Latest / A Peek Inside Gators Football: A Show About the Florida Gators / I DID NOT Expect this from the Florida Gators | UF Football Updates

Transcript

I DID NOT Expect this from the Florida Gators | UF Football Updates · A Peek Inside Gators Football: A Show About the Florida Gators

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to A Peek Inside Gator Football. Allie Peek here.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: This video is brought to you by PrizePix. And if
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: there's one thing we've learned about Florida football through the
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: first seven games of the John Summerall era, it's that
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: this team is anything but predictable. Seriously. Think about everything
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: that has happened over the last seven weeks. The Gators
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: start 4-0. They go on the road and beat Auburn.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: They come home and absolutely dismantle the fourth-ranked Ole Miss Rebels,
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: scoring 52, rushing for more than 300 yards. Suddenly they
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: are the number eight team in the country and people
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: are talking about the Gators as a potential college football
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: playoff contender. And then Missouri happens and South Carolina happens.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Florida goes from looking like one of the most dangerous
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: teams in the SEC to a team that can barely
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: run the football or get off the field defensively. And
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: just when it looks like this season might be getting
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: away from them. Florida goes to Austin with their backup quarterback,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: making his first career start, falls behind 17-3, and comes
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: back and beats the number seven-ranked Longhorns. I mean, how
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: do you even begin to make sense of that? Well,
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: I think the bye week gives us a perfect opportunity
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: to look at this team a little differently. Not just
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: who's playing well and who's struggling, but who has genuinely
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: surprised us. Who's been better than we expected? And on
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: the other side, what's been the biggest disappointment? When I
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: look at this Florida roster, there are a couple things
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: that really stand out. And interestingly enough, I think the
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: biggest surprise and the biggest disappointment tell us an awful
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: lot about where this program is right now. So today
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: I'm going to give you my biggest surprise, my biggest disappointment,
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: and maybe a few other candidates that I think deserve
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: some attention. And I want you guys to think about
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: your answers as we go, because I'm pretty sure we
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: are not all going to agree. I think the biggest surprise, though,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: especially after Saturday, is Florida's quarterback depth. I am really,
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: really excited about the fact that Tramell Jones has made
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: what looked like a pretty straightforward quarterback situation into a
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: legitimate conversation heading into the bye week. And this is
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: why I think that qualifies as a surprise. Coming into
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: the season, we knew there was a quarterback competition. Aaron
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Filo and Tramell Jones battled through the offseason. Philo had
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: a pretty significant advantage. He'd come to Florida with Buster
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: Faulkner from Georgia Tech. He already understood the system. He
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: knew the terminology. And he had experience operating the offense. Ultimately,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Philo won. And through the first four games, there wasn't
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: a whole lot of reason to question that decision. Florida's
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: offense was rolling. The Gators were averaging more than 53
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: points per game. Philo was completing passes at a really
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: high rate. And the running game was outstanding. And the
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: offense looked as balanced and as productive as we've seen
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: at Florida in quite some time. Through six games, Philo
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: completed 70.5% of his passes for 1,341 yards, nine touchdowns,
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: and three interceptions. And none of those interceptions were on him.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: Those are some good numbers. And while the offense struggled
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: against Missouri and South Carolina, I don't think anybody could
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: reasonably argue that Philo was the only problem. The offensive
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: line wasn't protecting him well enough. The running game had disappeared.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: And there were injuries affecting the offense. So heading into Texas,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: I don't think many people were expecting the quarterback conversation
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: to change drastically. We were mostly wondering whether Philo would
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: be healthy enough to play. And if he couldn't, could
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: Tramell Jones simply keep Florida competitive? Well, he did a
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: little bit more than that. Let's be clear on something.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: I am not saying Tramell Jones is suddenly the best
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: quarterback in the SEC. And I'm not even sitting here
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: and telling you he's better than Aaron Philo. And I'm
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: certainly not saying... One start should erase everything Bible has
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: accomplished during the first six games. But I do think
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Jones surprised a lot of people and not necessarily because
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: of his statistics. When you look at the box score,
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: 155 yards passing isn't exactly something that jumps off the page,
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: but consider the circumstances. He made his first career start.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: He's on the road against the seventh ranked team in
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: the country. There are more than a hundred thousand people
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: in the stadium. Florida's coming off two embarrassing losses. And
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: then the Gators fall behind 17, three. That is not
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: exactly the easiest situation for a young quarterback to step into.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: But here's what impressed me. Jones didn't panic. He didn't
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: start forcing throws. He didn't try to erase a two-touchdown
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: deficit with one spectacular play. He stayed within the offense.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: And when Florida needed him to make a play, he
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: made it. Fourth and 12 before halftime, Jones delivers a
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: 17-yard completion to Dallas Wilson. A few plays later, he
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: finds Lakata Dupree for a touchdown. The Gators come out
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: after halftime and put together a 15-play, 69-yard touchdown drive
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: that takes more than eight minutes off the clocks. And
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Jones finds Dupree again to tie the game. Florida eventually
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: wins 27-24. And suddenly we're having a very different conversation
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: about the quarterback position. What Jones showed us. wasn't just
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: that he could complete passes. He showed us that he
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: could manage a football game, and he showed us composure.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: He showed us he could operate under pressure, and he
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: showed us he could help lead an SEC team to
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: a major road victory. One of the biggest questions surrounding
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: Florida coming into the season was whether the Gators had
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: enough depth at key positions. And while at quarterback, we
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: now have some pretty compelling evidence that Florida has two
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: guys capable of winning football games. That is a luxury
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: that a lot of teams don't have. Now, I still
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: want to see Jones stretch the field more. Florida's longest
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: completion against Texas was only 17 yards, and you can't
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: expect to consistently win games against elite defenses without generating
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: explosive plays. But I think Jones has earned a lot
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: of respect, and he's made this quarterback competition considerably more
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: interesting heading into the Georgia week. That's why Florida's quarterback
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: depth is my biggest surprise. My other surprise is, you know,
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Jaden Baugh and Florida's running game. And now I know...
