BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Every practice is another opportunity to improve.
Every game is another chance to showcase that improvement.
And for Florida, everything has been more of the same.
Despite the coaching carousel that will occur after Saturday’s Birmingham Bowl game against East Carolina, the Gators are tuned in to finishing out the season with a victory.
“Probably most important is the preparation,” interim head coach D.J. Durkin said Wednesday. “Those 15 practices leading up to the game, you really develop a lot of guys that didn’t play quite as much during the year than they would have liked. I think we’ve had good practices that way. That’s been helpful. Obviously, finishing the year on a good note and a win, that gives you good momentum going to the next year.”
With Jim McElwain and his new regime — including offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and defensive coordinator Geoff Collins — taking over the Florida football program following the bowl game, Florida’s returning players have one last opportunity to make an impression on the new coaching staff before spring practice.
“That’s your name, your number on there, you want to make sure what you do is good,” Durkin said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
But with a football to play on Saturday, UF’s players aren’t investing too much time thinking about auditioning for their future roles.
“We’re just playing football,” safety Keanu Neal said. “(McElwain) can see it as that, as an audition. But we’re just playing football and that’s what it’s really about.”
Added wide receiver Demarcus Robinson: “We’re just playing for our teammates, playing for ourselves and doing the best we can for us.”
To Dante Fowler Jr., who declared for the NFL Draft earlier this season, Saturday’s noon matchup against the Pirates at Legion Field will be his last chance to give NFL scouts a glimpse at his playmaking ability.
The junior finished the season with a team-high 15 quarterback hurries and 12 tackles for loss to go along with 57 total tackles, five-and-a-half sacks and two forced fumbles, but Fowler is not one to shy away from an extra opportunity to play with his teammates.
“I feel like as much tape as I can get for them, that could be the best,” Fowler said. “This will be another opportunity for me to put out good tape so those guys can see my capability and what I’m capable of.”
And while Fowler will not play for UF in 2015, he said he sees the potential that the Gators’ defense has moving forward.
But he isn’t going to let his teammates have all the fun on Saturday.
“I’m going out with a bang, with my teammates,” Fowler said. “It’s my last game. My class that I came in with, all my players. We built a brotherhood. Those are my boys. I couldn’t just ice it down like that.”
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Dante Fowler hypes up the crowd during Florida's 23-20 overtime loss to South Carolina at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
