There was some moving and some shaking along the defensive line for Friday's practice. It appears that the Florida football staff is ready to move some players around along the line to get some production. Here is a report on the defense at Florida’s tenth practice of the spring.
10 yard tackle drill...They have been starting from 15 yards, but today they lined up a ball carrier 10 yards from the defender and the ball had to get by the defender and in bounds for ten yards. Here is what happened.
WR Carl Moore with a great move on Saf Major Wright, scores...LB Dustin Doe gets RB Kestahn Moore down...LB Lorenzo Edwards gets RB Mon Williams...Major Wright gets WR Deonte Thompson...RB Emmanuel Moody gets by LB John Jones...Carl Moore gets by CB Janoris Jenkins...John Jones gets RB Chris Rainey out of bounds...Doe takes RB Brandon James out of bounds...Kestahn Moore sneaks by LB Brandon Spikes...LB Brandon Hicks takes it out on Mon Williams...LB Lorenzo Edwards handles Moody right at the take off point...Rainey dances and gets by John Jones...James gets by Brandon Spikes...Doe takes down Kestahn...Saf John Curtis gets Deonte...Lorenzo Edwards really takes down Moody...Rainey makes a sweet move on John Jones...Kestahn Moore gets a big hit from Spikes, but stays on his feet and finishes...Moody lowers his shoulder and knocks down Hicks, but Hicks was able to corral him...Mon Williams overpowers John Jones...LB Jerimy Finch takes down Rainey...Spikes breaks down Moody...Mon Williams escapes from John Jones...Hicks takes down Moody to end it.
Lorenzo Edwards was the star of this particular drill. He had his best day in the drill by far and took down every ball carrier he faced. Oddly enough, it was Spikes worst attempt at the drill.
9 on 7 was on tap next and the Gator running game squared off against the run defense. Here is the lowdown…
Kestahn Moore starts off with a nice middle run...Matt Patchan slips a block and gets to Cam Newton behind the line of scrimmage, then the whistle never blows, so Patchan body slams Newton (this should be on video)...Patchan in the backfield again to get Mon Williams (Mon is a little ticked off)...Rainey scoots around the left end with ease...Rainey fumbles in the middle of the pack, Offensive Line Coach Steve Addazio was all over him yelling “you just cost us the football game, you just cost us the football game Rainey!!”...Moody makes a nice run up the middle...Newton keeps for a nice gain up the middle...Rainey escapes from a run left that that side caves in, then cuts back into the middle for a big gainer.
The offense won a spirited drill here. It was close however and the defense made the running backs improvise probably far more than the staff would have liked them to have to.
7 on 7 was the next big practice session and pitted the passing part of the offense against the back seven of the defense. Here are some highlights…
Blitz by CB Jacques Rickerson and he breaks up a QB Tim Tebow pass...Major Wright breaks up a long corner pass from Tebow to James about 20 yards down field...CB Moses Jenkins just misses seven yard out pass to WR Justin Williams along the right sideline...CB Janoris Jenkins breaks up a pass to Justin Williams...QB John Brantley rolls out and throws a deep crossing pattern to Brandon James and his half brother Jacques Rickerson is there to break it up...Brantley tries a corner pass to James this time, but Rickerson is there yet again to break it up...16 yard Dig route and Carl Moore grabs it up in traffic...Moore runs a deep post or slant and Tebow hits him just as he cuts for a long pass in traffic, Heater is all over Janoris Jenkins for not making a better play...Finch is right there on a sideline pass to Hernandez, but Hernandez is too tough and stabs the ball out of the air and heads up field after contact...WR Louis Murphy beats CB Wondy Pierre-Louis off the ball and Tebow launches a bomb, Murphy has three steps on Wondy but is overthrown...Newton throws a bullet on a post pattern to TE Cornelius Ingram, Dustin Doe gets a finger on it as the ball goes through both hands, but it was enough to deflect away from Ingram...Murphy again gets a step on Wondy, but Tebow overthrows him just a little bit...CB Joe Haden is deep and breaks up a bomb from Newton to Deonte Thompson, the ball traveled at least 45 yards in the air and Haden was there to knock it away...Carl Moore makes a nice grab in traffic on a throw from Brantley...Joe Haden breaks up another deep ball to Murphy on the right hand side
Blitz protection drill was next on the agenda and through the first three weeks the offensive line was protecting well in the drill. The defensive line change up quite a bit today and things got a little interesting. Here is what I saw…
Matt Patchan was making life very difficult with his big body, explosiveness, and tenacity he made a few plays in there. In the passing down set (3rd and long type situations), the first team line was Cunningham and Dunlap at defensive end, and Trattou and Patchan at defensive tackle...On one play, Strong was all over Lorenzo Edwards to make a play...Patchan received more praise before the end of the drill…
They set up for kick returners next and the 1st set of returners were Kestahn Moore and Brandon James, the second set consisted of Chris Rainey and Deonte Thompson.
3rd and Long situations (11 on 11), Here is what I saw…
Patchan and Carlos Dunlap at defensive tackle, Justin Trattou and Jermaine Cunningham at defensive end...Tebow overthrows Murphy deep on the first play… Tebow then hits Brandon James on a corner pattern for about 22 yards...Patchan gets a coverage sack of Tebow...Doe and Ingram tangle on a long corner pattern and Tebow overthrows Ingram on the play...Tebow rolls out and has decent protection, but Dunlap gets to him after a bit of a delay and Tebow forces an errant throw to Ingram that is almost picked by Wondy...2nd defensive line is Terron Sanders, Troy Epps, Earl Okine, and Duke Lemmens...Finch had an interception go right through his mitts, it was a 15 yard laser from Cam Newton...second linebackers are Finch and Lorenzo Edwards in the passing situations...Jeremy Brown had excellent coverage on Justin Williams, but Williams made an excellent grab of a mid range sideline pass...Ahmad Black was all over Aaron Hernandez, but Hernandez was too strong for him. Heater was all over Black about making the play anyway...Newton overthrows Rowley and Black intercepts a bullet about 25 yards deep...Rickerson breaks up a corner pass from Tebow to Ingram...Carl Moore with another tough catch and Janoris Jenkins all over him...Jeremy Brown with another pass break up on Justin Williams…
Two Minute Drill...Two total series, Tebow gets the first, Newton and Brantley split the second.