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: A lot of you are saying, wait a minute, wait
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: a minute. What about Jaden Baugh? That's a fair argument.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Jaden Baugh, what Jaden Baugh has accomplished during the first
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: four games is remarkable. 600 rushing yards in four games.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: That's 150 yards per game. Against Ole Miss, he rushed
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: for 142 in three touchdowns. Florida's finished that game with
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: 302 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Think about that. Six
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: rushing touchdowns against the fourth-ranked team in the country. And
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: it wasn't just Baugh. Duke Clark rushed for 125 yards
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: in that game, too. Florida was imposing its will on
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: one of the most talented teams in the SEC. And
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: I don't think anybody expected the running game to be
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: quite that productive that quickly. But here's why I'm not
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: making Bob my biggest surprise. We already knew he was talented.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: We knew he was capable of being a featured running
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: back in this offense. And while his production exceeded expectations,
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: the struggles against Missouri and South Carolina reminded us that
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: the running game is still very dependent on the offensive
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: line doing their job. Baugh rushed for 72 combined yards
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: in those two losses. So for me, the biggest surprise
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: isn't necessarily that Florida has a talented running back. It's
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: that the Gators have a second quarterback who has already
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: demonstrated that he can win on the biggest stage in
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: college football, or at least one of them. And I
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: think that could be extremely important over the second half
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: of the season. Now let's get to the other side,
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Florida's biggest disappointment. And for me, this one is not
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: particularly difficult. It's the secondary. More specifically, Florida's past defense
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: as a whole. because I think this has been the
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: most frustrating part of the entire season. Coming into the year,
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: I expected there to be some growing pains defensively, new
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: coaching staff, new responsibilities, players learning how Brad White wants
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: to operate. All of that's understandable. But I did not
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: expect Florida to struggle this badly defending the pass. And
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: I certainly didn't expect some of the mistakes we've seen.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: Against Missouri, Austin Simmons threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: Against South Carolina, Lenora Sellers threw for 279 yards and
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: four touchdowns. And the frustrating part wasn't simply the yardage.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: It was the way Florida was giving up those yards.
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: Receivers running open, DBs playing with far too much cushion,
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: missed assignments, poor communication, and far too many situations where
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: opposing offenses were able to take advantage of mistakes that
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: should have been preventable. Let's not forget, South Carolina converted
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: 10 of its 16 third downs. 10 of 16. That's
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: not good enough. Especially when so many of those conversions
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: came in situations where Florida absolutely should have had an
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: opportunity to get off the field. We're talking third and 12,
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: third and 14. And now I know the secondary hasn't
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: always gotten enough help from the pass rush. And I
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: know there have been injuries. But here's my issue. We're
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: seven games into the season. And until the Texas game,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: Florida's pass defense hadn't shown nearly enough progress. In fact,
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: entering the Texas game, the Gators were ranked 131st nationally
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: against the pass out of 138 teams. That's not just disappointing.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: That's alarming. And when you look at the talent Florida
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: has recruited, the expectations surrounding this coaching staff and the
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: experience Brad White brings to the table, I think it's
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: fair to expect significantly better results than we have gotten.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: And I think that you should call that out. I
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: think we need to see this growth. I think that
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: it's important for Gator fans to not accept mediocrity, I guess.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: We're going to take a quick break from this video
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: because we're going to give a little love over to PrizePix.
