Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Soon after finishing its annual spring game, Florida received a commitment from Lithonia (Ga.) Martin Luther King offensive guard Josh Outlaw.

"Committed to Florida!! Go Gators!" Outlaw said in a text message to GatorNation.

The 6-foot-4, 275-pound lineman said the opportunity to play early at Florida ultimately led to his decision.

"Florida is just the place for me," Outlaw said. "It's a great place to be, and I have a great opportunity to play early there."

Outlaw chose the Gators over offers from Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, USF and Tennesse among many others. He said he is unsure if he will take other visits, but Outlaw claims he is 100 percent in his commitment to Florida.

Outlaw joins Rod Johnson as Florida's other offensive line commitment for the 2013 class.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Some quick thoughts from Florida's (quick moving) spring game on Saturday afternoon:

QBs get rolling: It took nearly the entire first half, but quarterbacks Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett eventually got things going. The pair are competing to win the starting job.

Brissett took the first snap with the first-team offense but went 0-for-2 on his first drive. One of the passes, however, was dropped by Trey Burton.

After Tyler Murphy got a series, Driskel came on and completed all five of his passes on his first drive for 34 yards.

Driskel had the better day overall, completing 12-of-14 passes for 147 yards and rushing for 19 yards and one touchdown on four carries. He led one touchdown drive, which was capped by Mack Brown's touchdown run.

Brissett completed 9-of-16 passes for 233 yards. Most of his passing yards came on two plays, a 43-yard hookup with Latroy Pittman and a 52-yard strike to Michael McNeely.

Flashers: Some players who caught my eye:

Cornerback Jaylen Watkins broke up a fade pass to tight end Jordan Reed in the end zone.

Linebacker Gideon Ajagbe blew by freshman offensive lineman D.J. Humphries to stuff running back Omarius Hines.

LB Antonio Morrison showed off his athleticism by making a tackle on a back in the flat and then showed of his toughness by combining with defensive tackle Damien Jacobs, making a tackle in the hole on a third-down play.

Jacobs started the game, but that might be because the Gators are banged up along the defensive line. He hasn't been consistent in practices throughout spring, but he's got the big body the Gators want (6-foot-3, 310 pounds) in a run-stopping tackle.

Pittman, whom UF coach Will Muschamp has praised throughout the spring, got behind the defense for a 43-yard pass play. Pittman doesn't have blazing speed -- he was timed at 4.64 seconds in the 40-yard dash at one combine -- but he was able to get a step and hauled in a perfect pass from Brissett. Pittman also was able to get behind the coverage again in the fourth quarter, but Brissett overthrew him slightly. Pittman has been steadily rising up the depth chart and has a good chance to win a starting job alongside Andre Debose and Quinton Dunbar.

What's that call? Offensive coordinator Brent Pease had one questionable call, an end-around to Dunbar on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Dunbar fumbled the handoff from Brissett and ended up losing 9 yards on the play.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- On the eve of my coaching debut at Florida's 2012 Orange & Blue Debut, I had the chance to sit down with Gators coach Will Muschamp to talk shop about his team and tried to get a couple of pointers on how to handle the pressure of being a college coach in the toughest conference in America.

Like most conversations between coaches, I'll choose not to repeat what advice Muschamp shared with me, but I will share that Muschamp appears to be much more comfortable with his team this year than he was at this time last spring. He was new to the head-coaching world and very new to all of his players, meaning there were plenty of bumps along the way.

"More than anything, I know the team better," Muschamp said. "I know the players better. I understand more about how they tick and what we need to do to be successful with them."

It's also easier now that his players have grown up a little. In Muschamp's debut season after leaving Texas as the defensive coordinator, the Gators were primarily made up of freshmen and sophomores -- more than 70 percent to be exact. They had less starts on defense going into the season than any other school in the SEC.

Florida also had to deal with transitioning from a spread offense to a more pro stye, and had different defensive philosophies to understand.

Now, Muschamp heads into Year 2 with reinvention on his mind -- for himself and his team.

Muschamp isn't as tense internally. He's more settled in his approach, making his understanding of his players easier. He's also made sure his guys toughened up, as new strength coach Jeff Dillman ran them through a gauntlet offseaon workout plan.

One area Muschamp sees a lot of positive change is the offensive line. With most of his line returning, Muschamp said there isn't much to teach this group. It's much better than last spring, when Muschamp and his coaches had six scholarship offensive linemen for the spring game. This line really struggled last season and as it declined, so did the offense. Muschamp said he's more comfortable with his guys upfront because they're bigger, stronger and more confident.

