When Jeff Driskel drops back to pass in practice, offensive coordinator Brent Pease becomes a pass rusher.
The 6-foot-2 Pease, wearing large arm pads to emulate dynamic defensive ends like 6-foot-6 Jadeveon Clowney, slaps at Driskel’s arms to try to teach him a lesson: Don’t be a violator.
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn coined the term “violators” toward the end of last season to describe players who are prone to fumbles because of the way they carry the ball.
The coaches’ emphasis on avoiding giveaways has paid dividends so far in 2012, as Florida ranks second nationally with only four turnovers.
“If there’s one stat you really chart every week, it’s ball security,” Pease said. “Outside of winning, there’s really one goal board we have that we look at. It’s our turnover margin.”
The Gators have avoided turnovers in four of their seven games this season largely due to the efforts of Driskel, who has thrown only one interception in 127 pass attempts.
Pease has called a conservative, run-heavy offense this season to make Driskel’s job easier in his first season as a starter.
Pease is becoming more aggressive as Driskel gains experience, but the reliability of kicker Caleb Sturgis often leads to conservative play-calling inside the 35-yard line.
“You want to be aggressive, but you’ve got to develop a trust,” Pease said. “[Driskel is] gaining that.”
Said Driskel: “When you have a defense like we do, you don’t have to force anything, and you don’t have to try to score on every play.”
While the lack of interceptions can be traced to play-calling, Florida’s resistance to fumbles was born in practice.
UF’s coaches have consistently put an emphasis on carrying the ball high and tight.
“It’s the No. 1 fundamental: how you’re holding the football,” Pease said. “We stress that.”
The Gators run drills to work on ball security twice each week. When the rest of the team works on special teams, the quarterbacks have additional time to practice preventing turnovers.
Included is a turnover circuit, where quarterbacks try avoiding defensive linemen, stepping up in the pocket and running in the open field.
“We try to work on all those game-type situations,” Pease said.
Said coach Will Muschamp: “It goes back to what you emphasize is what’s important, and you can’t just talk about it, you have to drill it. It’s something we work on with our players.”
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org.
Jeff Driskel gets sacked during UF’s 44-11 win against South Carolina on Saturday in The Swamp. Although Driskel failed to eclipse 100 passing yards for the third straight game, he has only one interception in 2012.
