Heading into the season, Florida’s offensive line was viewed as one of the team’s more vulnerable position groups.
The Gators lost four starters from last year’s team to the NFL Draft and redshirt sophomore Rod Johnson to a career-ending spinal injury.
But as Florida prepares for this weekend’s Southeastern Conference opener against Kentucky, the linemen feel like they’re coming into their own.
"It’s been tremendous improvement from Spring to Fall camp to now," said redshirt senior Trip Thurman, the lone returning offensive lineman with starting experience.
"There’s always still stuff we need to work on though."
In UF’s first two wins — a 61-13 victory against New Mexico State and a 31-24 win over East Carolina — the Gators’ offensive line gave up just three sacks.
In 2014, UF surrendered two in its first two contests.
Coach Jim McElwain said communication among the lineman improved over the first two weeks, but mentioned that progress will need to continue Saturday when the team heads to Kentucky if the Gators are to have any hope of competing.
In Saturday’s game against East Carolina, the Pirates pressured on slant plays, an approach the Gators failed to recognize early on.
McElwain said the Wildcats — 2-0 this season, but 0-28 against the Gators since 1986 — have a knack for bringing different sets of pressure, something that forces an offensive line to be resilient in order to be successful.
"We had some guys beat us across their face," McElwain said, "and we’re gonna see that this week again and obviously every time you put something like that on film you’re going to see more of it next time. So we’ve gotta get that shored up."
Mason Halter, UF’s starting right tackle, said the key to success is making sure everyone is on the same page and knows their assignment.
"It’s kind of reading the defense, seeing what’s on and what’s off," the Fordham transfer said.
While the offensive line has more-or-less held its own so far, the Gators are ready for their first test.
"Obviously we’re getting into the SEC now," Halter said, "so it’s going to be a little bit of a bigger challenge."
UF center Cam Dillard (54) prepares to hike the ball during Florida's 31-24 win against East Carolina on Sept. 12, 2015, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
