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- Dec 22, 2011
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The transformation on the O-line is legitimate
It didn't take long out at practice to be willing to give a major cap tip to director of strength and conditioning Nick Savage. It was pretty readily apparent which of the freshman offensive linemen were early enrollees.
FIRST, THESE ARE GAYTOR PLAYERS WHO ARE UNLIKELY TO PLAY VS. UM (EXCEPT IN THE SECOND HALF, WHEN THEY ARE WINNING BY 40). AND GAYTOR FANS RIP US FOR POSSIBLY STARTING ZION.
The Gators need at least a handful of a five-man signing class on the O-line to pan out early, and based on sheer physical appearance and movement it now looks like that might be possible.
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT UNIT OF MEASUREMENT FOR THE ******** GAYTOR FANS. AND SPEAKING OF ******** MATERIAL, BASED SOLELY ON PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, GOLDKAMP HAS COME TO A HIGHLY CERTAIN CONCLUSION.
Early on in the stretching and warm-up sessions, it was very apparent how much work a handful of the freshmen have put in in the weight room.
TOLD YOU.
Right tackle Michael Tarquin was pretty underdeveloped in his upper body this spring but now appears very well-balanced in terms of his frame. He looked significantly bulked up in the arms and chest, to the point that he now looks like a capable tackle physically.
HIGH PRAISE. TARQUIN WILL ONLY GET INTO THE UM GAME DURING THE SECOND-HALF GARBAGE TIME, THOUGH. CONGRATS TO TARQUIN FOR DOING THOSE "I MUST, I MUST, I MUST IMPROVE MY BUST" EXERCISES.
It was similar story with right guard William Harrod, who also was quite lean in the upper body this spring. Harrod has had one of the most impressive physical turnarounds on the team in just a few short months, really filling out his frame across the board. He looks the part of a college guard now.
AND, REALLY, THAT'S WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, LOOKS. LOOK GOOD, PLAY GOOD, THAT'S WHAT THE GAYTORS ALWAYS SAY. ANOTHER GUY WHO WILL ONLY GET REPS ONCE THE GAYTORS ARE UP BY 40, WHICH MEANS HE WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL AT LEAST LATE INTO THE SECOND QUARTER.
But the most impressive change had to belong to guard/tackle Ethan White. White came in topping the scales at more than 400 pounds. He has easily lost at least 50 pounds, to our eye. If you hadn't seen the before pictures, you'd probably say something to the effect of, 'Wow, that guy looks great for a freshman.'
SO HE WENT FROM "FAT GUY IN A LITTLE COAT" TO "ONLY" 350 POUNDS. HOW IMPRESSIVE. HE SHOULD BE ANOTHER SECOND-HALF STAR FOR THE DOMINANT FIRST-HALF GAYTORS.
While there's going to be plenty of work for those players to do still to be ready to actually play at the college level, they look miles and miles closer to actually contributing now than they did just a little more than three months ago when spring ball ended. It's hard to overstate the differences physically.
TALK ABOUT MOVING THE GOALPOSTS, GOLDKAMP WENT FROM "O-LINE TRANSFORMATION IS LEGITIMATE" (FOR A "HANDFUL" OF TRUE FRESHMAN OLS) TO "WELL, THEY'RE GONNA NEED A LOT MORE WORK BEFORE THEY ARE READY TO PLAY" IN JUST THE SPAN OF A FEW PARAGRAPHS. GOLDKAMP IS A HERO TO ALL OF THE ON-THE-LEDGE GAYTOR FANS WHO JUST NEEDED A FEW POSITIVE WORDS TO JUMP TO INSANE DELUSIONAL CONCLUSIONS ABOUT HOW GREAT THEIR TEAM IS.
Florida's got some elite athletes away from the trenches
I JUST LOVE THE HEADLINE SO MUCH THAT I HAD TO SHARE IT. NO ELITE ATHLETES IN THE TRENCHES FOR THE GAYTORS.
Other News & Notes
-- In terms of who lined up where on the offensive line, the first day was pretty consistent with the spring. The first-team O-line from left to right was: Stone Forsythe, Brett Heggie, Nick Buchanan, Chris Bleich and Jean Delance. Bleich looked notably leaner and seemed to be moving better than he did in the spring.
