Good start for freshman defenders
Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 5:57 pm
I caught myself in an unusually happy mood this morningon the way to a practice that began before the sun rose in the east.Usually if I’m watching the sun rise it’s because someone or somethinghas kept me up all night. I think my good mood was there because forthe first time in several years --- yes even the championship season--- I can envision special things from this Gator football team. Thiswas a practice of freshmen and most of them won’t even contribute muchthis season but still, I’m caught up in the excitement about a teamthat has a chance to be very, very good. Watching the freshmen who playon the defensive side of the ball, I came away thinking that thisprogram is in good shape for many years to come.
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Maybe they just grow them better these days than in years past but itjust seems that the freshmen arrive bigger, stronger, and faster thanever before. More likely, it is the level of talent that is beingrecruited at the University of Florida. Bolstered by three consecutivetop three recruiting classes, Urban Meyer and his staff have a teamthat has almost reached that perpetual reload status.
Watching the freshmen Monday, it was evident that some of these young guys have a chance to make an immediate impact.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: The rumors haven’t been positive for one JohnBrown, but Monday morning nobody got more pats on the back fromdefensive line coach Dan McCarney than Brown. He looked quick anddecisive, just what he needs to show when playing. Of course it wasmostly drill work, so when the pads go on and everything is racingaround at break neck tempo we will find out about how fast Brown ispicking it all up. Ronnie Wilson was out there and physically lookedspectacular. He moves very well and runs as well as any linemanincluding the defensive ends. He will likely be the tallest defensivetackle outside of Matt Patchan so leverage will be key when the padscome on and they start hitting. If today was a test, he would get an Afor physical readiness. Omar Hunter was a little heavy and struggledwhen the defense had to run. The staff is all about a defense that runswell. Still, he is as quick as anyone in short stretches and has anoverpowering punch and quickness with his arms as well as his feet. Hewill play, but does need to trim down. Patchan looked huge compared tohis spring weight and has to be up more than 25 pounds after recoveringfrom mononucleosis. The key for him like others will be if he canmaintain the quickness he had in the spring where he was much too quickfor the offensive linemen at times.
BEST PRACTICE: Goes to John Brown who was constantly getting thepraises of Dan McCarney on the day and looked very quick. Wilson was aclose second. He really looked good for a guy that hasn’t playedfootball in a year.
DEFENSIVE END: Earl Okine looks all of 270 pounds right now andhas a dominating physique. I think he has to mature into that bodyweight a little and looked like it was dragging him down, but you canreally see glimpses from Earl that he will be special. William Greenwas the smallest lineman, but man he wasn’t small at all. Surprisingly,he looked in the 230 range already and much more solid than I wasexpecting today. He has the quickest first step of everyone out therein a group of linemen that are very quick.
BEST PRACTICE: Green was very quick and was pushed by the staff a lot today.
LINEBACKER: Brandon Hicks worked out with the freshmen eventhough he is a sophomore in 2008. They need enough bodies for eachposition and Hicks looked great. He is one of my picks to make animpact this season. One of the more surprising physiques on day one isthat of Lerentee McCray. I would say he looks like a solid 220 orbetter and that is after running track in the spring where he wascompeting in state long jump competitions. I’d say McCray is as big asHicks or really close to it already. Brendan Beal is getting bigger andI honestly don’t know if he should get too much bigger. Not that thisshould count against him but he got caught up in coverage on JeffreyDemps one time and that got a laugh from Meyer. A little bit more sizefrom Beal and he will be headed to the front four in my opinion.
BEST PRACTICE: I will go with McCray who surprised me with his size and still looked lightning fast like he showed in high school.
CORNERBACKS: Janoris Jenkins just has that lean body muscle lookto him where he is thick but toned and very muscular. He is smooth andstarted where he left off in the spring. Jeremy Brown looks like he hasalready added weight since the spring and is another smooth corner. Idon’t know if these two need to play this fall, but it will be hard tokeep them off the field. Vince Brown is a walk-on and Gator greatVernell Brown’s younger brother. He is smaller, but a good player inhis own right. Adrian Bushell gets an incomplete as he was out there inshirt and shorts and apparently not able to participate. I will assumeit is from not getting clearance from the Clearinghouse.
BEST PRACTICE: Tough call but in a close one it goes to Janoris Jenkins, who assistant coach Vance Bedford seemed to appreciate a lot today.
SAFETIES: Before it is all over Will Hill may be the mostimportant new addition to the Gator football team. When I first saw himI was quite surprised at how filled out he was and almost worried thatit might be too much for the position. He seems to have gained at least15 pounds of thickness since we saw him at the Under ArmourAll-American Game practices in January, but he also seemed to run verywell today. We will have to keep an eye on him when everyone getstogether and see how his speed compares to the other safeties onroster. T.J. Lawrence was a surprise move to safety from receiver buthe looks the part. I would say he has the muscular look of a MajorWright back there, but we will have to see if his ball skills take overwhen the pads come on and he is an instinctive player like a Wright isand a Hill seems to be. He got a lot of extra work today and had to dothings a few times over, but that is expected from someone thatprobably switched positions very recently.
BEST PRACTICE: Hill looked fluid and with his added weight couldbe a real force in the secondary. I am optimistic that he will be ahuge impact this season.
ODDS AND ENDS: I am sure Cody touched on this in his report, butJeffrey Demps took a short pass from the quarterback in 7-on-7 drillsand headed outside from a dead stop. His speed was absolutely unrealand the flat-footed Beal and both other linebackers were left farbehind by the speedster who went racing up the sideline. Meyer chuckledat Beal and just started screaming “Speed, speed, speed!!”