(Read full post)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida assistant basketball coach Norm Roberts is considering taking a similar position with Kansas, according to a source close to the Florida basketball program.

Roberts, who joined UF's staff in in 2011, has a longstanding relationship with Jayhawks coach Bill Self. He spent nine seasons as an assistant under Self at four different schools from 1995-2004, including one season at Kansas (2003-04). Roberts' son Niko is a sophomore walk-on at Kansas.

"Norm has a tough decision," the source said. "His son plays at Kansas and [he] obviously is close with Self. He loves the situation he has here."

In addition to Kansas, Roberts worked with Self at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois. Roberts left Kansas following the 2003-04 season to become the head coach at St. Johns. He led the Red Storm to an 81-101 record and one NIT appearance in six seasons.

When Taylor Gushue was six years old, he saw Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves switch-hitting. Intrigued, Gushue went to his backyard and spent countless hours batting left-handed off a tee until he became proficient from either side.

When Gushue was a sixth-grader at Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he started getting varsity at-bats. By his freshman year of high school -- his first as a starter -- he was catching Luke Jackson, a future first-round draft pick.

Gushue has always been advanced, but he's taken his skills to new heights this year. He graduated from Calvary a semester early -- a trend that has become common for football players but is rare in baseball. Gushue, though, has had no trouble adjusting and is now a starter at the University of Florida, the top-ranked team in the nation.

If all that wasn't impressive enough, the 6-2, 205-pounder launched the first collegiate pitch he saw for a home run in Florida's opener against Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 17.

"When I realized it went out, this huge smile came over me," Gushue said. "I couldn't write it any better. It was a 10 on a 10 scale."

Gregg Mucerino, who coached Gushue at Calvary, said his former star is normally low-key.

"But when I saw him pumping his fist as he was rounding the bases, I knew he had embraced this challenge of graduating early and playing for Florida," Mucerino said. "In hindsight, had he stayed for his senior season, I don't think he'd be having this kind of year."

(Read full post)

GatorNation writers Derek Tyson and Mike DiRocco preview Florida's spring football game, which is on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Tickets are $5, and free for UF students. The game will consist of four 12-minute quarters with a running clock, and the clock will stop during the two-minute drill at the end of each half. The first-team offense will represent the Blue team, while the second-team offense will score for the Orange team. The first-team offense will square off against the first-team defense, while the second-team offense will face the second-team defense. Regardless of Orange or Blue team designations, the offense will wear blue jerseys and the defense will wear orange.

ESPNU 150 Watch List wide receiver Demorea Stringfellow (Moreno Valley, Calif./Rancho Verde), who recently picked up an offer from Florida and is a former teammate of Gator Ronald Powell, talks with RecruitingNation at the Los Angeles Nike Football Training Camp last weekend.

Insider subscribers and the staff of GatorNation had some robust conversation on Tuesday night -- our first live chat on the Chompions Club message board. There was plenty of recruiting, spring football and basketball talk with Michael DiRocco, Derek Tyson and Jeff Barlis. DawgNation recruiting writer Kipp Adams even stopped by!

Here are some highlights. You can also check out the complete transcript here.

secrocks2000: Who has been the biggest surprise of the spring so far in all three of your guys' opinions?

Tyson: I think the emergence of Latroy Pittman has been the most surprising thing thus far to me. Not a whole lot was expected out of him, but now it sounds like he could have a big impact next year.

DiRocco: I think that speaks to not only how impressive Pittman has been this spring, but also to how unimpressive the receivers have been as a group. Muschamp said Pittman is blowing by guys on the depth chart.

Barlis: One of the biggest surprises of the spring (certainly in the two open practices we did see) had to be true freshman early enrollee Latroy Pittman, who could be earning playing time at wide receiver this fall. Florida is thin at that position, and he stands out with his physical style.

---

PensacolaGator96: Who are going after the hardest (i.e. want the most) at QB for the 2013 class?

Tyson: Honestly I don't think the UF coaches even know that. They want to bring a bunch of guys in to compete at camp and start narrowing down options after that. Cooper Bateman is high on the list. He will be visiting UF on Thursday and leaving on Friday. Connor Mitch will be here with his dad this weekend. Kohl Stewart and Cody Thomas are other solid options.

(Read full post)