On the sideline he stands, screaming, yelling and frantically signaling.
Wide receivers jog off at a listless pace during personnel substitution and Kurt Roper chews them out as hard as an old woman without her dentures in does a steak from Golden Corral.
Unlike many of the other coaches on Florida’s staff, the new offensive coordinator isn’t in the thick of formations, getting in players’ faces during 11-on-11 periods. He’s on the sideline signaling in plays to run to simulate the experience the offense will go through on a normal gameday in the Swamp.
He yells so much that it prompted his young daughter to ask her daddy what happened to his voice.
Besides securing throat lozenges, Roper’s biggest task is figuring out a quarterback depth chart. Through eight days of fall camp, starter Jeff Driskel has looked miles ahead of freshmen Treon Harris and Will Grier.
Harris starred in a run-first system at Booker T. Washington high school in south Florida, and Grier’s level of competition at Davidson Day School in North Carolina have led him to develop bad timing habits.
Roper is not concerned with where Grier’s mental understanding of the game is now.
But if last year taught Florida’s coaching staff anything, it’s that injuries can and will happen no matter the position. Because of that, the backup quarterback position must be one the coaches are confident in.
Coach Will Muschamp has already said that the No. 2 quarterback will play in the season opener against Idaho. Roper did something Tuesday as well as in the team scrimmage Sunday to create a more realistic game environment — he put his backup quarterbacks in jerseys making them eligible to be hit by defenders.
“These (defensive) guys are trying to get back there and hurt them,” Roper said. “So really what ends up happening in high school there's so much 7-on-7 that's played at a four second pace when you watch that and it really trains bad habits. Nobody is getting hit. Nobody is in front of them. They're blowing a horn at four seconds. That's not real world. When you have a guy like Clowney rushing you, that is below three seconds.”
Roper says he has a simple rule for young quarterbacks “when I call a pass I want you to throw the ball.”
He admits this can be difficult for young players that are unaware of the route concepts in the system and more willing to tuck the ball and run. Roper also knows that timing is of the essence, and something that needs to be adjusted to as well for younger guys.
As far as Driskel is concerned, Roper is pleased to have a deep receiver corps around him, a group Muschamp says is his most talented since he’s been at Florida.
“You know, we are up six, seven guys that really can get in with Jeff and make some plays,” Muschamp said. “Most camps I've been in you hope the drops lessen as you go on and we keep getting better and better at securing catches and those things. But it's a group that's working hard that's talented."
The buzzword is tempo, and it’s at the forefront of everything Florida does in practice.
It is Roper’s strict adherence to quickening the pace of the slowest offense in college football last season that will most likely determine the fate of this team and by proxy, the job status of Muschamp.
“We’re going to be a no-huddle, quick-tempo team,” Roper said. “At the end of the day we want to look up and have points on the scoreboard. Typically that’s meant more plays in the past by going no-huddle. But we don’t just sit here and say hey let’s go get 92 plays. We’ve got to execute. If we can score in two plays, let’s get off and let the other team run 10 plays and punt.”
Offensive coordinator Kurt Roper addresses the media during his introductory press conference on Jan. 13.
Skyler Mornhinweg (8) hands the ball off to Matt Jones (24) as Will Grier (7) and Treon Harris (3) look on during Florida's open practice on Aug. 8, 2014 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Head coach Jim McElwain revealed Wednesday that Mornhinweg would be transferring from Florida.
