Impressed:
1. John Brantley, QB
In his first “game” as the starter, Brantley calmed many fans’ nerves. The redshirt junior was 15-for-19 passing for 201 yards and two scores. He opened the game with a 47-yard strike to Deonte Thompson and didn’t throw an incomplete pass until his eighth attempt. While many criticized Tim Tebow for not spreading the ball around enough last season, Brantley hit eight different targets on Saturday.
2. Carl Moore, WR
Two weeks ago, Moore missed two practices to deal with personal issues, and it was uncertain whether he would return to the team. On Saturday, Moore showed the potential to live up to the hype he came to UF with as a five-star junior college prospect. He caught five passes for 102 yards and one touchdown. One of the catches was a leaping grab over freshman cornerback Josh Shaw.
3. Jaye Howard, DT
Howard took advantage of the young offensive line playing Saturday. Without starters Carl Johnson and Mike Pouncey playing at guard and center, Howard racked up two sacks and four tackles. The redshirt junior is usually part of a rotating unit at the spot, but with Terron Sanders, Lawrence Marsh and Brandon Antwine injured, Howard had a chance to impress coaches this spring.
Disappointed:
1. Defensive Secondary
The unit got picked apart by the offenses.without starting safeties Will Hill and Ahmad Black and cornerback Janoris Jenkins. Along 201 yards Brantley threw for, freshman Trey Burton added 120 yards and one touchdown on 12-for-18 passing. UF is looking for a starter opposite Jenkins, and it didn’t look closer to finding one Saturday.
2. Mike Gillislee, RB
With Jeff Demps concentrating on the track and field season, Emmanuel Moody injured and Chris Rainey working at receiver, the spring was Gillislee’s chance to standout in a crowded backfield. Instead, he did nothing noteworthy Saturday until the fourth quarter when most of the starters who played were done for the day. He finished with 47 yards rushing on 10 carries with 36 of those yards coming in the fourth quarter.
3. Tight ends
Replacing Aaron Hernandez is no easy feat for Jordan Reed and Gerald Christian, and neither showed signs of having the ability to Saturday. Christian is an early enrollee and Reed just switched over from quarterback, so both still have a lot to learn about playing tight end. Also, both have been impressive all of spring, but on Saturday, the two combined to catch two passes for one yard.
