Gatorhead said it without ruffling feathers. Three years to recruit, two cycles of portal acquisition, two OL coaches, three OCs. Nothing could help our players more than the staff being better. IF we actually have the talent- and there are no excuses if we do not- the staff will coach them and they will play well. That's it.
if we have to focus on one area (amongst many), i believe we have to consistently get 3rd down stops on D. We acnnot allow teams to run and pass all ovet the field, like LSU and Ky did last year. im hopeful our middle D will be much improved with Shemar coming back, Pup Howard and Asa Turner manning tne middle. This along with improved coaching from the new guys may turn the tide.
At the risk of offending the OP, the one that really needs to step up is Billy Napier. No more unforced errors, not more poorly designed plays, no more horrendous play calls in clutch situations. If he “steps up,” we have a chance, and so does he. It’s “show me” time.
He's not the only one that needs to step-up, but yes, his game-prep and game-day coaching needs to improve right along with the play on the field. Get both and we could be in store for decent season.
The over weight defensive lineman need to loose some pounds and get some SEC explosiveness and speed. There is still time before the season, so I hope they get it done. The biggest question mark on this team is the wide receivers. We need some guys that flat out want the ball and love the being in the biggest moments.
He's proven himself already with several clutch catches. I was referring to those WR's who haven't stepped their play up yet.
Last yea If those three have a really good year, I would expect the tightends and rbs will too. A Podcaster thought Mertz could eclipse 3,000 yards passing, and he nearly reached that with the awful OL in 2023! Trey said in an interview that he is really impressed with Dike. Go Gators!
Wilson is legit, but the others? We will see how they do. UF needs some dogs to go to the next level.
I will try to go with the spirit of the OP and choose a spot and not use a scattergun. The D-line, especially pass rushing. If that works, the rest of the back 7 can play within their skills. If not, then they have to compensate. And we may not have enough of the right players to do that. Close second: O-line, pass blocking.
I'll admit that I'm not an Xs and Os person, but it seemed to me that some games the offense moved the ball really well and the people Rejoiced, "great play-calling". Some games, not so much, and the people decried, "terrible play-calling". I think it was more execution than anything else and a lot of that was due to Jimmies and Joes. Time after time, a defender would run free to the QB after the RT or RB2 whiffed on a block. That's all on execution. That said, there were a few momments of WTF are calling that play for, try to get cute and lose 10 yards on 3rd and 4. I recall after pUKe ran roughshod over us, espcially in the 1st half, where a post-game analysis noted that we had the correct D called, just took bad angles, missed tackles, or were indecisive. Pin the tail on execution!
They had a very bad Defensive plan for what UK did for almost the whole 1st half. They came out in the nickel like Leary was going to carve them up and then after witnessing that UK had a run-heavy plan and Leary couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, didn't adjust until it was bordering on too late. I'm not saying the execution was good...it wasn't, but when you can't stop the run with 6 in the box or you're sneaking up a light in the pants Safety, its time to get some bigger boys on the field.
OL and LBs. If so we can get 8 wins maybe more. Johnson will get 1000 plus yards rushing this year. We have good backups,plus speed at WR, and a good QB. I don't buy 4-5 wins we will be much better. New coaches, will be a big help as will the players from portol. Tough schedule for sure but we have not seen those teams yet. Very Hopeful for this year
