Will Muschamp believes the Gators are a better team than they were a year ago because of improvements on the line of scrimmage, but he still sees plenty of room for progress on the perimeter.
While a strong run game has been a major factor in UF’s 4-0 start, Muschamp is looking for better blocking on the outside. On defense, Muschamp wants players to develop a better grasp of their responsibilities.
“A little bit of our issues came as far as the perimeter run for us, something we’re going to really work on here in the open date,” Muschamp said. “We’ve got to do a better job of blocking on the perimeter. That’s where you get big runs.”
Although Florida has averaged 224.5 yards per game on the ground, many of those have come on runs between the tackles by Mike Gillislee.
Muschamp wanted to develop more of a downhill running game this season after Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps led a perimeter-based rushing attack last year before moving on to the NFL. Although Muschamp said he appreciates Gillislee’s one-cut approach, the Gators have used speedster Solomon Patton to establish a perimeter rushing attack with jet sweeps. Patton has carried seven times for 71 yards this season.
“You’ve got to be multiple in what you’re doing,” Muschamp said. “Against some of the defenses we’re going to face, starting with LSU, you’re not going to be able to line up in stagnant positions and consistently run the ball. Their fronts are too good.”
Muschamp expressed concern about defending runs on the perimeter. Florida’s rush defense ranks sixth in the Southeastern Conference with 119.3 yards allowed per game.
Muschamp said the primary issue has been a misunderstanding regarding who is responsible for setting the edge. On every play, Florida has both a primary and a secondary “run-force player” designated to force the running back towards the middle of the defense.
“We’ve had the primary run-force player lose contain at times,” Muschamp said. “We haven’t done a good job replacing the primary run-force player. … A little of that is understanding. That all goes back on me.”
Muschamp also traced the defense’s perimeter run problems to the play of his cornerbacks.
“We’ve got one that’s real excited to go tackle — Loucheiz Purifoy,” Muschamp said. “The rest of them have to get more excited about tackling. … A lot of times, it’s want-to.”
Purifoy leads UF’s cornerbacks with 14 tackles, but no other player at the position has more than eight.
While shortcomings in the perimeter run game were not detrimental against Florida’s first four opponents — none of which ranked in the top 30 in rushing offense or top 15 in rushing defense — they could prove costly in a matchup against LSU on Oct. 6.
The Tigers have the NCAA’s No. 15 rushing offense and No. 3 rushing defense.
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org
Senior running back Mike Gillislee runs down the field against Kentucky on Sept. 22 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida gained 200 yards rushing while allowing 159 yards.
