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Jon Sumrall Just Sent CLEAR MESSAGE Before UF's Season Kicks Off! | Gators Football · A Peek Inside Gators Football: A Show About the Florida Gators

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  Speaker 1: Hey guys, welcome back to A Peek Inside Gator Football.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: It is game week. This is really exciting. This video
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  Speaker 2: is brought to you by PrizePix. We have officially made it.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Game week in Gainesville, Florida is getting ready to open
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  Speaker 2: the John Summerall era against FAU Saturday night in the swamp.
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  Speaker 2: And Summerall met with the media to talk about the matchup,
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  Speaker 2: his team.
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  Speaker 1: The depth chart. Guys, we got a full depth chart
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  Speaker 1: on a Monday.
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  Speaker 2: Injuries, some young players who could make an impact, and
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  Speaker 2: maybe most importantly, make sure the Gators actually have the
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  Speaker 2: correct number of.
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  Speaker 1: Men on the field. And yes, we are going to
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  Speaker 1: talk about that.
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  Speaker 2: If you've watched Florida football over the last few years,
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  Speaker 2: you have probably heard that comment and immediately thought, whew,
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  Speaker 2: all right, I like where this is going. But first,
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  Speaker 2: we're going to start with the opponent. Semrall clearly has
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  Speaker 2: a lot of respect for FAU. And unlike a lot
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  Speaker 2: of first-year coaches going into an opener, he actually has
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  Speaker 2: some recent familiarity with them because his Tulane team played
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  Speaker 2: FAU last year.
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  Speaker 1: And he made it pretty clear.
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  Speaker 2: This isn't a team that Florida can just roll the
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  Speaker 2: ball out against and expect to beat because it says
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  Speaker 2: Florida on our jerseys. He called Florida Atlantic explosive offensively,
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  Speaker 2: and he pointed out that they bring back a ton
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  Speaker 2: of production.
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  Speaker 1: Their quarterback has played a lot of football. He's got
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  Speaker 1: a big arm.
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  Speaker 2: And Samaral said he's actually more mobile than people probably
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  Speaker 2: give him credit for. He also specifically mentioned their receiving core.
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  Speaker 2: He talks about their additions at tight end, the running
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  Speaker 2: back room, how they have a solid offensive line. And
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  Speaker 2: I think the biggest concern with Florida Atlantic might be tempo.
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  Speaker 2: Sarmal said FAU was the fastest offense in college football
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  Speaker 2: last season. Not one of the fastest, the fastest. He
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  Speaker 2: said when Tulane played him last year, you could basically
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  Speaker 2: blink and suddenly FAU was already in the red zone.
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  Speaker 2: They also went for it on fourth down more than
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  Speaker 2: anybody in college football last season.
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  Speaker 1: According to Summerall.
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  Speaker 2: So this is going to be a really interesting first
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  Speaker 2: test for Brad White and this Florida defense. They're going
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  Speaker 2: to have to get lined up really quickly. They're going
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  Speaker 2: to have to communicate, and they're going to have to
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  Speaker 2: be ready for Florida Atlantic to be aggressive. And I
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  Speaker 2: think that is a really good test when you're opening
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  Speaker 2: the season with a new coaching staff. Sometimes the biggest
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  Speaker 2: challenge isn't necessarily talent, but it is communication and substitutions
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  Speaker 2: and getting the call and getting lined up and making
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  Speaker 2: sure everybody knows where they're supposed to be. And against
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  Speaker 2: a team that wants to go warp speed like Ford
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  Speaker 2: Atlantic does, those little mistakes can become touchdowns really quickly.
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  Speaker 2: Semra also emphasized FAU's special teams. He said they finished
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  Speaker 2: inside the top 40 in every special teams category that
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  Speaker 2: they as a coaching staff evaluate. And you could tell
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  Speaker 2: that's something he's paying very close attention to. And actually
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  Speaker 2: later in the press conference, Samaral mentioned that he lost
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  Speaker 2: his mind during a special teams period of practice because
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  Speaker 2: he saw something.
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  Speaker 1: He didn't like.
