2016 Orange & Blue Debut – Expert Breakdown of Florida Gators Offense
Inside the Gators asked in-house talent evaluator Matt Hamilton, who works at NFL Films breaking down film for use on the show Playbook on NFL Network, to DVR Florida's Orange & Blue Debut in order to give us a breakdown of what he sees from this year's version of the Gators.
All evaluations were based off of the Orange & Blue game only.
Scouts usually need at least three full game tapes of a player to get a full evaluation of his skill set, strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies. More so, scouts prefer the tapes not to be from consecutive games. By watching what amounted to basically a glorified scrimmage I was able to pick up a few physical traits and some tendencies as far as technique and ability is concerned.
Having said that, here are my offensive observations after watching Friday's contest.
* Even in the midst of uncertainty at the quarterback position, the Gators’ offense took some huge steps forward during the Orange and Blue Debut. Luke Del Rio made as good a case for a starting job as one can possibly make in a spring game. The mental aspects of his game are incredibly impressive, especially given his experience level. His ability to read a defense, his patience in the pocket, his timing, and his decision-making were remarkable. He knew when to eat a play and throw it away when things didn’t go according to plan, he stayed poised in the pocket and waited for routes to develop down-field, and he was always on time with his throws with precision. He kept that precision on the move as well. I think he can still improve his anticipatory throws and his arm strength is not overwhelming, but I think he proved he’s the guy to elevate this Gators’ offense.
* Austin Appleby showed some positive traits, such as his presence and slick movement in the pocket, but his accuracy on deep balls and his ball placement were a bit concerning. I’ll give him somewhat of a break because the Orange offensive line struggled tremendously, but I think it is going to be tough for him to pry the job from Del Rio unless things change drastically.
* Kyle Trask appears to have improved leaps and bounds from the high school tape I broke down, but still has plenty of refining to do. I loved his confidence and his feel for ball placement, keeping his receivers from taking big hits on a few tight window throws. He moved well in the pocket, but his footwork on his throws was inconsistent and caused a few errant passes. His arm strength is adequate, especially when you factor in the timing and accuracy he was able to display.
* Feleipe Franks showed on that last drive why he has the most arm talent and the highest ceiling of this quarterback group, but spent the rest of the night showing why he has the most growing to do. He didn’t use his eyes well to move defenders and stared down receivers, he forced balls in to tight windows, and just made poor decisions. He didn’t seem to see the field well and was too quick to dump it down on a few plays. I’m not as concerned with his longer release as some. While he would benefit from shortening it a bit, it doesn’t seem to affect his timing. I think the mental aspects of his game are what need the most refinement, but you have to remember, as heralded as he was coming out of high school, it is a huge leap mentally to jump into a college offense as an early enrollee. I wouldn’t overreact to any of his issues yet, and honestly would be more focused on the potential he put on display on that remarkable final drive.
* While the quarterbacks may have been the biggest question mark heading into the game, I left the game most concerned about this group of running backs. No one distinguished himself. Jordan Scarlett displayed good vision, but seemed a bit timid and struggled with a few of his cuts. Mark Thompson had difficulty getting started, but when he was able to get a head of steam he showed power and surprising elusiveness for his size. Walk-on Mark Herndon showed remarkable feet and explosiveness, but needs to show a bit more patience, as he missed a few holes. I thought Jordan Cronkrite was probably the most impressive in relatively limited action, displaying some good feet and vision, but he needs to get his bad level down a bit and was a little stiff in the hips. Overall, no one seemed to seize control and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some form of an running back-by-committee situation this season.
* This group of receivers shows steady progress each and every year, and has some serious weapons. I thought Joshua Hammond looked impressive in his debut, showing quick feet off the line and an excellent compete level. He had a good feel for creating space against zone coverage and showed some ability after the catch. C.J. Worton showed excellent hands and concentration in some traffic, and made some plays with the ball in his hands as well. He can be an effective weapon in the slot. I love what Chris Thompson put on display, not just in terms of his blistering speed and the explosiveness with the ball in hands he showed on his long catch and run, but with the effort and tenacity he showed on Mark Thompson’s touchdown run, impeding two defenders and springing Thompson to the outside. That’s how you lead by example as a veteran receiver.
* Even without Martez Ivey, I was impressed by what I saw out of the projected starting offensive line. David Sharpe was at the top of his game, showing excellent feet, good leg strength, a consistently solid base, and a really good punch. Fred Johnson appeared a bit stuck-in-the-mud at times, but was sound fundamentally and didn’t make any mistakes. Cameron Dillard showed some athleticism at center and I was impressed with Tyler Jordan’s ability to pull and seal his blocks. Overall, this group seems to be taking major steps in the right direction, although depth does seem to be a bit of a concern.
To me, the tight ends stood out as the most outstanding position group of the day. C’yontai Lewis and Deandre Goolsby showed why the Gators are likely to run a lot of 12 personnel this year. Having big, athletic targets with good hands will be a huge asset to and security blanket for whoever gets the nod at quarterback. While Goolsby stood out and showed excellent concentration on his early touchdown, I think Lewis might be the most intriguing player on this offense. His length, speed, RAC ability, natural hands (despite the one bad drop due to pulling his head off the ball), and route running make him a candidate to have a huge breakout year. He has even improved as a blocker in the run game, sealing the edge on a couple of runs.
* Overall, despite all of the unforeseen challenges this group has had to endure over the past year, this Gators’ offense looks poised to surprise some people in 2016. While there is still some uncertainty at the quarterback and running back positions, there is undoubtedly an abundance of talent and there is no glaring weakness. There may be some growing pains, but I’m excited to see what this group can produce on the field come September.
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Matt Hamilton was a former student assistant for the quarterbacks at Missouri, coach at the high school level in Connecticut, intern scout for the Detroit Lions and currently works at NFL Films breaking down film for use on the show Playbook on NFL Network.
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