goes deep to Murphy, but Wondy is right there to break up the pass.
Next series: S Jamar Hornsby runs to the far sideline from the middle of the field and almost intercepts a deep pass to Carl Moore from Cam Newton ... Newton sacked on second down for a loss of three yards ... Newton was hit in the backfield on third down as he was throwing, the ball falls incomplete ... On fourth and 13, Newton scrambles and Deonte Thompson moves into a hole in the defense where he gets the 13 yards and the first down … (missed first down) ... second and 12, Newton throws the ball over the head of Thompson on a deep pass on the far left sideline ... Newton is sacked on third and long.
Next Series: Tebow scrambles for 12 yards on first down ... Tebow on a keeper for eight yards to the 43 yard line ... short out pass to WR Riley Cooper for 12 yards, the ball crosses midfield to the 45 ... Hernandez made the catch of the day with a one-handed stab out of the air of a Tebow ball, then he makes contact with a linebacker and rumbles another 12 yards or so down the middle of the field ... from the 22, Moody ran for 7 yards off the left guard ... Drive stalls and PK Jonathan Phillips kicks the field goal.
QUARTERBACKS:
Tim Tebow, Cam Newton John Brantley
What I Liked: Tebow showing love for Brantley on the Tebow style run was great to see ... For the most part Tebow has looked really sharp the last couple of days ... Brantley made some great throws today. He loves the corner route about 25-26 yards when teams are playing cover-2 ... Newton has really impressed me with his knowing when to tuck the ball and run it on option runs ... I think only two interceptions today, and one was a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage.
What I Didn’t Like: The passing game looked good at the 25 and I believe the offense scored every opportunity from that distance, but given the chance to run the length of the field, the offense never scored. They need to really work on the continuity and that all starts at quarterback.
RUNNING BACKS:
Kestahn Moore, Chris Rainey, Brandon James, Mon Williams, Emmanuel Moody
What I Liked: I liked that Rainey was able to run the ball up the middle and still come away in one piece. He has actually done that quite a bit this spring, and it looks like they are testing his endurance in taking the hits. He, keeps on plugging ... Emmanuel Moody had a couple of moves today that really make me wonder why he is getting so few carries this spring ... Kestahn Moore had one exceptional seven yard run on short yardage where he plowed two different linebackers, he was bruising ... Brandon Jjames was an excellent weapon as a receiver today.
What I Didn’t Like: No breakaway runs today, nothing else really stood out negatively.
WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END:
Louis Murphy, Deonte Thompson, Cornelius Ingram, Riley Cooper
Carl Moore, Aaron Hernandez, Justin Williams, David Nelson, Tate Casey
What I Liked: They are mixing and matching guys into the first unit now and so really the depth chart doesn’t matter for anything at the moment ... Hernandez continues to make astounding plays on the field, he is such a hoss and a talented hoss at that ... Murphy is definitely the go to guy with Percy Harvin out ... I thought Riley Cooper and Deonte Thompson had one of their better days, but neither did anything that was great, just very consistent ... Carl Moore again made another great catch, he has done that at every practice.
What I Didn’t Like: We are seeing speed out of these guys, but there isn’t a whole lot of shake and bake in this unit. Without Percy Harvin, the Gators have to rely on running backs James and Rainey for the shake and bake. I think Justin Williams and Deonte are capable, but Williams was very silent today if he was there at all.
OFFENSIVE LINE:
LT Jason Watkins, LG Carl Johnson, C Maurkice Pouncey, RG Mike Pouncey, RT Marcus Gilbert
LT Kyle Newell, LG Jim Barrie, C Corey Hobbs, RG James Wilson
What I Liked: The first line held their own for the most and didn’t allow much penetration on pass plays and blocked decent on runs. It is good to see the flexibility of Watkins playing each tackle position and Johnson playing guard today. I asked James Wilson after practice today if the rumors of him staying were true and he said, “yes, indeed”… Jason Watkins asserted himself to help the second team offensive line when they weren’t doing well, getting in their face and trying to pump them up.
What I Didn’t like: LG Jim Tartt and LT Phil Trautwein out today. James Wilson still not 100% ... The injuries are starting to take it’s toll on the offensive line and the consistency of beating the defensive line has gone down hill a bit. That is especially apparent along the second unit where the running game was not nearly as successful and the pass protection was not good at all today. There is something to be said for continuity and they have had none of that in the last couple of practices.
ODDS AND ENDS:
Prospect Watch: Sanford Seminole stars Andre DeBose, Ray Ray Armstrong, and DyRon Dye were all in attendance Wednesday. So were Greensboro (FL) East Gadsden athlete Lance Ray and Largo HS linebacker Mike Marry.
Quotable: “I can’t believe you are walking with the enemy” --- Offensive lineman Jason Watkins to offensive line coach Steve Addazio, who was walking back to his office with defensive line coach Dan McCarney…
MEYER TALK:
Coach Urban Meyer addressed the media briefly after practice and wanted to talk about new staff member Terry Jackson. We will have more on that tomorrow.
Meyer said that Torrey Davis was kicked out of practice for bad conduct and “not living up to expectations of the program” (fighting).
Meyer said tomorrow they will meet to make a final decision on whether Percy Harvin will have surgery next week. He said “it is probable right now”.
Jim Tartt has shoulder issues. Meyer said, “We are just being very cautious (with the same shoulder)”.
Player of the Day: Louis Murphy. He has definitely become the go to guy with Harvin out and usually wins his battles.