Coach Bedford on his way out of the gate was getting on all the fansand media in attendance and joking around when he said, “It’s early inthe morning and you guys are all here and have no lives!! But, you surelove your football!!”
Today,Gator Country’s practice coverage is FREE to give you an idea of whatwe deliver to our valued members. We’ve set the standard for practicecoverage and continue to do so. Not a member? Join today and don’t miss out on the rest of our excellent practice coverage!
Maybe they just grow them better these days than in years past but itjust seems that the freshmen arrive bigger, stronger, and faster thanever before. More likely, it is the level of talent that is beingrecruited at the University of Florida. Bolstered by three consecutivetop three recruiting classes, Urban Meyer and his staff have a teamthat has almost reached that perpetual reload status.
Watching the freshmen Monday, it was evident that some of these young guys have a chance to make an immediate impact.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: The rumors haven’t been positive for one JohnBrown, but Monday morning nobody got more pats on the back fromdefensive line coach Dan McCarney than Brown. He looked quick anddecisive, just what he needs to show when playing. Of course it wasmostly drill work, so when the pads go on and everything is racingaround at break neck tempo we will find out about how fast Brown ispicking it all up. Ronnie Wilson was out there and physically lookedspectacular. He moves very well and runs as well as any linemanincluding the defensive ends. He will likely be the tallest defensivetackle outside of Matt Patchan so leverage will be key when the padscome on and they start hitting. If today was a test, he would get an Afor physical readiness. Omar Hunter was a little heavy and struggledwhen the defense had to run. The staff is all about a defense that runswell. Still, he is as quick as anyone in short stretches and has anoverpowering punch and quickness with his arms as well as his feet. Hewill play, but does need to trim down. Patchan looked huge compared tohis spring weight and has to be up more than 25 pounds after recoveringfrom mononucleosis. The key for him like others will be if he canmaintain the quickness he had in the spring where he was much too quickfor the offensive linemen at times.
BEST PRACTICE: Goes to John Brown who was constantly getting thepraises of Dan McCarney on the day and looked very quick. Wilson was aclose second. He really looked good for a guy that hasn’t playedfootball in a year.
DEFENSIVE END: Earl Okine looks all of 270 pounds right now andhas a dominating physique. I think he has to mature into that bodyweight a little and looked like it was dragging him down, but you canreally see glimpses from Earl that he will be special. William Greenwas the smallest lineman, but man he wasn’t small at all. Surprisingly,he looked in the 230 range already and much more solid than I wasexpecting today. He has the quickest first step of everyone out therein a group of linemen that are very quick.
BEST PRACTICE: Green was very quick and was pushed by the staff a lot today.
LINEBACKER: Brandon Hicks worked out with the freshmen eventhough he is a sophomore in 2008. They need enough bodies for eachposition and Hicks looked great. He is one of my picks to make animpact this season. One of the more surprising physiques on day one isthat of Lerentee McCray. I would say he looks like a solid 220 orbetter and that is after running track in the spring where he wascompeting in state long jump competitions. I’d say McCray is as big asHicks or really close to it already. Brendan Beal is getting bigger andI honestly don’t know if he should get too much bigger. Not that thisshould count against him but he got caught up in coverage on JeffreyDemps one time and that got a laugh from Meyer. A little bit more sizefrom Beal and he will be headed to the front four in my opinion.
BEST PRACTICE: I will go with McCray who surprised me with his size and still looked lightning fast like he showed in high school.
CORNERBACKS: Janoris Jenkins just has that lean body muscle lookto him where he is thick but toned and very muscular. He is smooth andstarted where he left off in the spring. Jeremy Brown looks like he hasalready added weight since the spring and is another smooth corner. Idon’t know if these two need to play this fall, but it will be hard tokeep them off the field. Vince Brown is a walk-on and Gator greatVernell Brown’s younger brother. He is smaller, but a good player inhis own right. Adrian Bushell gets an incomplete as he was out there inshirt and shorts and apparently not able to participate. I will assumeit is from not getting clearance from the Clearinghouse.
BEST PRACTICE: Tough call but in a close one it goes to Janoris Jenkins, who assistant coach Vance Bedford seemed to appreciate a lot today.
SAFETIES: Before it is all over Will Hill may be the mostimportant new addition to the Gator football team. When I first saw himI was quite surprised at how filled out he was and almost worried thatit might be too much for the position. He seems to have gained at least15 pounds of thickness since we saw him at the Under ArmourAll-American Game practices in January, but he also seemed to run verywell today. We will have to keep an eye on him when everyone getstogether and see how his speed compares to the other safeties onroster. T.J. Lawrence was a surprise move to safety from receiver buthe looks the part. I would say he has the muscular look of a MajorWright back there, but we will have to see if his ball skills take overwhen the pads come on and he is an instinctive player like a Wright isand a Hill seems to be. He got a lot of extra work today and had to dothings a few times over, but that is expected from someone thatprobably switched positions very recently.
BEST PRACTICE: Hill looked fluid and with his added weight couldbe a real force in the secondary. I am optimistic that he will be ahuge impact this season.
ODDS AND ENDS: I am sure Cody touched on this in his report, butJeffrey Demps took a short pass from the quarterback in 7-on-7 drillsand headed outside from a dead stop. His speed was absolutely unrealand the flat-footed Beal and both other linebackers were left farbehind by the speedster who went racing up the sideline. Meyer chuckledat Beal and just started screaming “Speed, speed, speed!!”
Coach Bedford on his way out of the gate was getting on all the fansand media in attendance and joking around when he said, “It’s early inthe morning and you guys are all here and have no lives!! But, you surelove your football!!”