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  Speaker 2: He didn't tell us what it was, but he saw
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  Speaker 2: something he was not pleased about. So clearly there is
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  Speaker 2: a really high standard being held there. And that gets
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  Speaker 2: us into, you know, my favorite part of the press conference.
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  Speaker 2: Florida used last week as essentially a mock game week.
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  Speaker 2: Samaral wanted the players to understand what he calls the
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  Speaker 2: battle rhythm of a normal week. What does Monday look like?
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  Speaker 2: What does Tuesday look like?
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  Speaker 1: When are meetings?
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  Speaker 2: How does installation work? What does warmup look like? How
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  Speaker 2: does everything operate? Because he doesn't want his players thinking
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  Speaker 2: about any of that on Saturday. We're going to take
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: a quick break from this video and give some loves
• 3:41
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• 3:46
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  Speaker 2: We appreciate PrizePix for all their support. Let's go back
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: to what Summerall was saying. He wants everything outside of
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: actually playing football to become automatic. And I think that's
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  Speaker 2: probably where Florida fans' ears perked up. Summerall said he
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  Speaker 2: showed his players about 20 plays from the week zero
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  Speaker 2: games around college football. And in one of those games,
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  Speaker 2: I checked to see if James Madison was playing, by
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  Speaker 2: the way.
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  Speaker 1: They weren't.
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  Speaker 2: A team had 12 men on the field during field
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  Speaker 2: goal block three different times, three times in the same game.
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  Speaker 2: And Semmel basically said, look, I am not going to
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  Speaker 2: pretend we're going to be perfect in week one. There
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  Speaker 2: are going to be mistakes. Every opening weekend has them.
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  Speaker 2: But then he said, I'm going to dang sure try
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  Speaker 2: to make sure we get 11 on the field. And listen,
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  Speaker 2: I know that's a really small thing and it should
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  Speaker 2: be the bare minimum, but But Florida fans understand exactly
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  Speaker 2: why that comment.
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  Speaker 1: Hit home for a lot of us.
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  Speaker 2: We watch this team have way too many moments over
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  Speaker 2: the last several years where you're asking yourself, how does
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  Speaker 2: that happen? Wrong personnel, special teams confusion, too many players,
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  Speaker 2: not enough players, guys running out of the field late,
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  Speaker 2: guys running off the field late, two numbers on the
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  Speaker 2: field at the same time. And Summerall's entire point was
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  Speaker 2: that those are the kind of mistakes you try to
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  Speaker 2: eliminate when before you ever get to Saturday. He is
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  Speaker 2: not promising perfection. He is promising preparation. And I think
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  Speaker 2: there's a difference there. And that was probably the overarching
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  Speaker 2: theme of this entire press conference. Prepare so much that
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  Speaker 2: the players don't have to think. Summerall talked about a
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  Speaker 2: UFC fighter that they had visit the team, Justin Gaethje,
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  Speaker 2: speaking last week. And he explained that He also wants
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  Speaker 2: to be so prepared that when he gets into the octagon,
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  Speaker 2: he isn't consciously thinking about what he's supposed to do.
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  Speaker 1: He just reacts.
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  Speaker 2: Summerall wants the same thing from Florida. By Saturday night,
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  Speaker 2: he doesn't want guys wondering where they're supposed to go
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  Speaker 2: next or what the routine is.
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  Speaker 1: He wants them to cut loose and play football.
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  Speaker 2: Another thing that continues to stand out to me about
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  Speaker 2: Summerall is just how direct he is. The depth chart
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  Speaker 2: came out, and when he was asked how he handles
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  Speaker 2: those conversations with players, he said, everybody knows exactly where
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  Speaker 2: they stand.
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  Speaker 1: There isn't any surprises.
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  Speaker 2: His words were basically, if you are on the depth
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  Speaker 2: chart somewhere, you know why you are there. And if
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  Speaker 2: you want to play more, practice better. And when you
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  Speaker 2: get into the game, play well.
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  Speaker 1: That's it. You get what you earn. There were also a.
