Practice brings smile to Meyers face

[TheTodd]

The smile on Urban Meyer’s face said it all. He got the practice he was looking for out of the Florida Gators Thursday morning and not even a steady downpour or the threat of serious thunderstorms could dampen his mood.

“You can tell by my demeanor that we had a heckuva practice today,” said Meyer. “That was good stuff today. We came out there and did all this individual I heard that thunder and I thought here we go again. We jumped right into full contact team scrimmage situations, third downs. We had two set scrimmages that we scripted and we went six sets. Then we went to our two minute drill and our guys reacted. No complaining, no whining, no this, no that.”

Not only did the practice put a smile on Meyer’s face, but the Gators also had no injuries and several players who have been slowed up by injury got a little bit closer to going full speed. The reports were good on wide receiver/tailback Percy Harvin, defensive lineman Matt Pachan, offensive linemen Phil Trautwein and Jim Tartt, defensive end Jermaine Cunningham and linebacker Dustin Doe.

Harvin, trying to get back to full speed after spending the summer rehabbing after serious surgery on his heel, still hasn’t done any contact drills but Meyer said he’s getting closer to going.

“Percy did not practice but he conditioned,” said Meyer. “He’s getting close. He’s getting real close.”

Patchan, who suffered a shoulder wound that was part of a drive-by shooting in Tampa earlier in the summer, has been working his way back from that and from a problem (strain or slight tear) with a pectoral muscle. He’s been doing everything but contact since practice started.

“Patchan did not do team drills but he did contact work with the bags which is the next step and then you ease him in,” said Meyer.

Trautwein, who also has a minor problem with his shoulder, did the same drills as Patchan and Meyer said he’s almost ready to get back to full contact. Tartt, who had offseason shoulder surgery, is almost back to where he should be and he’s another one that could be going full speed, full contact next week.

The news that Trautwein and Tartt could be good to go next week means the first unit offensive line can get its first work as a unit.

“By next week I think we’ll have our first team offensive line back,” said Meyer.

Cunningham, who has been slowed by a hamstring as well as other minor injuries, is doing contact drills again.

“Jermaine is back practicing close to full speed,” said Meyer.

Doe, who has been slowed with a hamstring pull, went full speed Thursday. Meyer has been very impressed this fall with his junior linebacker.

“He’s had a tremendous summer,” said Meyer. “He’s had a tremendous fall camp.”

Another player who has been brought along slowly is freshman defensive tackle Omar Hunter, whom Meyer said did individual work Thursday but did not do any contact work with the team.

CARTER COUNTRY: If August is any indication of things to come, then Florida fans are going to be seeing things from the running back position this fall that they haven’t seen in the previous three years. Apparently, new running backs coach Kenny Carter has been a shot in the arm for a position that was under constant criticism the past three years under the tutelage of Stan Drayton, who left the program in January.

“I have to give these guys some credit and their coach some credit,” said Meyer. Our running backs are very productive right now. Having a productive running back that can catch the ball and run a route. The reason you didn’t see them in there is because they weren’t productive and they did not do their stuff the right way.”

Not only are the running backs breaking long runs in practice, but they are also becoming a dynamic part of Florida’s passing game.

“The best part of our throw game when we dump the ball to our tailback and he can make some guys miss,” said Meyer, who rattled off the names of Emmanuel Moody, Kestahn Moore, Chris Rainey and Jeffrey Demps as ready to get in there and compete tailbacks.

Demps, who is a true freshman, super-charged the offense Thursday when he helped out his left tackle with a block on defensive end William Green. According to Carter, Demps not only helped out but he hit Green hard enough that practice had to be stopped for a couple of minutes while Green regained his breath.

THE BACKUP BATTLE: Apparently it’s a nip and tuck battle for the second team quarterback between sophomore Cameron Newton and redshirt freshman Johnny Brantley. Newton is by far the more polished runner of the two while Brantley is the better passer.

Asked if he’s closer to deciding if it’s Newton or Brantley that gets the nod as Tim Tebow’s backup, Meyer responded, “The good thing is that I don’t have to decide right now. In two weeks we’ll decide.”

Newton has continued to impress with his ability to run the ball and that has led Meyer to consider using the 6-6, 245-pounder as a pure runner in special situations.

“I’ll tell you the good thing Cam is doing is running the ball really well,” said Meyer. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see him do some of that. The lecture I gave on single wing football … I think he could give us that element because he’s a very functional runner and he’s very tight with the ball right now.”

