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Gators... It's TIME to have a SERIOUS Conversation about UF Football BEFORE the Season! · A Peek Inside Gators Football: A Show About the Florida Gators

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey Gator fans, Allie Peek here. You are watching A
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Peek Inside Gator Football. This video is brought to you
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: by PrizePix. Don't forget, new users can download the app,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: use our code HMA, and play a $ 5 lineup. If
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: you win, you'll get $ 150 in lineups instantly. We are
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: officially at that point in the season where I feel
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: like we know a lot more about this Florida football
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: team than we did a month ago. We know Aaron
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  Speaker 1: Filo is going to get the lion's share of the
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  Speaker 1: first team reps at quarterback. We finally have a projected
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  Speaker 1: starting five on offensive line. We have a pretty good
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  Speaker 1: idea who some of the biggest risers from fall camp were.
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  Speaker 1: We know John Summerall feels a lot better about this
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  Speaker 1: team coming out of the second scrimmage than he did
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  Speaker 1: coming out of spring.
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  Speaker 2: So we have some answers.
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  Speaker 1: But there are also some things I don't think practice
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  Speaker 1: reports can tell us. There are things that coaches can
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: talk about all they want, but until Florida lines up
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  Speaker 1: against somebody wearing a different colored jersey, we're.
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  Speaker 2: Not going to really know. And Semmel has basically said
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  Speaker 2: that himself.
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  Speaker 1: So today I want to give you the five biggest
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  Speaker 1: questions I still have about Florida heading into the season.
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  Speaker 1: I don't necessarily mean these as negatives. Some of these
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  Speaker 1: questions could end up having really good answers, but they're
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  Speaker 1: the five things I need to actually see before I'm
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  Speaker 1: ready to make any sweeping conclusions about how good this
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  Speaker 1: team can be. Number five, can Florida turn all of
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  Speaker 1: these weapons into an explosive offense? And I know that
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  Speaker 1: that might sound strange because we've spent this entire offseason
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  Speaker 1: talking about how much talent Florida has at the skill position.
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  Speaker 1: Jaden Baugh's coming off a thousand yard season. Vernell Brown
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  Speaker 1: looks like he could become one of the best receivers
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  Speaker 1: in the SEC. Dallas Wilson's finally healthy. Eric Singleton comes
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  Speaker 1: over from Auburn and is immediately the fastest guy on
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  Speaker 1: the team. We've got Micah Mays and TJ Abrams. And
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  Speaker 1: then we spent an entire video talking about the 6'6,
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  Speaker 1: 288-pound science experiment that is Hesi Kent.
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  Speaker 2: So there are toys.
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  Speaker 1: The question is whether Buster Faulkner can actually put all
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  Speaker 1: of them together. Florida has had talented offensive players each
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  Speaker 1: of the last several seasons. The Gators still averaged only 21.6
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  Speaker 1: points and 341 yards per game last year. They averaged
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  Speaker 1: only 5.4 yards per play, and they converted only 34%
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  Speaker 1: of their third downs. So having weapons isn't good enough,
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  Speaker 1: especially with Florida's schedule. And that's why I'm not just
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  Speaker 1: interested in whether Florida beats FAU. Florida should beat FAU.
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  Speaker 1: I want to see how they do it. Are there
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  Speaker 1: easy completions? Are guys running open? Are there explosive plays?
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  Speaker 1: Does motion create mismatches?
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  Speaker 2: Does Florida get.
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  Speaker 1: Jaden Baugh into favorable boxes? Can Vernell Brown get the
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  Speaker 1: football without having to make somebody miss immediately? Can they
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  Speaker 1: get Dallas Wilson matched one-on-one downfield? Does Hezzy Kent actually
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  Speaker 1: have a package?
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  Speaker 2: This is what I'm watching.
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  Speaker 1: Because one of my biggest frustrations with the Florida offense
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  Speaker 1: the last several years has been how hard everything looks sometimes.
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  Speaker 1: You watch other teams and you're like, why does that
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  Speaker 1: touchdown look so easy? Why is that receiver standing by himself?
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  Speaker 1: Why is that running back 15-yard downfield before somebody touches him?
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  Speaker 1: That's what scheme can do. Florida doesn't need to trick
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  Speaker 1: everybody on every snap, but this roster has too much
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  Speaker 1: offensive talent for every touchdown drive to feel like pulling teeth.
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  Speaker 1: Buster Faulkner's Georgia Tech offense showed it could generate big numbers.
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  Speaker 1: Now we need to find out whether that translates in Gainesville.
