Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida released a post-spring depth chart on Wednesday. There were no big surprises, although seeing running back Mack Brown behind Matt Jones and ahead of Kelvin Taylor did earn a raised eyebrow.

Here’s the breakdown:

Offense

LT: D.J. Humphries (6-5, 285, So.)/Trenton Brown (6-8, 363, Jr.)

LG: Max Garcia (6-4, 307, RJr.)/Ian Silberman (6-5, 290, RJr.)

C: Jonotthan Harrison (6-3, 303, RSr.) /Kyle Koehne (6-5, 314, RSr.)

RG: Jon Halapio (6-3, 317, RSr.)/Trip Thurman (6-5, 313, RSo.)

RT: Tyler Moore (6-5, 315, RSo.) OR Chaz Green (6-5, 305, RJr.)

TE: Clay Burton (6-4, 247, Jr.)/Tevin Westbrook (6-5, 258, Jr.) OR Colin Thompson (6-4, 250, RFr.) OR Kent Taylor (6-5, 223, So.)

RB: Matt Jones (6-2, 228, So.)/Mack Brown (5-11, 215, RJr.)

(Read full post)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Spring practice is nearly halfway over and the NCAA tournament is finally underway, and that makes it a busy week for Florida sports.

GatorNation kept you up to date, starting with a story about the middle of UF’s defense. Coach Will Muschamp believes you have to be strong up the middle -- meaning at defensive tackle, middle linebacker and safety, and he believes the Gators can do that despite having new starters at each position.

However, the Gators’ depth at linebacker took a bit of a blow with the loss of freshman early enrollee Alex Anzalone to a damaged labrum in his right shoulder. He’ll be out for the rest of the spring but should be cleared to return in August. Anzalone was No. 2 on the depth chart at middle linebacker behind starter Antonio Morrison. Darrin Kitchens, who is listed as the starter at weakside linebacker, is also taking reps at middle linebacker.

Anzalone was one of the players who drew praise from the coaches during the Gators’ two open practices last weekend. Ten observations from those two days can be found here.

UF also is overhauling the left side of its offensive line with new starters D.J. Humphries and Max Garcia.

(Read full post)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida is now a little thinner at linebacker after losing freshman Alex Anzalone for the rest of the spring because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

UF coach Will Muschamp said Tuesday that Anzalone had surgery on Monday to repair the injury but expects the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Anzalone to be fine in time for the beginning of fall practice.

"It’s a freak deal," Muschamp said. "It was in a tackling drill. He just got hit on it the wrong way. Disappointed for him but he’s going to be a really good player, so we’re going to be fine."

Anzalone enrolled in January and was backing up starter Antonio Morrison at middle linebacker. Morrison played outside linebacker last season as a freshman but moved inside this spring after Jonathan Bostic graduated.

Anzalone is one of three freshman linebackers to enroll early. Only one of them is healthy now. Matt Rolin (Ashburn, Va./Briar Woods) is sitting out spring as he continues to recover from offseason ACL surgery. Daniel McMillian (Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast) is the backup to starter Michael Taylor at weakside linebacker.

Senior Darrin Kitchens, redshirt junior Neiron Ball and redshirt freshman Jeremi Powell are working at strongside linebacker.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The surprising loss of linebacker Jelani Jenkins to the NFL draft leaves an interesting situation for the Gators at the position in 2013.

Florida is going to have to piece together a starting unit from a group of players that’s loaded with potential but doesn’t have a lot of experience. The Gators might even end up starting a true freshman.

There is one certainty: Antonio Morrison is going to be one of the starters. The 6-foot-1, 218-pound sophomore-to-be is UF’s most physical linebacker despite his size. He made several big plays in 2012, most notably causing Florida State QB E.J. Manuel to fumble early in the fourth quarter of the Gators’ victory.

But does Morrison start at weakside linebacker, which is where he played as Jenkins’ replacement when Jenkins was out with his finger, foot and hamstring injuries? Or can he beef up and play in the middle as a replacement for Jon Bostic, who graduates? He’s a better fit at outside linebacker because he’s athletic enough to cover tight ends and backs.

Does 6-foot, 226-pound redshirt junior Mike Taylor start in the middle? He’s solid against the run but he’s not very good in coverage and the Gators subbed him out for Morrison on obvious passing downs when he was in the game.

