Spring Football – Swampie’s Assessment

by Swampie on April 9, 2009

Surprise of the Spring
- Sam Robie is having a strong spring, by now this is no surprise.  A while back he was one of the recruits this man really liked. Two reasons, the first was because of his bloodlines. Ok his father was a basketball player, but he was a good one and to this man bloodlines usually carry over in two aspects. One is the athletic ability and two which is unspoken but there is the drive a person needs to push them to achieve. So many with good bloodlines have that and it’s as important as the athletic ability. Robie #50 to the right has it but what I like even more about him being a center is he was a good basketball player too. Gives this man a warm fuzzy feeling when this kid will be doing all those shot gun snaps in the near future and his rapid improvement gives this staff even more options than ever with the OL.

Swampie Assessment Part One…
With Sam Robie’s play and Urban Meyer’s comment about him being in the starting five this fall talk has been about Maurkice Pouncey being moved. And this comes from Meyer. This man thinks the best lineup next fall on the offensive line is…

LT LG OC RG RT
Jr Ma Pouncey Jr Mi Pouncey RFr S Robie RJr C Johnson RJr M Gilbert
6-5, 319 6-5, 320 6-4, 291 6-5, 342 6-5, 320


Of course you could leave Mike Pouncey at RG and Carl Johnson at LG the positions they are used to playing. But if Maurkice is your best lineman then wouldn’t you want him at the most difficult spot to play on the offensive line? Left tackle is still the most difficult spot isn’t it?

(Maurkice Pouncey to the left, if he played LT his right shoulder wouldn’t have as much wear and tear…)

Defensive linemen coming on!
- If Omar Hunter is getting to where this staff hoped he would be when he arrived on campus last summer we should be in high cotton. Reports are sounding good on the defensive front. Jay Howard is coming on while in the summer Gary Brown is coming in. Howard is packing 305 pounds and feels fast. We got plenty of meat, potatoes and hot sauce on our DL, we are deep with it.

Swampie Assessment Part Two…
Wonder if they will ever redshirt anyone again on the defensive line? Read somewhere that they might have 10 guys ready to play this fall. Lawrence Marsh and Terron Sanders each red shirted and it worked out alright for them. If this is the final season of Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham (it is for JC he’s a senior), then Justin Trattou would have a year left.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Trattou had two left after those two moved on. It would give him plenty of time to get ready for the next level but he probably wouldn’t want to miss out on a very real shot at a national championship run this year.

(To the right is Omar Hunter, the beast)

Some kids could use a little separation. After Dunlap and Cunningham leave there is a bit of a drop off.  But don’t look for the shirt to happen with Trattou.  Heck Hunter burnt up his freshman season last year and he didn’t play much.  OK this segment was lame just wrote it to get the photo of Hunter in.  Moving on to the reason I wrote this…

Florida is loaded almost everywhere…
In case you haven’t heard the Gators are loaded at many positions…
OL – they could have eight ready to play, but maybe only three OTs…
QB – Florida has two really good QBs, one guy named Tebow is pretty daggum good.  Brantley is better than what the vast majority of the SEC teams have.
RB – Gators have lots of them. I really like Rainey, Moody could take over if he steps up. Demps is burning up the track this spring.
TE – OK Hernandez is a guy this man loves, think he’s GREAT! But that’s about it for next fall other than fullback types.
DL – LOADED to the gills.
LB – LOADED to the gills, with Spikes being to the defense what Tebow is to the offense.
DB – LOADED to the gills, this is deeper than Florida has ever been. EVER!
PUNTER – Florida has a terrific punter! Mr Henry…

(Meyer coaching up DE William Green to the left)

Time for the Really Bad News

You heard it from Swampie first…
- Who will replace Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy?

The position of WR could very well be the spot to keep this team from defending its National Championship. Aaron Hernandez will be called upon a lot more next season. But the Gators need go to type play makers for next fall.

One of my team favorites in David Nelson was aided by having Harvin, Murphy and Hernandez on the field. Nelson made some very big plays but in crunch time don’t you think the defense was looking at the other guys first?

All those third down plays Harvin made for the Gators in his career to maintain possession of the football were so much more important than the total of his TDs. Ball control is the key to what Urban Meyer football is all about and Percy saved our fannies countless times.

Usually the great players play great early, some might take a year and only a handful take longer.  Say you point to a guy like Carlos Dunlap, well that’s a strength position, we’re talking skill positions.  Great skill either you have it or you don’t.

It gives this man an uneasy feeling that many of these kids just haven’t stepped up yet.  This year they’ll get their chance, they’ll all get their chance. Can’t understand why another of my favorites Justin Williams hasn’t made a mark at WR always felt he was very talented.

The most talented Gator WR has yet to set foot on campus, Andre Debose. He has Percy like speed they both ran in the 10.5 100m range. Debose is a supreme play maker as evidenced by his career helping Sanford win their first ever state championship with all his great plays and ‘The Catch’ in the state championship game.

This man has hated putting too much on incoming players like Debose pictured above but it’s on him.  Meyer has recently stated Debose was recruited to play Percy’s position.

He is not the next Percy Harvin, he’s the next Andre Debose at Florida. But like the really good ones, he needs to be good from the get go.

Can see it unfolding like this.  Coach Meyer will meet Debose at the registrar’s office with tattoo ink and needle to apply the playbook on the back of his wrists. Offensive Coordinator Steve Addazio will do a Vulcan mind melt to teach Debose the nuances of the offense and Wide Receivers Coach Billy Gonzales will show him to the Gonzales guest bedroom where he’ll stay under lock and key for the next three years.

This is the make or break position at Florida. As strong a team as Florida will be they must throw the ball, they must make first downs. Maybe Swampie’s cheese has slipped off this man’s cracker but if Florida wins another NC Andre Debose will be a big part of it.

Chris Rainey certainly could play the position only thing holding him back is how long he could stay healthy.

The hope is now that Debose will be the final piece, no one else has stepped to the plate, well one is playing baseball but that’s the wrong plate, and others seem to be taking their sweet time.

If there is a point where the Gators fall short this fall it will be here and as veteran as this team is this critical area pretty much rests on the shoulders of a true freshman, just like it did in 2006.  Debose won’t have to do it all, he’ll just have to do his thing at just the right times, just like that other guy did.

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