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UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA MEDIA CONFERENCEMarch 13, 2012Will MuschampWILL MUSCHAMP: Congrats to our men's indoor team, three National Championships in a row. Obviously very impressive, and special congratulations to Jeff Demps, three‑time national champion in the 60‑meter, and Frankie Hammond had a great indoor season, as well. They really did a great job for our team and won a bunch of points throughout the year. It's an exciting time getting ready for spring obviously as we head forward, and pro day today. Heck, we need more guys out there in position to be drafted. That's pretty evident as you go through our last two pro days. I did a little research as I was kind of going through this, the 2007 NFL draft, University of Florida had nine guys selected. That was coming off a 2006 National Championship season. 2010 draft we had nine guys selected, that's coming off a 2008 National Championship and a 2009 BCS Bowl win, two losses in two years, so that's nine guys selected in each one of those drafts. There's 12 teams that had seven plus players invited to the combine, and all but four won ten or more games. So we need to do a better job recruiting, need to do a better job evaluating, need to do a better job developing our players and coaching, that's the bottom line. We need more guys involved in that, and that self‑evaluation sometimes is a hard thing, evaluate where you are as a program. But that's the facts, and that's the way it is. Off‑season has gone really well. Very pleased with Jeff Dillman and the job his staff have done. Our staff obviously worked through January in recruiting and we've had a good four‑week off‑season program, and I think we're in pretty good shape. We built our strength back, so I'm pleased with where we are as far as that's concerned. As we hit spring, the emphasis to me as a team, obviously Brent and Dan will have some things that they'll hit offensively and defensively, and DJ has some special teams he wants to emphasize on, but turnover margin. We're minus 12 last year. We're 113th in the country. It's really a minor miracle we won seven games. You can't win games turning it over and not getting turnovers. When I was at Texas my second to last year, I think we led the country in turnovers. We emphasize it.  It's not like we're all of a sudden going to start emphasizing it. Dan talks about it with our defense every single day. We've got to find different ways to emphasize it. I don't know what‑‑ if you do the same things you're going to get the same results. We had 15 dropped interceptions, so we had 15 times where we have both hands on the ball. And we've got to finish plays. We're going to do more ball drills. We're going to do some things that we've got to do to get the ball in position for our offense and let Brent and the guys have a chance. That's a huge point of emphasis. We talked about last year turnover margin and explosive plays. We need to make a lot more explosive plays, but we need to limit them on defense, but turnover margin is really the emphasis we're looking at. Ball possession, security of the ball offensively, big emphasis. Mental and physical toughness. We had some discipline issues, and that falls on my shoulders, 41 what I would call discipline penalties, jumping offsides, false starts, 23 false starts, 18 offside penalties defensively, so that's almost half of our penalties. Those are things we will not tolerate. We've got more depth on our football team now. There were some opportunities last time where a guy would jump offsides and we didn't have anybody else to go to. That guy won't play anymore, so we'll get him out and put somebody else in there. As far as the physical toughness of our football team, I really challenged our team going into Bowl practice. Most pleasing thing in the Bowl game was taking six and a half minutes off the clock at the end when we needed to run it and they knew we were going to run it. That's what you've got to do in order to win games. Last year as far as running the football is concerned, in the SEC games we finished eighth in the league. That's in the bottom half of the league of running the ball against the people that counts, and then sixth in the conference on defense. We had three opportunities in three games, as the game is ending, defensively to get off the field to make a stop to give our offense an opportunity to go win the game, and we were unable to do that in three games. Again, the physical toughness of stopping the run and being able to run the ball when you need to, and again, not being hardheaded, we're trying to run the ball. When they load the box, you've got to be able to create some match‑ups outside and win, but to do the things you've got to do to win games, and we'll talk a little bit about that further. Obviously we have a quarterback battle going into springs. Jeff and Jacoby will split reps, and we'll name a starter when we're ready. Whether that's spring, summer, fall camp I, don't know. We would like to declare a starter and move forward with it, but we'll name that when it's ready. And obviously Brent does an outstanding job with the quarterbacks, and we will evaluate that, he and I, as far as what's best for our football team. We want to name a starter, but we're going to do what we need to win games. If we've got to play both guys, we'll play both guys, and we will make that determination as we work through this. But both guys have had good off‑seasons and very pleased with their progress to this point and where we are. Offensively obviously we'll have some changes, number one, because of personnel. We're a little different at the running back position than we were a year ago, and then Brent's personality and what he wants to do some things offensively, and Tim Davis, our offensive line coach.  