Under the weight of injuries and attrition, Florida’s offense stumbled to the spring practice finish line on Saturday in The Swamp.
With only six healthy offensive linemen, the Gators could not even attempt a typical spring game. Instead, the Orange and Blue Debut was Florida’s 15th and final spring practice, and a sloppy one at that.
During the six 11-on-11 scrimmage periods that separated individual drills, quarterback Jeff Driskel struggled. He consistently waited through would-be sacks — a red non-contact jersey bought him extra time — but rarely found an open man.
UF also dealt with drops and bad snaps as the defense seemed to get the better of the offense from start to finish.
“There were a lot of sloppy parts,” center Jonotthan Harrison said. “We weren’t seeing much of the mental errors or anything during all of these practices. But it could’ve been from people already being done with spring ball.”
That the offense would be looking to simply escape is understandable.
While receivers Quinton Dunbar and Demarcus Robinson both showed flashes, each was held out of contact on Saturday. Dunbar has a shoulder injury, while Robinson has been playing through a left ankle sprain since the first week of practice. Wideout Latroy Pittman did not dress for Saturday, and Solomon Patton continues to be held out of contact as he recovers from a broken arm.
The offensive line was hit even harder. Guard Jon Halapio (knee) and tackle Chaz Green (ankle) both sat out after undergoing exploratory surgeries in January. Tackle Ian Silberman missed the game due to a shoulder injury, and tackle Trip Thurman underwent surgery on Monday to repair a torn labrum. Guard Jessamen Dunker is indefinitely suspended as he faces charges of felony grand theft auto and misdemeanor driving with a suspended license.
The six healthy linemen were forced to play nearly every snap of both the drills and scrimmages.
“It was really tough,” tackle Tyler Moore said. “We tried to do our best, tried to get breaks, but it wasn’t much.”
Moore and Harrison said the healthy lineman took the extra snaps as an opportunity to get better and build toughness.
Given all the unit has gone through, a sloppy performance Saturday is excusable.
“We did pretty good,” Moore said. “Day 15, doing the same thing we’ve done all fricking spring. No breaks, doing all the reps. Trying to work as hard as we can.”
Although Saturday’s lackluster showing conjures memories of UF ranking outside the NCAA’s top 100 in total offense for two consecutive seasons, coaches and players remain optimistic.
Coach Will Muschamp said he was comfortable with the talent and depth of UF’s offensive line, especially when healthy. He expects improvement from the receivers and a step forward from Driskel, who will be entering his second season as a starter. The Gators also enter 2013 with a year of experience under offensive coordinator Brent Pease.
While Saturday’s events were low in entertainment value, Muschamp called it “a very productive day.”
“It didn’t really feel like a game, but we had to because we’re so low in numbers,” Harrison said. “There’s a lot of hope. There’s a lot of room for opportunity coming up in the season.”
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org.
Junior quarterback Jeff Driskel (6) takes a snap during a drill in Saturday’s Orange and Blue Debut at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The event marked the end of Florida’s spring practice.