The Gators don’t have a lot of options at inside linebacker. James Hearns (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln) is the only inside linebacker commitment the Gators have.

The other outside spot could go to a variety of players: redshirt junior Neiron Ball, senior Darrin Kitchens, redshirt freshman Jeremi Powell (whom the coaches have raved about on the scout team), and freshman Daniel McMillian, who is scheduled to enroll this week.

While the linebackers appear to be a talented group, there isn’t much production. Taylor has 68 tackles and one sack in 25 career games, although that sack was a big one: It knocked Texas A&M out of field goal position just before halftime. Morrison has 34 tackles and a sack in 13 games, and Kitchens has 37 tackles in 35 games.

After that, there’s very little experience. D.J. Durkin has established himself as a heck of a recruiter and a very good special-teams coordinator. Now he’s going to have to piece together a unit that doesn’t have a consistent playmaker.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It looks like Florida linebacker Jelani Jenkins could be back on the field for the Gators’ game against LSU on Oct. 6.

UF coach Will Muschamp said Wednesday that Jenkins will see a specialist on Friday and have the surgical pin removed from his fractured right thumb. If Jenkins is cleared, then he could play against the Tigers with a cast on his hand.

"That goes back to pain level and comfort level of playing with a cast," Muschamp said. "Right now we feel like he should be able to go, but again you never know until the guy looks at it, so I don’t want to sit there and say he’s going right now. I’m not ready to say that."

Jenkins fractured his thumb against Texas A&M on Sept. 8 and hasn’t played since. Muschamp said Jenkins was cleared last week to resume weight-lifting and running.

(Read full post)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida Gators are a wounded bunch heading into the Tennessee game -- but things aren’t as bad as they appeared Saturday night.

UF won’t have linebacker Jelani Jenkins (thumb) or cornerback/safety Cody Riggs (foot) for four weeks, and coach Will Muschamp said end/linebacker Ronald Powell suffered a setback during his rehab from a torn ACL and likely will miss the rest of the season.

But, good news for the No. 18-ranked Gators: Muschamp said running back Mike Gillislee (groin) and safety Josh Evans (shoulder) will practice on Monday and will be able to play against the No. 23 Volunteers. Plus, UF is getting safety De’Ante Saunders (hamstring) back after he missed the first two games.

And even better news: UF has more depth this season than in 2011 and is much better equipped to handle a rash of injuries like this.

“Our depth is still not where it needs to be, but certainly much better than it was a year ago,” Muschamp said. “We’re not having to switch guys from position to position in order to finish a game or prepare guys for a game.”

(Read full post)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- After the 2011 season ended, Florida defensive coordinator handed out DVDs.

Not every player got one, but those who played significantly did. On each DVD were some highlights, something to make the players feel good about themselves after a rough season that was one of the program’s worst in more than 30 years.

Each DVD also contained some clips of mistakes and poor plays, letting each player know in what areas they needed to improve for 2012.

"We tried to do it for all the guys who were on tape last year and returning," Quinn said Thursday. "I wanted them to go into the offseason (hearing) these are the things I think from last year you did well and then I said these are the things moving forward that you, specifically, as a player -- not related to the scheme of our defense -- need to do better."

(Read full post)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida’s Darrin Kitchens couldn’t say no to God.

But he wasn’t sure if his girlfriend Nathalie would say yes to him.

Kitchens, a junior linebacker, and his girlfriend were on a church retreat earlier this year. After a night of worship, Kitchens was praying by himself when God sent him a message: Ask Nathalie to marry you.

"I thought it was me at first," the 20-year-old Kitchens said. "I started apologizing to God. I said, 'Lord, I’m sorry. I’m supposed to be praying to you and I’m over here thinking about her.' And then He said it again and then I got scared a little bit.

"I was like, 'OK, maybe I’ll do it tomorrow. What’s she going to say?' He just kept telling me to do it and I did it and everything worked out."

Kitchens and Nathalie, who met when they were students at Homestead (Fla.) High School, were married in a Gainesville church on June 23. That makes him the only UF football player with a wife. That earned him some sit-down time with his coaches, who wanted to give Kitchens some advice.

(Read full post)