UF Spring Practice Woes

[Weeze]

Gators Spring Practice Kicks Off

Practices Spark Concern about upcoming Season.

 

2nd Year Head Coach Weeze(4-8) Observing Practice

 

          The Florida Gator Football team began its springtime practice this past week and according to insiders, there is cause to worry about the up coming season. Which is not what Gator faithful want to here following last season. The Gators went 4-8 in coach Weeze first season, which includes a 1-5 start on the season, in which they barely beat Kent State, lost a very winnable game at home to Maryland, shut out against Nebraska and was only able to score 3 points against Texas A&M. The fans are hoping to see an improvement in Coach Weeze second year. However, rumblings from people inside the building states the early work in spring practices have not been promising. 

 

Coach Weeze working with Fr QB Kevin Jones.

Offense:

          In short, the offense is struggling to find any sort of rhythm and consistency. This is however, not entirely unexpected. The offense is seeing a lot of change over. A lot of starters have either graduated or will be replaced by new players. Ryan Bowman (Jr RB) and Johnathan King (Sr TE) are the only two skilled players returning for the coming season. The O-line is seeing 3 new starters. For a unit that was sneaky good last season, this could be a big deal. Mostly because who the starting QB is going to be is very Unclear. The Job is expected to go to Senior Shareece Kelly. However that could quickly changed as he was "benched" during a team practice as he "looked like he had no idea what play he was running." Over all he is failing to look like the starter. This could open the door for the Freshman, Kevin Jones to fight for the starting Job. However Matt Goldman(Jr) and Alberto Perez(Sr) are also fighting for the same job. 

 

          The Gators coaching staff recognized the major shift in personnel at the end of the season and spoke publicly that they are reviewing not only game tape, but practice tape to try and decide the next step. The coaching staff stated on several occasions since then that the offense is going to look very different than it did last season. Coach Weeze spoke to not only the players going through growing pains, he stated he and his staff also went through them as well. Trying to find a balance with the offense play calling, and how aggressive he could be with the current state of the defense. 
"I know we aren't expected to make a serious run this season, but these young men know the level of expectation i have, They know we are all aiming to push for an SEC East title. We trust in each other and have faith in the man next to us."

Defense:

          The Defense, much like the offense, is seeing a lot of change. The one true blessing this season is Linebacker Keenan Williams. The Senior decided to come back for one more season despite possibly being a first round player. The QB on defense, the ILB was by far the best player on defense last season, and probably one of the best in the SEC. However Williams can not play all 11 positions. The front Seven as a whole, is young or inexperienced. DE Brandon Martin redshirted last year and could get some playing time this season, however he might find it harder to get on the field as the unit, despite its inexperienced, the unit does look more capable than it did last season. The hope is the run defense takes a step up with the interior of the Dline growing up some. But the edges, and the outside backer positions are still pretty big question marks to watch. 

 

          The secondary is in an off place as it probably is going to take a step back, but still should be the strength of the defense. However they should be challenged a lot more than last season if the run defense takes the step forward everyone is hoping it did. Darrel Capela is the only Corner returning this season, with the Safety positions returning last years starter. Still, the drop off in the other two corner positions should be minimal. Or so coaches and fans hope.

 

There is still a lot of time before the college season kicks off, so gators still have time to figure some things out. However, they need to get a move on and figure it out quickly to give some perspective starters a chance to really step into the role and figure out how to work with the man next to him. The coaches also need time to figure out the strength of each side of the ball with the starters in place. But no matter what, we are all hoping for the best and looking forward to a great season!

[tsweezy]

Yikes. It almost makes one wonder how the coach feels about leaving Arkansas who is poised to make significant noise in the west.

 

On the bright side though, Vandy is always around to pad the floor

Edited March 29, 2023 by tsweezy

[Weeze]

4 hours ago, tsweezy said:

Yikes. It almost makes one wonder how the coach feels about leaving Arkansas who is poised to make significant noise in the west.

 

On the bright side though, Vandy is always around to pad the floor

Imagine how good they would be looking if I had recruited a second year in a row

 

my goal this year is to finish in the middle. A couple surprise wins and beat the teams I’m suppose to. Unlike last season

[Sarge]

Great write up Weeze. Really optimistic with how Florida is recruiting. Kelly lacking is not a surprise and it would be a happy surprise if the Freshman won the job.