Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida coach Will Muschamp had the following to say about the Gators’ first scrimmage of the fall, which took place on Saturday:

The offense was productive and quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel were solid. "We had 11 explosive plays, which is great for the offense and not so good for the defense," Muschamp said. "Pleased to see that. Both quarterbacks were pretty even through those explosive plays and how they played. They're both completing, throughout camp, right at between 63 and 65 percent of their passes. They're both about dead on statistically in terms of attempts, completions, everything. I thought they managed our football team really well."

The quarterbacks, however, did throw three interceptions, although one was a tipped ball. "Disappointed with ball security," Muschamp said. "We had the ball on the ground four times. We can't afford that to happen. Three interceptions. One was a tipped ball, one was a busted route. But still those are turnovers."

Muschamp liked what he’s seen out of the pass rush, specifically inside. "We've improved our four-man pass rush with Lerentee [McCray], Neiron [Ball] and Sharrif [Floyd] and Dominique [Easley] doing some nice things inside," Muschamp said.

More notes from scrimmage:

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ESPN’s GatorNation is previewing each position leading up to the start of the season with a short video. Each Friday until the season kicks off, Michael DiRocco and Jeff Barlis will analyze a position group, tell you who is starting and why, and provide a breakdown of the depth at the position. This week it’s offensive line.

The starters: LT Xavier Nixon (Sr.), LG James Wilson (RSr.), C Jonotthan Harrison (RJr.), RG Jon Halapio (RJr.), RT Matt Patchan (RJr.)

The backups: D.J. Humphries (Fr.), Trip Thurman (RFr.), Jessamen Dunker (Fr.), Kyle Koehne (RJr.), Ian Silberman (RSo.), Sam Robey (RSr.), Tommy Jordan (RFr.), Chaz Green (RSo.)

Comment: This unit was the reason UF coach Will Muschamp called his team soft and the group responded in the spring. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and several defensive linemen said they noticed the OL was mentally and physically tougher. The biggest questions are whether Wilson and Patchan can stay healthy and if Nixon is going to play like he did as a freshman or struggle as he has the past two seasons. Green will play a lot at tackle in a rotation anyway.

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ESPN’s GatorNation brings you the 30 things you need to know about Florida’s upcoming 2012 season. For 30 weekdays we’ll preview games, talk about trends, spotlight players and positions, and give you pretty much everything you need to know to be ready for the season before the Sept. 1 opener against Bowling Green.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida is one of only five SEC programs to make the top 25 in ESPN’s team recruiting rankings in each of the past five seasons.

In fact, the Gators finished in the top five in four of those five years. But somehow that hasn’t translated to consistent on-field success.

Florida lost just two games combined in 2008 and 2009, but very few of the members of those signing classes contributed significantly -- which shows how good UF’s roster was in those two seasons. Since then, however, the Gators are a combined 15-11, and while some of those highly touted signees have turned into very good players, UF has slipped from its spot among the national elite.

But things are looking brighter entering 2012. The core of this year’s team is comprised of members of the 2009 and 2010 classes, and several members of the 2011 class appear to be ready to become significant contributors or are on the verge of being elite players.

Here’s a look at those signing classes (see chart below):

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- At the beginning of spring practice, GatorNation brought readers' attention to five questions, five guys under pressure and five players to watch.

With 15 spring practices behind the Gators, including Saturday’s spring game, let’s re-examine those questions and decide whether they were answered as well as take another look at those guys to see whether they handled the pressure and made any improvements.

FIVE QUESTIONS

Will there be a clear-cut starter at quarterback by the time spring practice ends?

Nope. Coach Will Muschamp said the competition between Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel will continue into the offseason -- and likely into fall practice, as well. The two played pretty well in the spring game -- Driskel completed 12 of 14 passes for 147 yards and Brissett completed 9 of 16 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns -- but neither has been able to gain separation.

What will UF's new offense look like?

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Now that you've seen what to watch in the SEC Western Division, let's check out the East:

FLORIDA

Spring practice start date: March 14
Spring game: April 7

What to watch:

Finding offensive playmakers: Year 2 of the Will Muschamp era begins with the team trying to find someone who can make a few plays for this fall. New offensive coordinator Brent Pease has a host of unproven offensive talent to work with. Wide receiver Andre Debose was Florida's best deep threat last year, and the coaches raved about receiver Quinton Dunbar's potential, but neither was consistent enough in 2011. Maybe Florida can finally turn to bigger backs Mike Gillislee and Mack Brown in the playmaking department.

Toughening up the offensive line: The Gators' line struggled throughout the 2011 season. It wasn't always at 100 percent, but Florida's line also just wasn't tough enough -- mentally or physically. The Gators couldn't get the tough yards on the ground and didn't exactly protect quarterback John Brantley enough. The line should get a boost with early enrollees D.J. Humphries, who was the top offensive line prospect in the 2012 class, and Jessamen Dunker, but Florida will have to get improvement from players who return to a line that lost just one starter from last season.

Quarterback battle: Brantley is gone, leaving rising sophomores Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel and Tyler Murphy. Brissett replaced Driskel as Florida's No. 2 quarterback last year, while Murphy has yet to take a college snap. Brissett and Driskel had plenty of down moments last fall but should get a chance to reinvent themselves this spring with new leadership and more practice reps. This spring will be extremely important for all three quarterbacks as they try to improve a position that struggled mightily the past two years.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Offensive lineman Jessamen Dunker became the sixth Florida recruit to enroll early, but there is some uncertainty about whether defensive tackle Quinteze Williams will be able to do so this week.

A UF official confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the NCAA Clearinghouse approved Dunker's transcript, and he should be enrolled in classes today. However, there were still some questions regarding Williams' situation, and the school is hopeful it will be resolved by the end of the week.

If Williams is unable to enroll this spring, he will join the rest of UF's signing class and enroll in the summer.

Dunker (6-foot-6, 315 pounds) played tackle at Boynton Beach, Fla./Boynton Beach High School but is expected to start his collegiate career at left guard. That's the weakest position on the offensive line heading into spring practice and Dunker could end up winning the job by the time the season begins.

Williams (6-4, 295), who played at Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek High School, was going to compete for playing time in the tackle rotation.

On Monday, five other players enrolled early: offensive tackle D.J. Humphries, defensive tackle Damien Jacobs, receiver Latroy Pittman, defensive back Willie Bailey and linebacker Antonio Morrison.