But again, with all that being said, on the same page philosophically what we want to be, and that's a balanced offensive football team, and being able to run it when we need to run it and throw it when we need to throw it and spread the field and create some match‑ups in those situations. In our league you've got to be able to do that. You've got to be balanced in our league; you can't be one dimensional. We obviously saw that this past season. I think Steve handed the depth chart out to everybody so we can kind of go through that because I know that is the most important thing you guys want to talk about. It is the most critical part of the day, maybe for the month of everybody, more important than the NCAA tournament maybe is this depth chart right here. But obviously on this depth chart, A.C. Leonard is still suspended from our football team. He's working through some measures to work his way back as far as being a part of our team again. There's no timetable on that, and it's not a right to be a part of our team, it's a privilege, and you've got to act a certain way. He's working through that, and he's jumping through a lot of things to get back on this football team. I've got zero timetable, and no decision will be made on fall for a while. This is a day‑to‑day, week‑to‑week operation for me. As far as injuries and out for spring, it says it on there, Jeremy Brown will be out for spring, and I want to address this because one of y'all approached me and I appreciate you approaching me about it, felt like that I misled you all on Jeremy Brown. Jeremy Brown was injured in training camp, and our medical evaluation was he was going to be out for about a week. That's what I was told, and that's what I told y'all. And when we're in training camp, I don't mind telling you about the injuries. Now, when we get into a game week situation I'm not going to do anything to help our opponent, so when I say I'm not sure about a guy, I don't know where a guy is going to be, he may or may not play, those situations obviously I'm not going to do anything to help our opponent as far as the game plan is concerned. But Jeremy was a situation where he rehabbed, it didn't work, we rehabbed a different way, it didn't work. We continued to progress, we tried to work him back in practice as the season was going, and he just never responded to rehab, so eventually we had surgery. So we all need to get on the same page as far as that's concerned with that situation. That was our diagnosis early. Obviously it was not the right one, so we had to have surgery, and that progress has been going very well. Dominique Easley's progress is going very well. He's far ahead of schedule but will not go through spring. Cole Gilliam had a shoulder, will not go through spring. Kedric Johnson has a shoulder. Tommy Jordan has a shoulder. Lerentee McCray still has some lasting effects from the hit he took in the Georgia game from his shoulder, and he probably could go through spring, but to me there's no sense in chancing it with him. He's a senior. He's a guy that's proven himself as a football player. Let's continue to let him heal through spring, get some other guys some opportunities, and so I'm going to hold him. Marcus Roberson has been cleared but not for contact, so he starting spring will not be involved as far as the‑‑ other than walk‑throughs and things like that, he will not be cleared for practice. But we certainly feel like he's going to be cleared as far as we move forward. Ian Silberman had some looseness in his shoulder, and we decided to go ahead and fix that last week, so he will miss spring. We fully expect recovery for August and fall camp. And Ball has been cleared for physical activity but not for spring, and we're still working through that process as we speak. But as far as the physical activity stuff, he can do. As far as the practicing and those things, we're not there yet, okay, so that's where we are with that. As we look at the depth chart, there offensively obviously Matt and Xavier both played tackle for us. We're looking at Matt as more of a swing guy that can play right and left at this time. DJ Humphries is a young man that will figure into that position mid‑year and really looked good in the off‑season program. Mature, smart, driven, everything we thought in the recruiting process. He certainly has displayed that. We'll see how he does when the pads come on. James Wilson has been granted an extra year. He'll be back and be slotted in there at left guard. Really played well for us as the year rolled along, is a physical guy, a guy that's got a little more girth and can get some movement. Sam Robey is a guy that you can see the asterisk there, will cross‑train at guard and center. Kyle Koehne will cross‑train at center and guard. John Harrison is back obviously at center. We expect for Kyle to give him some great competition there at right guard. Jon Halapio has had a good off‑season. Jessamen Dunker is another good offensive lineman we've had in mid‑year. Real pleased with his progress. He's a guy that's 6'4", a 315, '18 pounder that really moves well. He's a big guy that can move. And then Chaz Green, who played probably his best football in the Bowl game, really progressed there, has had a good off‑season. Trip Thurman is another young man that we're excited about that will figure in the right tackle position or possibly an inside position. At