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  Speaker 1: Number four, where does the consistent pass rush come from?
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  Speaker 1: The defensive front might end up being one of Florida's
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  Speaker 1: biggest strengths. There are a lot of bodies, and there's
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  Speaker 1: a lot of size and a lot of athleticism, and
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  Speaker 1: there's some really intriguing pieces. We've talked a lot on
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  Speaker 1: this channel about LJ McCray. I think he's one of
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  Speaker 1: the most obvious pieces. He's back after basically losing all
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  Speaker 1: of last season to an injury. He's added 21 pounds
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  Speaker 1: of lean mass, according to Florida's strength and nutrition staff.
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  Speaker 1: And someone has said McCray is playing like he's starting
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  Speaker 1: to believe in what he can become. They've said that
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  Speaker 1: the light bulb has kind of been turned on. And
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  Speaker 1: that all sounds great. I'm extremely excited to see him.
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  Speaker 1: And then you've got Brendan Bett, who had three sacks
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  Speaker 1: last season despite only starting three games. You've got Cameron James.
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  Speaker 1: You've got Jaden Woods. You've got Jeremiah McLeod. There are options.
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  Speaker 1: But here's the question. Who's the guy offenses have to
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  Speaker 1: account for on third and eight? Florida finished last season
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  Speaker 1: with 26 sacks in 12 games. And again, not terrible.
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  Speaker 1: But against really good quarterbacks, you need somebody who can
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  Speaker 1: wreck a game. And what I really want to know
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  Speaker 1: is whether Brad White can generate pressure without constantly having
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  Speaker 1: to manufacture it. Blitzes are great. Creative pressures are great.
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  Speaker 1: But if you're sending five or six guys every time
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  Speaker 1: you want to affect the quarterback, eventually somebody is going
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  Speaker 1: to make you pay for that. The best defenses can
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  Speaker 1: rush for and still make the quarterback uncomfortable. That changes
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  Speaker 1: everything behind him. Now, maybe LJ McCray becomes that guy.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe Jaden Woods takes another huge step. Maybe it's by committee,
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  Speaker 1: but Florida has to create negative plays, especially because when
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  Speaker 1: you look at some of the quarterbacks Florida will eventually face,
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  Speaker 1: giving those guys five seconds in the pocket, not a
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  Speaker 1: winning strategy. This front looks good walking off the bus.
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  Speaker 1: Now I want to see whether it can consistently affect
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  Speaker 1: the quarterback. Number three, what does the secondary actually look like?
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  Speaker 1: And I think this is one of the most fascinating
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  Speaker 1: position groups on the entire team. I actually like the
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  Speaker 1: talent there, but I'm not totally sure exactly how it
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  Speaker 1: fits all together. Cormany McLean has one of the better
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  Speaker 1: camps of the entire defense. He intercepted Aaron Filo in
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  Speaker 1: the first scrimmage. He's coming off a season where he
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  Speaker 1: played 10 games and started six of them.
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  Speaker 2: And we've been talking about his.
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  Speaker 1: Ceilings since he was the highest-rated quarterback in the entire
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  Speaker 1: country coming out of high school.
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  Speaker 2: But now we've got to see it.
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  Speaker 1: Then you have Ben Hanks and Dijon Johnson and Javari Flowers.
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  Speaker 1: There's legitimate options at corner. And safety has a bunch
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  Speaker 1: of bodies too. Bryce Thornton and Drake Stubbs and DJ
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  Speaker 1: Coleman and Cam Dooley and Laganza Hayward. Then you've got
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  Speaker 1: the star position with guys like Kanye Clark. So I
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  Speaker 1: don't think it's an issue of lack of possibilities. I
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  Speaker 1: think it's almost the opposite. Who actually separates? Who are
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  Speaker 1: the two corners Florida trusts when it's third and seven
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  Speaker 1: against Georgia?
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  Speaker 2: Who can play man coverage? Who's the nickel? Who does
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  Speaker 2: Brad White rotate these safeties with?
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  Speaker 1: Who becomes the guy on the back end making sure
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  Speaker 1: everybody's lining up correctly?
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  Speaker 2: The quarterback and the defense, so to speak.
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  Speaker 1: That's something that camp can't completely answer. And that's where
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  Speaker 1: Cormani McLean becomes such a huge storyline. Because if the
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  Speaker 1: version of Cormani we heard about earlier, all through camp
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  Speaker 1: is real, that's a big deal. 6'2 corner with his
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  Speaker 1: natural talent becoming a legitimate quarterback one completely changes what
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  Speaker 1: Brad White can do defensively. I'm gonna take a quick
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: break from this video to give some love to Alumni Hall.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: And Alumni Hall wants to give some love right back
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: to you. They have given us a code.
