After the first day of fall practice, coach Will Muschamp is not ready to make any pronouncements about his 2013 team.
“Saw some positive things here and there one day in,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”
Muschamp’s squad is shorthanded to start fall camp.
Quarterback Jeff Driskel (appendectomy) did not see any reps at practice. Instead, junior Tyler Murphy got a chance to practice with the first-team offense. Murphy has never thrown a pass for Florida.
“I thought he made some good decisions and checks in the run game,” Muschamp said. “I thought he did a nice job.”
Muschamp said at UF Media Day on Thursday that Murphy was firmly entrenched as the backup quarterback behind Driskel. But Muschamp said on Friday that Murphy will benefit from seeing what would have been Driskel’s time on the field.
“It’s huge,” Muschamp said. “Anytime you get a situation where you get all the turns and reps and at-bats, it helps you as a player.”
Driskel is not the only projected starter missing from the backfield. Running back Matt Jones (illness) missed the first day of practice as he recovers from what Muschamp described as a “serious viral infection.”
“We’re in a little bit of uncharted waters here exactly about him coming back and when that’s going to happen,” he said. “It’s very uncertain, it’s very frustrating for him.”
Junior Mack Brown, freshmen Kelvin Taylor and Adam Lane and sophomore walk-on Mark Herndon fill out the depth chart behind Jones.
Muschamp said Brown is currently behind Jones on the depth chart, and Muschamp is confident Brown could step in to fill the Jones’ role.
Freshmen adjust to camp: Friday was the first practice for a part of Florida’s 29-man recruiting class.
Muschamp said he doesn’t expect the new freshmen to have a complete handle on every aspect of the Florida playbook, but he looked for effort and conditioning.
“They’re not going to know everything,” he said. “You’ve got to be patient with that.”
Muschamp said freshman wide receiver Demarcus Robinson can help the offense with his athleticism, but the coaching staff is still monitoring how Robinson is progressing “mentally with the game.”
Robinson was a four-star recruit and the No. 5 receiver in the country, according to Rivals.com.
“It’s really not about Practice 1,” Muschamp said. “It’s about Practice 12.”
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Quarterback Tyler Murphy gets ready to throw a pass during Florida's annual Orange and Blue Game in 2011. With Jeff Driskel (appendectomy) out, Murphy practiced with the first-team offense during Day 1 of fall camp on Friday.