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  Speaker 2: Few interesting personnel nuggets. At tight end, Samaral praised Lakota
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  Speaker 2: Dupree for his consistency.
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  Speaker 1: And he also said that freshman Hedzie Kent.
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  Speaker 2: That's somebody we've done a video on, that he may
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  Speaker 2: have made as much improvement as any freshman on the
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  Speaker 2: entire roster. He said back in January, he would have
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  Speaker 2: given Kent a pretty low percentage chance of being ready
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  Speaker 2: to contribute this season. And he said, and then, you know,
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  Speaker 2: he improved over the summer and then he improved again
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  Speaker 2: during camp. And now he's put himself in a position
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  Speaker 2: to potentially help this team. Amir Jackson says, and Lou
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  Speaker 2: Parkbring were essentially listed together at the H position because
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  Speaker 2: Summerall believes both bring kind of different things to this offense.
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  Speaker 2: So I do expect to see both. Freshman KJ Ford
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  Speaker 2: is another guy to watch. Summerall said Ford had a
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  Speaker 2: really good spring, hit a little bit of that freshman
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  Speaker 2: wall early in camp, but has responded really well late.
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  Speaker 2: And he does expect Ford to play Saturday night. Summerall
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  Speaker 2: also mentioned CJ Branagh as a young player with a
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  Speaker 2: really high ceiling who might be further along if he
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  Speaker 2: hadn't missed the spring. Another interesting part of this was
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  Speaker 2: Summerall talking about how much he's changed as a head coach.
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  Speaker 2: He admitted that during his first year at Troy, he
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  Speaker 2: probably tried to control everything too much. His words were that,
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  Speaker 2: I was probably a miserable guy to work for. And
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  Speaker 2: now he's learned to trust his coordinators and his assistants more.
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  Speaker 2: And he brought up something that Billy Donovan recently told
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  Speaker 2: all of Florida's head coaches. He said, as a head coach,
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  Speaker 2: you have to make the final decision, but you're never
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  Speaker 2: smarter than the room. And that's a really good philosophy.
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  Speaker 2: Summerall's point was basically, if he's clearly the smartest person
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  Speaker 2: in every meeting, then he didn't hire a very good staff.
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  Speaker 2: He wants Buster Faulkner and Brad White challenging him. He
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  Speaker 2: wants assistants offering ideas. He wants disagreements. And then, you know,
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  Speaker 2: ultimately he acknowledges he'll make the decision.
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  Speaker 1: It's his decision.
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  Speaker 2: But specifically with guys like Buster Faulkner, Summerall said one
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  Speaker 2: thing that he appreciates is that he's not a yes man.
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  Speaker 2: They go back and forth. Buster will challenge an idea
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  Speaker 2: or offer another way of looking at something, and Summerall
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  Speaker 2: likes that. He also praised Buster for adapting the offense
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  Speaker 2: to the players they actually have rather than forcing the
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  Speaker 2: players into one rigid system. Then there was the obvious
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  Speaker 2: question that we've all asked, and it's about expectations.
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  Speaker 1: This is Florida.
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  Speaker 2: There are expectations every single year. There may have also
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  Speaker 2: been five losing seasons, which means everybody is.
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  Speaker 1: Desperate to see this thing turn around really quickly.
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  Speaker 2: But someone refused to put a number on what a
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  Speaker 2: successful season looks like. He's not saying eight wins or
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  Speaker 2: nine wins. He's not saying it's playoff or bus. What
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  Speaker 2: he's essentially saying is go 1-0. then do it again
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  Speaker 2: and again. He said winning every game would be a
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  Speaker 2: good year. Winning a championship would be.
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  Speaker 1: A great year.