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: It's PEAK15.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: That's P-E-E-K-1-5. You can use it online or in their
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: store on Archer Road in Gainesville. It's gonna give you
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: 15% off your entire purchase Huge brands like Nike and Jordan,
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: Peter Millar, Cutter and Buck, all the latest trends in
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: college football gear, they have it for you. There is
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: still time to get clothes for the opening game. It's
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: just a little over five days away. So do me
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: a favor, use the code, tell them Allie sent you.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: We appreciate Alumni Hall for all their support. We've talked
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  Speaker 1: about this a lot on this channel. If Kormani can
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  Speaker 1: take away one side, maybe you can help somebody else.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe you can be more aggressive. Maybe you can bring pressure.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe you can roll coverage somewhere else. But again, I
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  Speaker 1: need to see it. The secondary has gotten a lot
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  Speaker 1: of positive buzz. Now let's see how it looks when
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  Speaker 1: somebody starts attacking it. Number two, are the offensive tackles
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  Speaker 1: really solved? We just did an entire video on the
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  Speaker 1: offensive line, and I come away from Summerall's press conference
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  Speaker 1: last week feeling a lot better about this group. But
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  Speaker 1: this is still probably my biggest positional question. Florida has
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  Speaker 1: their projected starting five, and right now it's Bryce Lovett
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  Speaker 1: at left tackle, Najee Harris at left guard, Harrison Moore
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  Speaker 1: at center, TJ Shanahan at right guard, and Emeka Unguri
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  Speaker 1: at right tackle. And Sumrall said the group played its
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  Speaker 1: best football of the entire offseason during the second scrimmage,
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  Speaker 1: and I think that is encouraging. But even Sumrall isn't
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  Speaker 1: pretending that this thing is over. He said Florida will
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  Speaker 1: probably play a decent number of offensive linemen during the
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  Speaker 1: first couple of games while continuing to figure out what
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  Speaker 1: gives them the best long-term group. Caden Jones and Egan
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  Speaker 1: Boyer and TJ Dice are still alive in the tackle competition.
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  Speaker 1: And that tells me that Florida feels better, but they're
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  Speaker 1: still evaluating. And the two guys currently leading at tackle
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  Speaker 1: are probably not the two guys most people would have
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  Speaker 1: predicted several months ago. Bryce Lovett's transformation has been awesome.
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  Speaker 1: He completely changed his body and apparently had an excellent camp.
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  Speaker 1: But he struggled at tackle early last season before eventually moving.
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  Speaker 2: Into a more reserved role.
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  Speaker 1: Now he's protecting Aaron Fila's brine side. Emeka Ngore is
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  Speaker 1: really talented, but he's also a sophomore who spent most
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  Speaker 1: of his staffs last season at Stanford playing guard.
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  Speaker 2: So there are questions.
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  Speaker 1: And FAU and Campbell are actually really important for this
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  Speaker 1: group because Florida needs to figure this out before the
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  Speaker 1: Auburn game. You do not want to be rotating tackles
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  Speaker 1: in an SEC road game because you're still trying to
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  Speaker 1: decide who can protect the quarterback best. So this is
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  Speaker 1: probably what I'm watching more than anything week one. Not
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  Speaker 1: whether Florida's offensive line can push FAU around. Dear Lord,
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  Speaker 1: I hope they can. I want to watch pass protection.
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  Speaker 1: I want to watch Lovett's feet. I want to watch
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  Speaker 1: Emeka against speed. I want to see whether somebody gets
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  Speaker 1: beat cleanly around the edge. I want to see whether
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  Speaker 1: Philo has time when Florida needs five or seven step concepts.
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  Speaker 1: Because if the tackles are good, I actually really like
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  Speaker 1: this offensive line. Harris and Moore and Shanahan inside, I
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  Speaker 1: think could be excellent.
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  Speaker 2: But if Florida.
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  Speaker 1: can't protect the edges, I think it changes the entire
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  Speaker 1: ceiling of this offense. Number one, what happens when Aaron
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  Speaker 1: Filo gets punched in the mouth? You know, your number one,
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  Speaker 1: it had to be about quarterback on here. And listen,
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: notice that I didn't say, is Aaron Filo good? I
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  Speaker 1: think Aaron Filo is good. And I think Buster Faulkner
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  Speaker 1: clearly believes in him, and John Summerall believes in him.
