There might not be a team with more questions heading into 2011 than the University of Florida. Entering the fall, the Gators will have a new head coach and coaching staff, and an incredibly young, albeit talented, defense. One of the few places that Florida does return experience is at quarterback… much to the disappointment of some Gators fans. Sorry, John Brantley.
Regardless, with Will Muschamp heading east from Austin and Charlie Weis terrorizing local fast-food joints (as well as opposing defenses), there is plenty of hope in Gainesville.
Here to answer the five toughest questions on the 2011 Florida Gators is University of Florida alum and the founder of the very popular Florida site OnlyGators.com, Adam Silverstein.
There is no one – no one – on the web, who knows more about this team than Adam.
After we answered Five Burning Questions about Auburn on Monday, and Ohio State on Tuesday, Adam is here to give you the scoop on what you need to know about Florida.
1. Obviously the biggest storyline in the off-season was the second retirement of Urban Meyer in as many years. Do you believe that Coach Meyer’s “heart” was truly in the coaching process last year? Did you see anything different that you hadn’t seen in years past, good or bad?
Questioning a man’s heart, especially someone like Urban Meyer who threw not only his heart but also his soul into the Gators is not only something I won’t do, but also something I feel is a bit misplaced. If you watched him before, during or even after the season, the man showed that he was all heart – he cared about wanting the players he recruited and had stuck with him for four years to succeed. It legitimately hurt him to fail, especially because he knew there was not much that could be done about it. If you ask guys like Ahmad Black and Mike Pouncey whether or not Meyer’s heart was in the team, you’ll get a resounding, ‘Yes.’
With that established, a legitimate thought is whether or not his head was completely in the game – and that is something that certainly can be questioned. Florida had to adjust its offense to a new signal caller – it didn’t. The Gators brand new coaching staff had to rally a young team together toward a common purpose – they failed. Meyer was faced with one of his most difficult coaching jobs of his career coming off of the loss of a Heisman Trophy winner (as well as plenty of other top-notch starters) and questions about his health and dedication – he crumbled.
While fire and passion may not have been there, his heart was… but heart can only get you so far. Especially if you’re playing in the SEC with so many obstacles to push through.
2. Besides the obvious schematic changes, what else have you noticed as “different,” around Florida since Will Muschamp took over?
There appears to be a renewed sense of “team” with Muschamp jumping on board. It all started in spring with some obvious team building activities (paintball, for example) and seems to have strengthened even further over the summer as strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti has worked the team seemingly as hard as he can. New leaders also appear to be stepping up, something that was much needed on the team last year. Redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley looks to have renewed not only his own confidence but also that of his teammates, and the defense appears confident that, even with some major losses, it will be able to lead the way in 2011.
3. Charlie Weis is a renowned offensive guru. But does Florida have the offensive personnel to be successful under him this year?
One maxim that Weis has stated over and over again since joining the Gators is that he plans to mold the offense to his personnel and not the other way around. Asked about senior running back Jeff Demps being relatively undersized for a traditional rusher in his offense, Weis joked that should not be much of an issue. “6.53 [seconds in the] 60-meters? I might be able to figure out something to do with him,” he said.
Brantley is the traditional drop-back passer Weis needs; whether or not he succeeds long-term remains to be seen. Florida’s wide receivers, though they were recruited for the spread offense, should not have much difficulty adjusting to a more pro-style set… if a pass catcher can truly run routes, he can run any routes.
The key will be the Gators finding some type of power rushing to mix in with Demps and redshirt senior Chris Rainey’s explosion. Some of that will come from junior Mike Gillislee (who himself is only 5’11” and 198 lbs.), a bit more may be provided by sophomore Mack Brown (5’10”, 193 lbs.), but sophomore Trey Burton (6’2”, 222 lbs.) may end up getting more carries than most expect.
4. The defense lost a ton of personnel to graduation and early entry to the NFL Draft, and was hit even harder when Janoris Jenkins was asked to leave the team in the spring. With that said, what is the strength of this unit? A young defensive line?
As Muschamp has stated in each of his media availabilities, in the SEC it all starts up front with the defensive line. Though a young unit, Florida does bring back a top-notch defensive tackle in redshirt senior Jaye Howard and a powerful veteran in redshirt junior Omar Hunter.
Complimenting them are the two youngsters sophomores Sharrif Floyd and Dominique Easley. The former already proved that he can play in the SEC during limited action in 2010, while the latter has been praised throughout training camp for his amazingly quick first step and ability to get through the line with speed and agility. The outside of the line is more of a question mark with senior William Green and redshirt junior Lerentee McCray serving as the most experienced ends. Adding buck linebacker Ronald Powell to the line on occasion will give the team some increased speed and athleticism.
5. As always, the schedule is brutal, with October in specific looming as a brutal month with four killer games. Taking everything into account, what is a realistic expecation for Year One of the Muschamp era in terms of wins and losses?
There are a lot of different ways this first season under Muschamp could go. It could be a resounding success, a shot to the gut or fall somewhere between. With so many question marks going into the season but plenty of reason for optimism, I have to believe the third choice is how things will turn out in the long run.
Victories against Florida Atlantic, UAB, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Furman can all obviously be expected. Florida will most likely continue its winning ways against Georgia and should be able to handle Tennessee in a 3:30 p.m. home game during the third week of the season. With seven wins already accounted for, the Gators will also face Alabama at home and LSU and Auburn on the road, before finishing up at home against Florida State. I can see Florida beating Auburn and falling to LSU in Death Valley, giving them at least eight wins and maybe nine if they can use the home-field advantage of The Swamp to take down either Alabama or Florida State.
With revenge on their minds from a year ago, if the team can stay healthy, a season-ending win against their in-state rivals is certainly a good possibility.
Remember, for all of your up to the minute Florida Gators updates, be sure to follow Adam on Twitter, and make part of OnlyGators.com part of your everyday reading. Also, if this is your first time at Crystal Ball Run, follow us on Twitter as well @CrystalBallRun.
Also don’t forget that “Five Burning Questions” will be back Thursday, as we take a look at the other side of the World Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party by breaking down the Georgia Bulldogs!
