Adding one more vet OT is imortant for 2024. Out of spring Barber and Goodwin looked like they would be capable starting SEC caliber OTs with higher end potentail. I thought George would be an adequate 3rd OT and hoped Herman would be OK as a 4th OT, if needed, and hoped Waites could come back from the achillies injury. UF just needed the OTs to stay healthy or see development from the resveres. None of that happened except for some progress with Barber and Waits. Goodwin had to leave school, Barber was hurt a lot, George had to start and struggled, Herman was bad as a 3rd or 4th OT and was passed over by the graduated Hudson. In a win/win, Herman transfered to Charlotte. Hope he does well... The over all poor play at OT was the offenses biggest issue in 2023. Going into spring 2024, things look better. Barber is now a vetran and proven quality OT when healthy. He got banged up a bit, though. He missed time and wasn't the same when banged up. Still feel real good about him at this point. Adding BCD was an excellent start. From a couple guys I talk to about this stuff, they say he's a legit SEC OT. May even be the LT with Barber at RT where he could be an all SEC type player. Big upgrade in starting experience for the projected OTs in 2024 compared to 2023. The depth should also be better in 2024. Waites and George as backups are OK. Waites looked better to me; I have him as the 3rd OT with upside potential. George as the 4th OT is a good fit. Both these guys, like Barber, now have a lot more experience which is plus going into 2024. Caden Jones goes into spring as the 5th OT. Have a lot of hope for him, but we need to wait until after spring to evaluate him. So, looking better at OT going into 2024, especially with experience. However, as we witnessed this year a few things can mess it up pretty quickly. To avoid the same situation in 2024, UF needs one more vet OT to provide the necessary depth. The two names I've heard about are previous Gators Goodwin and Tarquin. Any updates on them? I know Tarq has a lot of interest from other schools. Not thinking he comes back, but from what I understand it is posable. His transfer was pure business. He likes UF and the coaches and the coaches like him. Goodwin is a big mystery. A real tough situation. From the one thing I heard was he was looking over his options after Chrstmas with people thinking Louisville is the best guess if he goes to school in january at all. Although, like with Tarq, he liked UF and UF liked him; we'll see. I'm rooting for him whatever he decides to do. Any other OT vets CBN interested in? Update: Per Candy (post 11), Goodwin will not return.
George needs to move inside. He is not a viable OT. Goodwin can hardly be called a veteran unless the only metric is attended college for more than one year.
Didn’t Goodwin leave to be near his sick mom? Hopefully she’s better but I thought he had already picked Louisville before the season? Why is tarquin leaving, I know he was passed up but didn’t he go out there because of a gf? Maybe she graduated/they broke up. was a baby involved too? Either would be fine for depth Waites being healthy during the offseason and Story actually being here for it will hopefully be huge for their development. If they come along we might actually be ok
George was very servicable at RT. He's a good asset there. He can play LT in an emergency, and did. I'm certinanly not gonna vilify him for strugling against a guy who looks like a top 15ish draft pick in April. Goodwin played and entire season at UK and has had two complete springs on his resume. Now if calling that a "vetran" grinds your gears then go by his standing. He would be by far the most skilled and highly rated OT on the roster. After last spring he was the Gators OT1 by a lot of evaluators and at worst OT2. Goodwins return to UF would give UF their strongest OT room probably since the Tebow era. So, yeah, I'd like that metric a lot.
George struggled against more than just Verse...it was virtually every game. He is an emergency OT, not a serviceable OT. BTW, saying that he struggled isn't "vilifying" him, its pointing out the obvious that even announcers on our broadcasts have mentioned. Goodwin may have showed out in Spring ball at UF, I wouldn't know. His season at UK consisted of zero starts and at least through 10/21 snaps only on the FG unit. He is certainly more of a veteran than the guys entering from HS, but has very little game experience. If the coaches are comfortable in taking him back and he wants to be here, that would sound good to me.
Spike explained Goodwin's situation- The thought was he was going to UL, but he took the semester and season off. Don't know what he's thinking now. Like I mentioned, he liked UF and UF liked him. We'll see. Tarq made mostly a business move. USC looked like a heck of spot for him. The season didnt work out for USC or Tarq, so he's back in the portal. A lot of interest in him. Waites and Story's development this spring will be interesting.
I've heard he is not in condition to play football right now mentally and physically. Hard to blame him. Can't imagine his mindset right now.
It's going to take awhile to get out of this Oline hole. Unless the guys we have surprise. I suppose S&C improvement could help but we need nasty warrior dispositions. I don't blame our 2 coaches, although I think there should be effective mental and physical drills for eliminating false starts at least. There should be no further excuses for improper execution after 2 years and another off season.
First, what "hole"? What's your take on the current status of the OL and the eight (8) 2023/24 HS signees? A couple things still up in the air with guys going pro and the portal. As much as some love to hate CBN, the haters can't logically whine about what he's done with the OL portal his first two offseasons. He just needs to repete his success this year and the OL would be in very good shape.
Mullen's hole. It takes a few years of recruiting and development to compete at the top of the SEC. Perhaps quicker with excellent transfers.
I think one of those mental drills is the OL freeze when D jumps offsides. While I wouldn't have much of a problem doing something like that in practice, it should never be done in game and I have to question any OL coach that has them doing it in the game. When the ball is obviously hiked, there is zero reason to just stand there and let your qb run for their life. Sorry, just a pet-peeve of mine...
I thought Mullen left a solid group on the OL. Braun transfered out early, but was upgraded by Torrence. There was a solid 8 man group ready to play in 2022. They ended up solid to good by any standard. There was a hole this year when White and Tarquin surprisingly trasnfered. Then, other than Williams, the 2022 transition OL recruting class flamed out. CBN tried to fix it with Mazz and the other transfers. Had a solid 7-man group ready to play after spring, just needed some good luck and good health, espedially at OT. Well, that certainly didn't work out. Now going into 2024's S&C season and spring, CBN is very close to having the OL in good shape. Really like the four FR from 2023 and reading very good things about the four FR from this years class. Need to see who's still here post Jan 3rd portal deadline and the 15th for draft declaration deadline to evaluate the depth chart. Then see how CBN finishes the portal additions for spring. Just need a couple things to go UF's way for the 2024 OL to play a lot more like the 2018 and 2022 OLs.
He had good moments at RT. If he's a year better he could play there again in 2024. I still like him as RT2. You're probably right about a move to RG being his best bet. A solid swing RG/ROT is very valuable. We'll see what the roster looks like going into spring and how it plays out. We'll update after the spring game.
Agree with Mullen leaving a solid group. losing Braun and Tarquin hurt a lot. Westphal was a big get. We have got to prioritize HS OL recruiting.