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  Speaker 1: He knows the offense better than anybody else in the
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  Speaker 1: quarterback room, and that's why he won the job.
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  Speaker 2: Summerall said Florida can.
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  Speaker 1: Operate the full offense at a higher level with Philo
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  Speaker 1: right now because of everything that he can do before
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  Speaker 1: the snap. Getting Florida into the right play, checking out
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  Speaker 1: of the wrong one, understanding the defensive picture, and seeing
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: the middle of the field. And all that's great. But
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: here's what we don't know. What happens when things go badly?
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  Speaker 1: Aaron Philo has played college football. He hasn't played very
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  Speaker 1: much of it, though. He's appeared in eight games over
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  Speaker 1: two seasons and has thrown just over 102 career passes.
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  Speaker 1: And now he's just about to be the starting quarterback
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  Speaker 1: of the University of Florida. That's very different than what
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  Speaker 1: he's done before. What happens when the Swamp gets impatient?
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  Speaker 1: What happens when he throws an interception? What happens when
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  Speaker 1: Florida gets down 10-0 on the road? What happens when
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: he gets sacked twice on an opening drive? What happens
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: when a defensive coordinator figures out something he doesn't like?
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  Speaker 1: That's the part that you really can't simulate in fall camp. And,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: you know, one of the more encouraging things that Summerall
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: actually has said about Philo during camp came after he
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: threw an interception to Cormani McClain in the first scrimmage.
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: Summerall said the most impressive part of Philo's night was
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: that he responded after the interception by playing really good
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: football after that. And I love that. That's exactly what
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: you want. But doing it in a scrimmage is still
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: different from doing it when it counts. And here's another
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: layer to that question. How long is the leash? Summerall
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  Speaker 1: did not say this quarterback competition is over forever. This
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  Speaker 1: is my starter for the season. He said Philo's going
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: to get the lion's share of the first team reps.
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  Speaker 1: He said we're preparing for him to be quarterback one
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  Speaker 1: week one. He also went out of his way to
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: praise Trammell Jones and say the competition was real. Jones
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: improved dramatically from spring until now. Summerall said Florida needs
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: both quarterbacks ready. So what happens if Philo struggles? Does
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: Florida stick with him? Does Trammell get a series? Do
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: both quarterbacks play against FAU and Campbell? Does this become
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: a situation where Philo is clearly quarterback one, but Florida
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: continues developing Jones with meaningful snaps? I don't know the
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: answer to that. And I don't know that anybody outside
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: the building knows that yet. But the answer probably depends
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: on how Philo plays. And that's why I think quarterback
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: remains the number one unanswered question, even though Florida has
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: technically named its starter. We know who's going first, but
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: we don't know what happens next. And that's why the
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: first two games matter. FAU and Campbell aren't the games
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: Florida fans are circling on the schedule, and I get that.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: Everybody wants to talk about Auburn and Ole Miss and
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: Georgia and Texas and Oklahoma, but these first two games
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: aren't meaningless. They are Florida's opportunity to answer these questions
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: before the stakes get significantly higher. Can Aaron Filo operate
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: the offense when it counts? Can the tackles protect him?
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Who's actually playing in the secondary? Can Florida consistently rush
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: the passer? And can Buster Faulkner take this collection of
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: offensive weapons and turn it into something explosive? If we
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: get to the end of the Campbell game and Florida
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  Speaker 1: has good answers to all five, then I'm going to
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: feel very differently going into the Auburn game.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: That's when we can.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: Start talking about what this team might actually become. But
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: right now, I do think there's plenty to be excited about.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: I just also think there's plenty we haven't seen yet.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: And that's okay.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: Fall camp tells you who's improved and it tells you
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: who's won jobs and who the coaches trust. But football
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: games tell you if they were right. And we're almost there.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: So let me know, what do you think? Tell me
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: in the comments. You guys know I try to answer
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: as many as I possibly can. What is the biggest
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: question you still have about this Florida team? Is it
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: Philo or the tackles or the secondary or the pass rush?
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: Or is there just something completely left off this list?
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: Let me know down in the comments.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: Once again, we appreciate PrizePix for all their support.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: Don't forget, download the app, play a $ 5 lineup using
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: our code. It's HMA right there on the bottom of
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: your screen. And if you win, you'll get $ 150 in
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: lineups instantly. We appreciate PrizePix for all their support, and
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you guys for supporting the channel. Make sure
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: you're subscribed. The season is just around the corner. You
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: don't want to miss any of our updates. As always,
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: go Gators.