tight end, Jordan Reed, good off‑season. Omarius Hines is a guy that we're going to play at tight end and Brent is going to use him in the slot, as well, but he's a guy that we're going to give an opportunity to at running back a little bit. He's an explosive athlete, a guy that's‑‑ we need to get more out of him as a football player, and that's including on special teams and everything we do within the organization. Clay Burton had a nice off‑season, really has developed his body. At the receiver position, Andre and Stephen Alli. At the running back position, Mike Gillislee and Mack Brown. Obviously our running game may change a little bit as far as the inside zone, some power and some inside track running game because of the size of our backs. We talked about Jacoby and Jeff. At the fullback position, Tray will play the H, as well, also in the slot, and we'll move him around a little bit because of the things that he provides for us. Hunter Joyer can be a guy that can play in our one‑back sets, again, a guy that really, really pleased with him. He also will throw the shot for the track team in the off‑season at the conclusion of spring ball. Latroy Pittman has been a young man that's come along and done some nice things for us, real pleased with Latroy and Quinton and Solomon Patton. The specialists will be the same, Kyle, and having Caleb back is huge for us. Really excited about those guys. Defensively, Sharrif really played well inside for us, really played well at defensive tackle, probably his more natural position. As you get in, you've got to get your best guys on the field, and that's really where we got in the cross‑hairs last year as far as Dominique and Sharrif with the NCAA going into the season not knowing when we were going to get him back. We decided to play him at end and Dominique inside. We may flipflop that as we go into fall. Sharrif will play both inside and outside. When we're in nickel situations, he will be an inside player. When we're in regular situations, he will play the end in spring, but he will also play inside, so will play both positions. We need Earl Okine to step for us. As far as playing at the end position, Leon Orr is a guy that's had a nice off‑season, needs to continue to play well. We need for to him to give us some snaps. Damien Jacobs is a junior college player that we signed, came in here mid‑year, has done a nice job for us. We'll see what he can do inside. He'll play the nose and the three as well as Leon, and Leon can play some end. Omar Hunter, we moved Nick Alajajian to defensive tackle. We felt like on the offensive line right now, we needed more depth up front defensively, especially with Dominique not going through spring. We wanted to give Nick an opportunity to come over and see what he could do on the defensive side of the ball, so we'll see how that works. At the buck position, Ronald Powell has had a really nice off‑season. Gideon will work there, as well as at Sam. Darrin Kitchens, we'll move Graham Stewart outside, he had been playing mostly at the Mike position, but we felt like we needed to build our depth outside a little bit more, especially with Lerentee not going through spring. John and Jelani both had really solid seasons for us. Excited about those guys back, and then you've got Antonio Morrison is a young man that came in mid‑year, has been‑‑ looked good in the off‑season program, we'll see how he does when the pads come on. Mike Taylor needs to continue to step up for us. In the secondary, Loucheiz Purifoy really had a good Bowl practice, excited about his off‑season and progression there. Cody Riggs, Jaylen Watkins and then Willie Bailey, a mid‑year guy that's come in at corner, really looked good for us moving around. All these guys look good out there in shorts, but we'll see when the pads come on and how they play when the fur starts flying. At safety Matt Elam and Josh Evans has had a off‑season. He needs to continue to step forward. Jabari Gorman is also a young man that will figure in that combination at safety along with De'Ante Saunders. Got a couple guys out, which is disappointing, but again, you've got to continue to build the depth of your football team, and that's what we're trying to do through spring. Again, the point of emphasis to me is mental and physical toughness and turnover margin. As a team obviously Brent and Dan and DJ have different things that we've really tried to emphasize on the three phases of the game. So I'll open it up for any questions. Q. How much will the offense change in the spring with the new coordinator? WILL MUSCHAMP: Well, obviously our personnel is a little different, too, at the running back position. And the experienced quarterback position is a little different. So how much can those guys handle? The run game obviously will be a little different, Brent's personality and his experience in this league and at Boise State and at Baylor and the different places he's been, the idea is that he's brought in as far as he and Tim Davis and Brian White and Aubrey Hill and Derek Lewis coming together and Brent saying these are the things we do best. We need to identify those things early, find out what we do well and move forward with that. How much different it'll be, a lot of the same plays are the same plays, it's just a matter of how you execute them. You've got to play them a little better, we've got to coach them a little better. Q. Would you talk about you've made some moves there on the defensive line in particular, and you've got a little bit more depth this year. Would you talk about what Jacobs and Orr bring to your package? WILL MUSCHAMP: Well, