My fellow Gator brethren (and SEC folk). The season opener is quickly approaching. As of this post, it's a 52 day countdown. Wanted to get the ball rollin' on this season's thoughts, expectations and ultimately final record.
NEWS:
-Brent Pease. New OC/QB coach. Looks to bring a more exciting offense (with power running game) back to the Swamp. Came over from Boise St. Gotta say I'm pretty excited about this new offense. But...I said the same thing about Charlie Weis, and..well...
-Dante Phillips. 4 star DT's are hard to come by. Apparently Phillips was cleared by the NCAA Clearing House, but UF's Office of Admissions denied a portion of his high school transcript. He and his father appealed the decision, but it was shot down, again. He'll transfer to another school. Best wishes to the young man. The other two highly rated DT's that were in limbo, qualified and are enrolled (Jonathan Bullard and Dante Fowler).
-Ronald Powell and Dominique Easley both suffered torn ACL's this past spring. Powell is expected to miss at least the first month of the season and Easley is expected to return this summer. The damn DLINE can't catch a break!
-UAA is havin' a hard time gettin' people to purchase season tickets. They've flooded the state with articles and ads beggin' people to buy tickets. Almost FSU status, except you have to become a booster. Depending on the amount you donate to the school, affords you the luxury of buying season tickets. Even the student ticket allotment hasn't been sold out, yet. I did my part and purchased a couple home game tickets that i'm takin' my nephew to. Of course, winning will take care of all of this...
-GATORVISION.tv is completely free during the month of July. You have to register, but no CC/payment info is needed. I've been watchin' everything.
*IMPORTANT* STARTING DEPTH CHART (2-DEEP):
QB - Jacoby Brissett SO
QB - Jeff Driskel SO
RB - Mike Gillislee SR
RB - Trey Burton JR (hybrid)
FB - Hunter Joyer SO
FB - Trey Burton JR (hybrid)
WR - Andre Debose RJR
WR - Frankie Hammond Jr RSR
TE - Jordan Reed RJR
TE - A.C. Leonard SO
DL - Earl Okine RSR/Omar Hunter RSR/Dominique Easley JR/Shariff Floyd JR
DL - Leon Orr RSO/Nick Alajajian SR/Kedric Johnson RJR/Dante Fowler FR
(assuming base 4-3)
MLB - Jon Bostic SR
MLB - Michael Taylor RSO
SLB - Jelani Jenkins RJR
SLB - Neiron Ball RSO
WLB - Lerentee McCray RSR
WLB - Gideon Ajagbe RSO
(assuming base 4-3)
DB - Jeremy Brown RJR
DB - Marcus Roberson SO
FS - Matt Elam JR
FS - Josh Evans SR
FINAL THOUGHTS:
The schedule looks interesting, with new SEC blood aTm on the road, and Missouri at home. UT is always tough in Knoxville. LSU...is LSU, always a slugfest (except for last year's laugher). UGA at the Cocktail Party in Jax is always fun, and most are picking UGA to come out of the East this year. No 'Bama, but could always meet them in the SECCG.
Jacoby has been the front-runner for QB since starting against LSU, last season, when Brantley went down. Even as a true freshman, in that environment, with that crowd, he looked calm. He looked poised. I compared that start, against Jeff coming in for Brantley against Alabama, and it was night and day. Jacoby's QB movement in the pocket is fluid. He makes his reads, and checks down if necessary. Jeff looks to take off if his first option isn't there.
O-Line gotta clean up the hand-offs and the defense needs to cut down on stupid momentum killing 3rd down penalties. They bailed out a lot of offenses last year, and lost some games, because of it. I'd have to assume maturity will engulf this defense this year, and they should be a top 5 D.
13-0...
We winnin' the 'ship this year
Thoughts?
