Toast No More

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

The Michigan game probably seemed like rock bottom for Florida’s corners. Burned so often early in the year that they might have qualified for free care at a Shriner’s hospital, they put together a November of steady improvement only to take several steps backward January 1 in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.

Vance Bedford knows all about that game. He was on the other sideline, coaching up the Michigan secondary in what was the last game for Coach Lloyd Carr. From his viewpoint that game wasn’t indicative of the progress that was made during that four-game stretch in November when the Gators played their best defense of the year.

“Until that Michigan game I think the [Florida] defense did an outstanding job last year,” said Bedford, who now coaches the Gator corners. “They were so young but each game they got better.”

He’s got a theory about why the Gators slipped so badly in the Michigan game and it has a lot to do with the combination of young, inexperienced players and a 30-day plus layoff.

“That’s what we saw in that particular game,” Bedford said after Wednesday’s practice, the last full-scale practice before Saturday’s Orange and Blue Debut (1 p.m., Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, ESPN).

Something else the Gators saw was an outstanding group of Michigan receivers led by the dynamic Mario Manningham and a healthy quarterback in Chad Henne.

“People don’t realize but those two receivers for Michigan were pretty good players,” said Bedford, who coached with Florida head coach Urban Meyer and safeties coach Chuck Heater at Colorado State back in the 1990s. Florida receivers coach Billy Gonzales was a player on that team. “Mario Manningham is a special receiver. For that particular game he played well and the quarterback was healthy for the first time in eight games so you saw the true Michigan team.”

Bedford’s job this spring is to make sure that the Florida corners that were toasted early and often in that game make significant improvements. They aren’t at the point where he would call his troops lock down defenders, but he’s seen progress from day one and that is what he was looking for.

“It started off a little bit slow, a little bit ragged but I think as we’ve gone through spring practice they know what the expectations are here,” he said. “I think it’s picked up towards the end so I’m pleased with their performance.”

Last year the Gators were hindered by a combination of youth, inexperience and a lack of bodies at the cornerback position. This year the players are a year older, have 13 2007 games under their belts and there are some new faces ready at every opportunity to make a case for playing time in the fall.

Heater coached the corners last spring while Doc Holliday coached the safeties. Holliday accepted the assistant head coach’s position on the West Virginia staff in the off season and Heater moved back to coach the safeties while taking on the responsibilities as the assistant defensive coordinator. The move has been good for both coaches and the players seem to be responding well to the changes.

“I think we’ve made steady progress,” he said. “We have a long way to go. We’ve tried a few different techniques but the guys are playing hard. The thing I like the most is we have a lot of competition. Those two young freshmen (Janoris Jenkins and Jeremy Brown) are making the guys that were here better because they can see those two guys want to play.”

He said the player that has stood out more often among the corners is Joe Haden, who started all 13 games last season as a true freshman. Haden came to Florida last spring as quarterback turned wide receiver, but he moved to corner on day one of spring practice and never gave up his spot in the lineup.

“Joe Haden has made a lot of progress,” said Bedford. “He’s probably our most steady guy.”

Also making big strides has been Wondy Pierre-Louis. A special teams standout as a freshman, Pierre-Louis had mixed results as a starter last year as a sophomore. He ran an interception back for a touchdown against Georgia, but he looked like a lost ball in the tall grass against Michigan.

This spring, Pierre-Louis has made several interceptions and he’s showing steady signs of improvement. While none of the corners have played a dominating role, they’ve all shown a measure of improvement.

“Wondy has come a long quite a bit as far as man to man technique but there is no one individual guy but I’ve seen [stand out] but several guys that have made a dramatic improvement,” said Bedford.

He appreciates the efforts of his freshmen. Jenkins, who hails from Pahokee, was one of the nation’s top cornerback recruits for 2008. Brown, from Orlando Boone, was less heralded but he’s certainly proven he belongs.

“Those two guys, long term, are going to be pretty good players here,” said Bedford. “Janoris Jenkins and Jeremy Brown show extremely good quickness, ball skills … the things you look for in a corner those two guys possess those things.”

Saturday’s Orange and Blue Debut won’t erase the memories of the Michigan game. It will take a summer of hard work before August practice for all of Bedford’s charges and even that won’t make a dent in that picture of carnage in the secondary left by Henne and Manningham back in January. It won’t be until the Gators show some improvement when the games start counting on August 30 (Hawaii at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium) that fans will forget just how young and just how inexperienced those corners were.

“That was more of an experience thing and I think those guys learned a lot from that bowl game,” said Bedford. “From what we’ve practiced this spring, they have matured quite a bit. All those guys who played in that game, they were all freshmen and sophomores so now they know what to expect and they know how to go out there and practice and to perform and hopefully help us win a championship.”

[texgator]

I want a slobbering secondary. I want a group of guys who want the ball in the air so bad they can taste it.

[RickySlade]

That reply was incredibly homeaux.

[texgator]

That reply was incredibly homeaux.

I'd go ghey for a fear-inducing secondary, if that is what it takes.

[a1bion]

Give me a secondary that's willing to go all Lawrence Wright Meets Joey Kent on a crossing receiver and I'm a happy man.

[TheTodd]

Give me a secondary that's willing to go all Lawrence Wright Meets Joey Kent on a crossing receiver and I'm happy to get jizzed on by a man.

Now that is going gay!