Brantley throws the best ball of any of Florida’s three quarterbacks. He’s also doing a few things that remind Meyer of one of his former quarterbacks.

“John is throwing the ball and managing a lot like Alex Smith (quarterback at Utah; first selection in 2005 NFL Draft),” Meyer said.

SPECIAL TEAMS ARE SPECIAL: The Gators might have the best offense in the country and the defense is showing signs of getting back that edge Florida defenses had in 2005 and 2006. Throw in special teams that might be as good or better than anyone in the country and the Gators are the full package.

Meyer has the best kick returner in the country in Brandon James; a punter in Chas Henry whose great hang time had plenty to do with the fact the Gators allowed only 22 punt return yards last year; a long snapper in James Smith who has made every long snap for the Gators for three straight years; and now there is an ongoing battle between senior Jonathan Phillips and freshman Caleb Sturgis for the placekicking job. Both Phillips and Sturgis are hammering the ball.

The Gators were the best punt block team in the Southeastern Conference last year but they also had James returning punts and all he did was average 18 yards per return to lead the SEC.

“You look at our punt block team and I think we had the most blocks in the SEC last year and we also led in return,” said Meyer. “You have that, well what do you do? We’re going to really work hard on that.”

Block the punt or let James do his voodoo act in the open field? It’s the kind of dilemma coaches dream about.

And James isn’t the only capable returner.

“Brandon James is dynamic and there are a couple of guys behind him like Joe Haden,” said Meyer. “I watch him catch those punts and he could be a punt returner. You’ve got Joe Haden, you’ve got Rainey and Murphy is back there catching punts. The first year we had Vernell and we had me. That was not a good deal. We’ve got some guys. Kickoff return is very similar. We’ve got some good return guys.”

If Smith stays healthy this year, he could finish his career as the only long snapper on every special teams play for four consecutive years and that’s highly unusual.

“I’ve never heard of that,” said Meyer, adding that Smith also starts on the kickoff and kickoff return teams.

When Meyer signed freshman Caleb Sturgis it was expected that the freshman thunderfoot from St. Augustine would assume the placekicking role but he’s met with resistance from Phillips.

“Jon Phillips is not giving that up,” said Meyer, who appreciates that Phillips’ Gator experience was special enough that he made a sacrifice to come back for one more year. Phillips graduated from UF in three years and there were other options beside football at Florida.

“He got accepted to Miami law school,” said Meyer, who at first thought Phillips would go ahead and take advantage of that opportunity. “We had a long discussion and he came back because he wanted a chance to kick at Florida and he’s not done a darn thing yet. His whole approach to the game has been very impressive.”

Phillips has been hitting the ball better than he has at any time in his Florida career but Sturgis has been impressive too.

“I made the comment when his foot hits the ball it sounds different than most other kickers,” said Meyer. “He hits bombs but he has to split the uprights with them. There’s a great battle going on right now.”

Even with the bad weather the last three days, the Gators have practiced in the rain but even the negative of a wet, slippery field has been turned into a positive.

“The negative about this weather is it’s just a pain in the rear end,” said Meyer. “The positive is that we’re getting a lot of throwing and catching and kicking the ball in this weather. We hit two 47s (47 yard field goals) at the end of practice in this weather. That’s a good sign.”

WIDE RECEIVERS STEPPING UP: In the absence of Harvin and Louis Murphy (sprained ankle) Meyer is seeing some battles for playing time at wide receiver. He’s got a nice combination of speed and size to work with and the younger guys and newbies are benefitting from the extra reps with Harvin and Murphy out.

Asked to name a starting rotation, Meyer responded, ““(Riley) Cooper and Carl Moore are battling for a starting spot. Deonte (Thompson) is doing very well. Obviously when Louis Murphy and Percy get back those are guys that are difference makers at their positions. David Nelson is doing very well. The freshman who will probably play is Frankie Hammond … he did not have a good day today. It must not rain where he’s from. (Tight end Aaron) Hernandez is a big part of that. I consider him a receiver.”
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[a1bion]

I thought Coach K said Jonathan Phillips sucked? LOL

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

^^^he has for three years.

[a1bion]

Agreed that Coach K sucked for a long time. Probably longer than three years.

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

they both have (Coach K and Phillips).

To be fair, though, to Coach K...Phillips has been a waste of a scholarship at his position.