GOLDKAMP RAVED ABOUT THE PHYSICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE TRUE FRESHMEN, BUT THE ONLY NICE THING HE CAN SAY ABOUT THE STARTERS IS THAT ONE OF THEM LOOKED NOTABLY LEANER.
-- Freshman offensive lineman Riley Simonds repped at both guard and tackle in individual drills. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Griffin McDowell, who missed spring with an injury following a scooter accident, repped mostly at left guard in individual drills. McDowell appears to have added back some upper body mass.
AGAIN WITH THE NON-STARTER FRESHMEN. GOOD LORD, I WAS STARTING TO GET WORRIED THAT THE GAYTORS WILL FIELD AN ALL-FRESHMEN OFFENSIVE LINE FULL OF LEAN GUYS WITH WELL-DEVELOPED BUSTLINES.
Here are a few other fun facts:
-- Quarterbacks focused on a ball security drill during one individual period, tucking the ball with two hands as they hit the ground face first. They later worked with running backs on exchanges in the run game, then transitioned into throwing a few passes out of the backfield. There wasn't much to note from the group overall. Freshman running back Nay'Quan Wright is the smallest running back in the group. He didn't particularly stand out as an explosive runner or cutter, which was the book on him coming in. He's best known for his vision and constantly making things happen despite having jump-off-the-page athleticism. It will be interesting to see how that translates in the coming practices.
-- In individual drills, the receivers worked with a Jugs machine at one point. The veterans seemed to make the drill old hat, catching virtually everything thrown at them. Joshua Hammond, in particular, continues to display some of the softest hands on the team. A few struggled, though. Toney had at least four drops, including at least one that hit him square in the hands. That was an issue for him in the spring and something he'll need to continue to work on. Meanwhile, both freshmen had drops. Dionte Marks seemed a bit surprised at how quicky the ball came into him off the Jugs machine, twice taking balls off the helmet. Fellow freshman Ja'Markis Weston also had a drop. Weston has a pretty lean frame, something that stood out against the more physically refined veterans.
-- Nickelback John Huggins was not at Friday's practice and is not expected to practice this weekend. UF officials said that Huggins was dealing with a family issue. Starting safety Jeawon Taylor practiced Friday morning in a red non-contact jersey.
It didn't take long out at practice to be willing to give a major cap tip to director of strength and conditioning Nick Savage. It was pretty readily apparent which of the freshman offensive linemen were early enrollees.
FIRST, THESE ARE GAYTOR PLAYERS WHO ARE UNLIKELY TO PLAY VS. UM (EXCEPT IN THE SECOND HALF, WHEN THEY ARE WINNING BY 40). AND GAYTOR FANS RIP US FOR POSSIBLY STARTING ZION.
The Gators need at least a handful of a five-man signing class on the O-line to pan out early, and based on sheer physical appearance and movement it now looks like that might be possible.
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT UNIT OF MEASUREMENT FOR THE ******** GAYTOR FANS. AND SPEAKING OF ******** MATERIAL, BASED SOLELY ON PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, GOLDKAMP HAS COME TO A HIGHLY CERTAIN CONCLUSION.
Early on in the stretching and warm-up sessions, it was very apparent how much work a handful of the freshmen have put in in the weight room.
TOLD YOU.
Right tackle Michael Tarquin was pretty underdeveloped in his upper body this spring but now appears very well-balanced in terms of his frame. He looked significantly bulked up in the arms and chest, to the point that he now looks like a capable tackle physically.
HIGH PRAISE. TARQUIN WILL ONLY GET INTO THE UM GAME DURING THE SECOND-HALF GARBAGE TIME, THOUGH. CONGRATS TO TARQUIN FOR DOING THOSE "I MUST, I MUST, I MUST IMPROVE MY BUST" EXERCISES.
It was similar story with right guard William Harrod, who also was quite lean in the upper body this spring. Harrod has had one of the most impressive physical turnarounds on the team in just a few short months, really filling out his frame across the board. He looks the part of a college guard now.
AND, REALLY, THAT'S WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, LOOKS. LOOK GOOD, PLAY GOOD, THAT'S WHAT THE GAYTORS ALWAYS SAY. ANOTHER GUY WHO WILL ONLY GET REPS ONCE THE GAYTORS ARE UP BY 40, WHICH MEANS HE WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL AT LEAST LATE INTO THE SECOND QUARTER.