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: PrizePix just launched PrizePix Packs. Real football, basketball, and Pokemon
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: cards you can rip right in the app. Packs start
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: at $ 1. The odds are listed on every pack and
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: you can ship your cards home or sell them back
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: instantly at fair market price. They've got Grails, like the
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: $ 8 million Cooper flag, one of one. It's available in
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: all 50 states. New users, use the code HMA, rip
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: your first $ 5 pack and get $ 25 in bonus packs.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: The link is going to be in the description of
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: this video and make sure you guys go and check
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: it out. We appreciate PrizePix for all their support, all
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: they do over here. Let's get back to the video though.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: So I think the disappointment on this secondary though goes
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: beyond talent. And this is where the conversation I think
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: gets a little interesting. I don't think it's a lack
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: of talent issue. I think it's a bigger issue. I
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: think it's lack of execution. And Summerall has practically told
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: us that himself. After the South Carolina game, he discussed
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: going into the defensive meeting room and showing the players
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: approximately 15 plays where mistakes were preventing Florida from being successful.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: Some of those mistakes were incredibly frustrating. He talked about
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: a player failing to execute a pressure properly, a situation
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: where Florida should have had an opportunity to get a sack.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: But because the defender didn't carry out his assignment, the
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: opportunity disappeared. He also described a third and 17 situation
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: where Florida jumped offside, so now it's third and 12.
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: And the defense... needs to change the call. The staff
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: wants to, but the players aren't even looking to the
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: sideline to be able to get the adjustment. Think about that.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: That's not a matter of being out-athleted. That's not a
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: matter of the opponent having some future NFL superstar who's
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: simply better than the guy covering him. That's an execution issue,
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: a communication problem, and ultimately a coaching problem too. The
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: coaches have to make sure the players understand exactly what
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: they're supposed to do. And I think that's the part
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: about why this has been such a disappointment. Florida hasn't
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: consistently looked like a defense that is completely comfortable with
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: its assignments. We've seen the hesitation. We've seen guys reacting late.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: And we've seen breakdowns that have turned what should have
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: been routine defensive plays into big gains. Now, the good
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: news is that against Texas, we finally saw some changes.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: Summerall asked Brad White to adjust how the corners were
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: lining up. He wanted clear instructions about when they should
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: press and when they should play off. He also wanted
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: the defensive staff to mix up the pressure packages more.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: And against Texas, the Gators looked completely different. Five sacks,
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: just 272 yards allowed, only 137 passing yards by Arch Manning.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: And Texas converted only two of 10 third downs. That's
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: an enormous improvement from that 10 of 16 against South Carolina.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: But here's the problem. One game doesn't erase everything that
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: happened the previous six. And while I am encouraged by
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: what we saw against Texas, I still need to see
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: Florida do it consistently. The talent has been there. The
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: coaching experience has been there. Now the execution needs to
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: catch up. Now, I know some of you are going
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: to argue my next point, which is that the other
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: disappointment is the offensive line. And I understand your argument.
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: The offensive line has been incredibly difficult. During Florida's first
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: four games, the Gators were running the football extremely well.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: And when you rush for more than 300 yards against
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: Ole Miss, the offensive line deserves some credit. But then
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: Missouri happened. Florida managed just 42 yards. The Tigers recorded
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: 11 tackles for a loss, and Philo was sacked three times.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: That was an ugly performance. Then against South Carolina, the
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: Gators continued to struggle to establish the run. And when
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: the Gators couldn't run the football effectively, the entire offense
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: became so much easier to defend. That's a major problem.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: Buster Faulkner's offense is built around balance. It's designed to
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: put defenders in conflict. And when the running game isn't working,
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: that balance disappears. Now, here's where I struggle with making
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: the offensive line my biggest disappointment. We've seen this group
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: play well. We've seen Florida control games on the ground.
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: We've seen the offensive line help produce some outstanding rushing performances.
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: So I know there is a higher level of play available.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: The question is, why aren't we seeing it consistently? And
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: if I'm Coach Summerall, that's one of the biggest areas
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: that I'm evaluating during the bye week. Florida can't expect
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: to beat Georgia and Oklahoma and the rest of its
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: opponents on the schedule if the offensive line continues to
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: have those kinds of breakdowns. For me, the secondary has
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: been a bigger disappointment because the problems have been more persistent.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: But the offensive line is something I'm watching too. Now,
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: Before I wrap this up, there is one more surprise
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: I want to talk about. And this one isn't a player.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: It's John Summerall. More specifically, the way his team responded
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: after those two losses. I think we learned something important
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: about Coach Summerall against Texas. Look, Florida wasn't prepared to
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: play well enough against Missouri. And the South Carolina performance
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: was extremely disappointing. Summerall deserves criticism for those games. But
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: one thing I've always believed about coaching is that you
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: learn a lot more about somebody when things aren't going
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: well than when everything's working. And I think we're... That's
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: where Florida was after South Carolina. I think about how
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: bad it felt at that point. We sat on here
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: and we talked about, are there games left on the
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: schedule that are winnable? The Gators had just lost two
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: games by a combined 47 points. The defense was being
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: heavily criticized. Their offense looked completely different from what we
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: saw in September. Their starting quarterback was injured and they
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: were heading to Austin to play the number seven ranked
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: team in the country. That is a very difficult situation
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: for a first year head coach. And it would have
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: been easy for Florida to unravel. But it didn't. Summerall
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: challenged his team. He got more involved with the defense.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: He demanded changes. And he held players and coaches accountable.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: And against Texas, Florida responded. Now, I don't want to
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: pretend everything was perfect. The Gators still made mistakes. They
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: still gave up a punt return for a touchdown. They
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: still struggled to create explosive plays offensively. But the mentality
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: was different. Florida didn't panic when it fell behind 17-3.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: The defense got critical stops. The offense controlled possession. And
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: the Gators found a way to win. That's important. Building
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: a successful program isn't just about recruiting talented players. It's
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: about establishing standards. It's about responding to adversity. And it's
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: about finding ways to win when things aren't going particularly well.