Three man rush, Dunlap and Cunningham at end and Trattou at tackle...Tebow connects on a slant pass in front of Jacques Rickerson...Ingram 23 yard bullet from Tebow on a corner route over Jacques Rickerson...short pass to Hernandez nets six yards, Doe on the stop...Ingram takes an eight yard crosser for about 16 yards total before being touched down...Tebow downs the ball on first down to stop the clock...Major Wright gets Deonte Thompson behind the line of scrimmage on a screen, Wright yells out, “I’m not going to kill him, not yet!!”...Major Wright and Hernandez tangle up at the goal line and a pass sails over their heads...Tebow hits Hernandez at the front of the end zone for a touchdown, Hernandez pushed off on Wright, but no-call.
Next series...Newton runs for first down...Carl Moore takes a mid range out rout from newton and turns it up field without being touched for about 30 plus yards, the ball is spotted at the 33 yard line going in...Edwards breaks up a bullet pass to Tate Casey on first down...Earl Okine bats down a ball at the line of scrimmage...Brantley comes in to finish...Jeremy brown breaks up a pass from Brantley to Butch Rowley on the far side, Brown starts strutting a little bit after the play...Brantley hits a slant pattern inside for about ten yards...that was it.
Defensive Line
1st team: DE Trattou, DT Dunlap, DT Marsh, DE Cunningham
2nd Team DE Earl Okine-Jaye Howard, DT Troy Epps-Terron Sanders, DT John Brown, DE Duke Lemmens
What I Liked: Silently I have been screaming for Trattou and Dunlap to be on the field at the same time. They have been two of the top three linemen all spring. Today they did it, but without really going full go, it was hard to tell the success...One guy that did look really good was Patchan, who has sneaky quickness, and big time tenacity on the football field. He was tough for the bigger and slower linemen to handle and until he faced Trautwein, really wasn’t stopped all that much. Okine also made a play or two today.
What I Didn’t Like: The tackles are starting to disappear. They haven’t stepped up this spring and it looks a little like they are being overtaken by some talented ends that need to get on the field.
Linebacker:
1st Team: Spikes, Doe, Hicks (AJ Jones injured)
2nd Team: Edwards, Finch, John Jones (Stamper and Beal injured)
What I Liked: Lorenzo Edwards was impressive in the tackling drill and made it look easy...Dustin Doe also had a very good practice, he was in on three pass break up s and had his best day in the tackling drill...It was good to see John Jones out there in some of the drills too...Jerimy Finch still stays active and seems to be the second most active linebacker out there behind Spikes at times…
What I Didn’t Like: Spikes had an off day, not bad, just off from his usual...I want to see more of Finch and Edwards on the field.\
Defensive Backs:
1st team: CB Haden, CB Pierre-Louis, Saf Wright, Saf Munroe
2nd Team: CB Markihe Anderson, CB Rickerson, Saf Black, Saf John Curtis
3rd Team CB Moses Jenkins, CB Janoris Jenkins, CB Jeremy Brown, Saf Jamar Hornsby, Saf Bryan Thomas
What I Liked: Rickerson broke up a ton of passes today. Most were of the deep ball variety, but it looked like they tried to pick on him a lot and he more times than not came through with flying colors...It was one of major Wright’s best days. He broke up several passes himself and was a vocal leader at times today...I though Jeremy brown had his best practice and also showed a little brashness when he strutted after his last pass break up. It was actually good to see that from the freshman after a solid day’s performance...Ahmad Black is still making plays at safety.
What I Didn’t Like: The group is coming on strong. I just wish we could see more of guys like Bryan Thomas and Janoris Jenkins to really get a judge on them.
Odds and Ends...
Players of the Day.
I have to go with two, Matt Patchan and Jacques Rickerson. Patchan was a real surprise out there today and caused some headaches for some of the offensive linemen he went against. He could actually make the defensive line rotation very interesting from here on out. Defensive Line Coach Dan McCarney had this to say after practice about Patchan.
“We are taking a look at him,” McCarney said after Patchan played with the first unit in some situations during the day. “He is real sudden, he is playing fast, he has good skills pass rushing. I am trying to find the four best guys to throw out there in base and nickel...He is a guy that plays with constant relentlessness and plays real fast. I am going to get him in there and take a look at him. Learning the game and he has the personality and temperament and toughness we are all looking for on the defensive line. He is going to have a real good career before it is all over at Florida.”
Rickerson broke up at least four long passes on the day and had he picked off one, he would have stolen the whole damn show. He has the quickest feet of the corners, but is also probably the smallest of the group. That didn’t matter today as he made play after play and was thrown on all day.
Runner Up: Lorenzo Edwards comes to play every day in practice. I like what he is doing out there on the football field.
High School Prospect Watch: There were a couple of big name prospects in attendance today in Naples offensive lineman Nick Alajajian and Memphis (TN) OL Austin Long. Another big offensive lineman that has been out there a lot this spring and again today is Gainesville HS prospect Kendall Kelly. The kid is massive and supposed to be pretty good.