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  Speaker 2: But his larger point was that once you start saying, well,
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  Speaker 2: this would be good enough, you actually can limit what
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  Speaker 2: you're capable of accomplishing. He wants championship standards. He acknowledged
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  Speaker 2: that Florida isn't yet operating as a championship caliber program
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  Speaker 2: every single day, but that is where he wants it
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  Speaker 2: to go. And I really did think that was a
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  Speaker 2: good answer. Florida shouldn't have to redefine success downward. And
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  Speaker 2: that's kind of our jobs as the Talking Heads. We
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  Speaker 2: talk about what would be okay by the fan base
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  Speaker 2: for year one and how that changes maybe going into
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  Speaker 2: year two. But what they talk about in the locker
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  Speaker 2: room and what they're really willing to accept should be
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  Speaker 2: different conversation. I think you can acknowledge where this program
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  Speaker 2: has been without changing what the standard ultimately has to be.
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  Speaker 2: Another thing Summerall wants on Saturday night, he wants the
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  Speaker 2: swamp packed, and I'm sure it will be. He went
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  Speaker 2: out of his way at the very beginning of the
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  Speaker 2: press conference to challenge Gator Nation.
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  Speaker 1: He said there shouldn't be an empty seat.
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  Speaker 2: And I don't think that's anything he has to worry about.
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  Speaker 2: If Florida operates and wants to operate like a top
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  Speaker 2: 20 team, a top 10 team, a playoff team, I
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  Speaker 2: do think the environment needs to reflect that every time
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  Speaker 2: Florida plays at home. The players and the coaches obviously matter,
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  Speaker 2: but the fans do matter too. On the injury front,
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  Speaker 2: it sounds like Florida's entering week one in really good shape.
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  Speaker 2: Summerall said Chika is questionable. He practiced and was running around,
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  Speaker 2: but they haven't decided how much they want to push him. And,
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  Speaker 2: you know, Kendall Gurville is back practicing. Overall, Summerall really
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: characterized the injury report as pretty positive. And so they
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  Speaker 2: basically have everybody ready to go. And I think finally,
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  Speaker 2: maybe the biggest takeaway for me is that John Summerall
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  Speaker 2: is ready for Saturday.
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  Speaker 1: He said he'll be fired up. He said he'll be amped.
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  Speaker 2: But he also said he's not nervous. He joked about, like,
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  Speaker 2: I don't get nervous. If I see a rattlesnake, maybe
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  Speaker 2: I'll be a little nervous. But I don't get nervous
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  Speaker 2: about football. Saturday, in his mind, belongs to the players.
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  Speaker 2: He said Sunday through Friday is when the coaches just
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  Speaker 2: absolutely coach the hell out of them. And Saturday is
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  Speaker 2: when the players get to go play. And we're going
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: to learn a lot very quickly. How clean does Florida
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: look operationally? How does Aaron Filo handle his first start?
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: How does this defense deal with FAU's fast tempo? What
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: does Buster Faulkner's offense actually look like when they're no
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: longer hiding things in practice? What does Brad White's defense
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: look like? How aggressive is Florida? How clean are the substitutions?
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  Speaker 1: How do special teams look?
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  Speaker 2: And yes, can we get 11 men on the field
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  Speaker 2: every time? It is a brand new era and there
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  Speaker 2: are going to be mistakes. And I don't think anybody
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  Speaker 2: should expect perfection game one. But after listening to Summerall,
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  Speaker 2: I think the expectation is pretty clear. Florida may make
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  Speaker 2: football mistakes, but what he really doesn't want is preventable mistakes.
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: And that's the operational stuff or the communication stuff the
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: things that happen before the ball is even snapped. And
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  Speaker 2: if we get through Saturday night without ever having to
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  Speaker 2: freeze the television and count the number of Gators standing
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  Speaker 2: on the field, I think Florida fans will consider that progress.
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: And now we finally get to see what this team
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: actually looks like. It's John Summerall's first game. It's Aaron
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  Speaker 2: Filo's first start. It's FAU coming into the swamp on
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: a Saturday night. Guys, let's play some football. I don't
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: know about you, but I am excited. Tell me down
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: in the comments, who are you the most excited to watch?
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: Or maybe tell me the part of the game that
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: you're looking to see like, okay, I see a difference
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: between this regime and the last one. Let me know
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: down in the comments. You guys know I love to comment,
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: reply back and forth with all of you guys.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you for tuning in.
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: A big thank you to PrizePix as well. I'll see
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: you guys next time.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: Go Gators.