But the most impressive change had to belong to guard/tackle Ethan White. White came in topping the scales at more than 400 pounds. He has easily lost at least 50 pounds, to our eye. If you hadn't seen the before pictures, you'd probably say something to the effect of, 'Wow, that guy looks great for a freshman.'
SO HE WENT FROM "FAT GUY IN A LITTLE COAT" TO "ONLY" 350 POUNDS. HOW IMPRESSIVE. HE SHOULD BE ANOTHER SECOND-HALF STAR FOR THE DOMINANT FIRST-HALF GAYTORS.
While there's going to be plenty of work for those players to do still to be ready to actually play at the college level, they look miles and miles closer to actually contributing now than they did just a little more than three months ago when spring ball ended. It's hard to overstate the differences physically.
TALK ABOUT MOVING THE GOALPOSTS, GOLDKAMP WENT FROM "O-LINE TRANSFORMATION IS LEGITIMATE" (FOR A "HANDFUL" OF TRUE FRESHMAN OLS) TO "WELL, THEY'RE GONNA NEED A LOT MORE WORK BEFORE THEY ARE READY TO PLAY" IN JUST THE SPAN OF A FEW PARAGRAPHS. GOLDKAMP IS A HERO TO ALL OF THE ON-THE-LEDGE GAYTOR FANS WHO JUST NEEDED A FEW POSITIVE WORDS TO JUMP TO INSANE DELUSIONAL CONCLUSIONS ABOUT HOW GREAT THEIR TEAM IS.
Florida's got some elite athletes away from the trenches
I JUST LOVE THE HEADLINE SO MUCH THAT I HAD TO SHARE IT. NO ELITE ATHLETES IN THE TRENCHES FOR THE GAYTORS.
Other News & Notes
-- In terms of who lined up where on the offensive line, the first day was pretty consistent with the spring. The first-team O-line from left to right was: Stone Forsythe, Brett Heggie, Nick Buchanan, Chris Bleich and Jean Delance. Bleich looked notably leaner and seemed to be moving better than he did in the spring.
GOLDKAMP RAVED ABOUT THE PHYSICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE TRUE FRESHMEN, BUT THE ONLY NICE THING HE CAN SAY ABOUT THE STARTERS IS THAT ONE OF THEM LOOKED NOTABLY LEANER.
-- Freshman offensive lineman Riley Simonds repped at both guard and tackle in individual drills. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Griffin McDowell, who missed spring with an injury following a scooter accident, repped mostly at left guard in individual drills. McDowell appears to have added back some upper body mass.
AGAIN WITH THE NON-STARTER FRESHMEN. GOOD LORD, I WAS STARTING TO GET WORRIED THAT THE GAYTORS WILL FIELD AN ALL-FRESHMEN OFFENSIVE LINE FULL OF LEAN GUYS WITH WELL-DEVELOPED BUSTLINES.
Here are a few other fun facts:
-- Quarterbacks focused on a ball security drill during one individual period, tucking the ball with two hands as they hit the ground face first. They later worked with running backs on exchanges in the run game, then transitioned into throwing a few passes out of the backfield. There wasn't much to note from the group overall. Freshman running back Nay'Quan Wright is the smallest running back in the group. He didn't particularly stand out as an explosive runner or cutter, which was the book on him coming in. He's best known for his vision and constantly making things happen despite having jump-off-the-page athleticism. It will be interesting to see how that translates in the coming practices.
-- In individual drills, the receivers worked with a Jugs machine at one point. The veterans seemed to make the drill old hat, catching virtually everything thrown at them. Joshua Hammond, in particular, continues to display some of the softest hands on the team. A few struggled, though. Toney had at least four drops, including at least one that hit him square in the hands. That was an issue for him in the spring and something he'll need to continue to work on. Meanwhile, both freshmen had drops. Dionte Marks seemed a bit surprised at how quicky the ball came into him off the Jugs machine, twice taking balls off the helmet. Fellow freshman Ja'Markis Weston also had a drop. Weston has a pretty lean frame, something that stood out against the more physically refined veterans.
-- Nickelback John Huggins was not at Friday's practice and is not expected to practice this weekend. UF officials said that Huggins was dealing with a family issue. Starting safety Jeawon Taylor practiced Friday morning in a red non-contact jersey.
