The Back Alley Archives

The month of July will be a time in which football coaches finish up camps and take some time to be with their families. Fall camp begins and Florida’s season begin in August and while the staff staggers their vacations over what little time is left before Friday Night Lights, graduate assistants and support staff are busy collecting film on Florida’s first two opponents, Hawaii and Miami.

I worked as a quality control (graduate assistant) for the 1993 season, so I have experienced the challenges of getting film together for the season opener. Florida will do a couple of things to prepare for Hawaii. First they will likely secure all 13 games from last season and deem which ones will best serve their purposes for putting together a scouting report. Obviously Hawaii’s game with Georgia in the Sugar Bowl will be good for developing some scouting report tendencies. Any teams that run a spread offense against the Hawaii defense will serve well for Dan Mullen’s breakdown, while any teams that run a base 4-3 will help Charlie Strong and his defensive staff.

I also believe the GA’s will break down the games in which Tyler Graunke stepped in for injured Colt Brennan at quarterback. He was very impressive as a backup and even led the Warriors to a win against Nevada late in the season. I think the most important aspect will be familiarizing themselves with Hawaii’s personnel. Which players show up on tape? What is the favorite blitz down? When the Gators bring the heat who is the hot receiver? These are some of the things you can find out with summer breakdowns to better prepare your team for the season opener.

Dan Mullen and Florida’s offense generally do what they want to do. They will look at a defense on tape and find weak links [individual players] but they usually focus on themselves. I expect Mullen to get in formations that allow Tim Tebow several options.

With Florida having the size and speed advantage, I expect the tougher challenge to come on the defense. Charlie Strong and his staff will have to prepare for a team that threw the ball 663 times last season. Nothing will change in the offensive style under new head coach Greg McMackin. I met Greg several years back when he was Mike Leach’s defensive coordinator at Texas Tech. He likes to throw the ball and the system in place is the one that has put Hawaii on the map. If there are any wrinkles that don’t show up on tape, it will be his use of the running back as the hot receiver. The only way to be good and competitive at Hawaii is to throw the football so this will be a great challenge for UF in the opener.

I also think Florida will gather some tape on the Miami Hurricanes and Kansas Jayhawks. The Canes are the second opponent on the schedule and UF could look at two or game tapes from last season to get a feel for the personnel and system.

You may want to know why Florida would look at Kansas tape, particularly the Kansas-Missouri game. Well, Missouri’s offense is quite similar to Florida’s and Miami’s new defense coordinator is ex-Kansas defensive coordinator Billy Young. I think this is a terrific hire. Believe it or not Mark Mangino was tough to work for and many schools wanted to get Bill Young. Think about it. He had a top five scoring defense at Kansas of all places.

Young will have more talent at Miami than he ever had at Kansas but youth and inexperience will be the by-words. The Hurricanes open with Charleston Southern, which for preparation purposes will do nothing more than help the coaches put names in spots on the depth chart in the scouting report. Florida will have to study some of Miami’s offense from a year ago and some Kansas defensive tape.

Yes I know your wondering why I call it tape? I can’t help it but to me it will always be tape. Today’s technology makes it much easier for graduate assistants and coaches to get what they want quicker and allow players to view DVD’s and programs on there own. If players can watch on their own time there is no reason why each guy can’t be fully prepared for the upcoming season. There may be a few wrinkles by the coaching staffs at Hawaii and Miami, but ultimately it comes down to Jimmies and Joes or as Coach Meyer likes to say a “game of checkers.” Based on what I have seen on film so far this summer the Gators have more Jimmies and Joes and bigger “checkers” than the first two opponents.

THIS AND THAT: Hawaii quarterback Tyler Graunke threw for 1,234yds as a backup last season ... Hawaii’s undersized defense gambled for 31 turnovers last season, including 23 interceptions. Georgia spanked Hawaii pretty good (41-10) but only had 334 yards of total offense …. Hawaii’s defense gave up over 200 yards rushing thee times last season --- Louisana Tech, Nevada and Washington. All three use a spread offense. Florida’s goal is to average 200-plus yards per game this season so the Gators might come out pounding the ball against Hawaii … Hawaii’s defense had 38.5 sacks last season. Hawaii’s offensive line did give up 35 sacks last season, which is about once every 18 pass attempts ... Finally here are some impressive numbers for new Miami defensive coordinator Bill Young at Kansas. Last season rankings for his defense: #4 scoring defense, #12 total defense, #1 turnover margin, #12 with 100 tackles for loss, #4 interceptions and #9 in third down defense at 32 percent. Those are numbers I am sure Randy Shannon wants to see sooner and not later.