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: And I think the Texas game gave us a glimpse
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: of what Summerall wants this program to become. Now, the
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: challenge is doing it consistently. So let's put all of
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: this together. Florida's 5-2. The Gators have beaten two top
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: 10 teams in Ole Miss and Texas. They've also been
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: embarrassed by Missouri and South Carolina. And when you look
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: at the biggest surprises and disappointments, I think there's a
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: pretty clear theme. This team has more ability than it
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: has consistently demonstrated. At quarterback, Florida has shown it has
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: two players capable of winning games. At running back, Jaden
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: Baugh has demonstrated he can be one of the very
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: most productive backs in the entire country. And John Summerall
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: has shown he can get his team to respond when
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: things aren't going well. But on the other side, the
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: defense has struggled with basic execution. The secondary has given
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: up too many explosive plays, and the offensive line has
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: been wildly inconsistent. So I don't think Florida's biggest issue
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: is necessarily talent. It's consistency. When this team plays well,
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: it can beat really good opponents. We've seen it. But
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: when Florida doesn't execute, When the defense misses assignments and
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: the offense can't establish the run, the Gators can look
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: completely overwhelmed. We've seen that too. And that's what makes
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: the second half of the season so interesting. Because I
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: don't think anybody knows exactly what to expect from Florida.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: Can the Gators build on the Texas win? Can Brad
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: White get the defense playing at a higher level? Can
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: the offensive line become more dependable? And perhaps most importantly,
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: can Summerall get this team to play with the same
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: mentality every single week? Those are the questions that will
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: determine how this season finishes. So if I'm handing out
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: just two awards for the mid-season point where we are
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: right now, this is where I land. Biggest surprise, Florida's
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: quarterback depth, specifically Terrell Jones demonstrating that he can step
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: into one of the most difficult situations imaginable and help
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: lead Florida to a major road victory. I don't think
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: many people expected Jones to be the quarterback who walked
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: out of Austin with the win over the number 7th
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: ranked team in the country. And after what we saw Saturday,
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: I think Florida had a legitimate quarterback decision to make
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: heading into Georgia. Biggest disappointment is Florida's past defense. Because
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: with the talent on this roster and the experience on
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: this coaching staff, I expected much more consistent defensive performances.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: And while the Texas game was encouraging, it doesn't erase
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: the mistakes we saw against Missouri and South Carolina. But
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: here's what I find interesting about both those things. The
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: biggest surprise gives Florida a reason to be optimistic about
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: its future. And the biggest disappointment is something that can
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: still be improved. We're only seven games into the season.
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: There's still a lot of football left to play. And
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: if Florida can build on what happened against Texas, I
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: think there's an opportunity for this team to finish the
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: season a lot stronger than many people would have expected
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: just a week ago. But it has to start with
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: execution because the talent is there. Now the consistency has
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: to follow. And now I want to hear from you guys.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: Who or what has been Florida's biggest surprise through seven games?
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: Is it Tramell Jones? Is it Jaden Baugh? Is it
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: Coach Summerall and the staff? Or somebody else entirely? And
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: what's the biggest disappointment? Are you going with the secondary,
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: the offensive line? Or is there a player or position
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: group you expected a lot more from? Drop your answers
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: in the comments because I'm curious to see where everybody stands.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: And here's one more question. Which of those disappointments do
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: you think has the best chance to turn things around
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: over the final five games? If Florida is going to
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: build on that Texas win and make a serious run
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: down the stretch, some of these areas are going to
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: have to improve. Make sure you hit the like button,
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: subscribe to a peek inside Gator football, turn on your notifications.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: We've got plenty more coming as we wrap up this
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: bye week and we get ready for Georgia. As always,
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: thanks for tuning in and go Gators.