(Photo via Florida Gators)
With spring practice about halfway complete, I thought today would be a good day to compile some more news and notes from the Florida Gators’ spring practice season. As is always the case, I will not publish a conclusion from any one person; insights and analysis are only published when confirmed by two or more people.
So, what’s been going on recently?
Graham Mertz developing trust, timing with new batch of receivers
The Florida Gators are obviously going to miss wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, and as far as replacing him goes, that process is… well, a process. There have been strides. It’s not all bad news to report here. But… a process is probably the best way to categorize it.
You may have seen reports circulating about how Florida defensive backs are snagging an alarming amount of interceptions in practices and scrimmages. I would caution fans to be careful about who you’re listening to with those updates, as some sources of information are more reliable than others. But it’s true that interceptions have been thrown in practices, some of them by Mertz– and almost all of them are because of a lack of familiarity with his receivers. Either the receiver isn’t where he’s supposed to be– running the wrong route, isn’t quick enough getting out of his break, or can’t beat the defender to the spot– and it makes for some easy picks.
Again, though, it isn’t all bad news here. There is some positive progress to report. People I talk to are extremely high on sophomore Aidan Mizell, with one person telling me, “It just takes some guys longer than others to properly prep their bodies for college ball. But I think Aidan is really almost ready. He’s always been fast enough, but he’s getting there in the bulk-up department.” With fellow sophomore Tre Wilson having already cemented himself and Mizell coming along, the Gators will really just need one more wide receiver to step up to complement those two and tight end Arlis Boardingham.
Pup Howard hits the ground running at linebacker
Florida missed on Grayson “Pup” Howard his first go-around, when Howard was in high school. But after Howard decided that South Carolina wasn’t for him and hit the transfer portal, Billy Napier & Co. got a second chance– and made the most of it. And Howard is living up to his billing so far.
Howard is everywhere. It’s not just a matter of having a nice play in a scrimmage here or breaking up a pass in skeleton drills there; he’s a consistent playmaker for the Gators on defense. He’s not only quick in a straight-line sense, but he can maneuver his way around the clutter at the line of scrimmage and navigate his way to where he needs to be pretty easily. He’s also becoming more and more difficult to block for both offensive linemen and running backs in blitz pickups.
To call a spade a spade: I didn’t love losing Scooby Williams on defense strictly from a depth perspective, although nobody would mistake him for an All-American caliber piece. But effectively swapping him out for Howard– even if they’re a little different in terms of what they do– is an overall clear upgrade for Florida’s defense. Between Howard’s plug-and-play veteran leadership and young guns Myles Graham (who’s out for the spring, but should be back for the season) and Aaron Chiles, the Gators should have the best linebacker room in several years.
Florida Gators secondary is taking strides
Florida’s 2023 secondary was one of the most peculiar case studies of regression I can remember from a position unit. The Gators had a great month of September, but then freshmen started looking like freshmen, a few defensive backs left the team (Jalen Kimber and the seldom-used Kamari Wilson) and it wound up being a disaster by season’s end. That resulted in Corey Raymond’s termination, and Will Harris taking control of the secondary.
From what people tell me, it looks better than it did during springtime a year ago. Devin Moore looks more confident and consistent on the field, and is taking advantage of some of the aforementioned QB-WR miscommunications for interceptions. He’s also been jumping routes and beating receivers to the ball, although he did get beat once on a double move for a long touchdown (believed to be by Aidan Mizell) in a drill a week ago when he got a little too eager. Overall, though, Moore looks really good.
Ja’Keem Jackson and Jameer Grimsley also look good. Grimsley– who went viral a few weeks ago for violently bodyslamming his coach, Harris, during a drill– is becoming known for his physicality in pretty much every way possible. He’s got especially strong hands that he loves to use to jam and press receivers, as well as try to rip the ball away from receivers and ball carriers. He’s not afraid to go low and get dirty, and though he may have some work to do from a technical standpoint– after all, he’s a converted wide receiver– with a little fine-tuning, he could be a key contributor right away.
