Florida showcased its new up-tempo offense during the Orange and Blue Debut on Saturday, and coach Will Muschamp liked what he saw in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
“Extremely pleased with the day offensively and the 15 practices how far we’ve come,” he said. “I attribute a lot of that to Kurt Roper and an offensive staff and the job they’ve done. Our kids have been very receptive and they have confidence in what we’re doing and I think it’s a good fit.”
In the game, which ended in a 23-23 tie, Jeff Driskel took all of the first-team snaps at quarterback, completing 19 of his 33 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown.
The redshirt junior’s lone touchdown came in the second quarter. On third and 3 from the Orange 31-yard line, Driskel threw a pass to Demarcus Robinson up the middle. The sophomore wide receiver outran freshman Jalen Tabor and juked Duke Dawson on his way to the end zone, capping off a six-play, 65-yard drive in which Driskel went 3 for 4 and accumulated 54 passing yards.
“As a quarterback, when you’re in a no-huddle type deal you can really get into a rhythm,” Driskel said. “We do have a lot of quick game and when you start getting completion, completion after completion it kind of builds your confidence and gets you in a rhythm that sometimes is tough for the defense to break.”
Skyler Mornhinweg and Will Grier alternated drives for the Orange team. Mornhinweg went 14 of 18 for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Grier completed 8 of 15 passes for 72 yards and threw the lone interception of the game to Nick Washington on a miscommunicated play.
Grier struggled on his first drive with his only completion going to the defense, but he rebounded on his next opportunity. The early enrollee went 4 of 5 for 37 yards on his second drive, leading the Orange team to three points on an Austin Hardin field goal.
Running back Adam Lane put on a solid performance during the Orange and Blue game, accruing a team-high 12 carries and 64 yards and making three catches out of the backfield for 12 yards.
“You never really know how good he is until you see him live,” Driskel said. “He’s a guy that not too many people are going to want to tackle.”
Muschamp held cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III and Buck linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. out of the spring game, forcing younger defenders to step into the limelight.
The fourth-year coach noticed the inexperience in the secondary, but he also mentioned that the group has the talent to be successful.
“I’d rather coach a really talented inexperienced guy than a guy that can’t play,” Muschamp said. “So I like where our talent level is as far as that is concerned.”
Muschamp also wants to see some improvement along the defensive line moving forward.
“We’ve got a long way to go up front defensively,” Muschamp said. “When Darious Cummings and Leon Orr aren’t in there, we have a huge drop off to our next group. Jon Bullard can play inside, but we get a little thin on the edges when he’s playing inside and he’s a really good nickel rusher, so we’ll continue to look at that.”
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Hunter Joyer (41) runs the ball during Florida’s Orange and Blue Debut on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Gators’ two offenses combined for 606 yards in the game.
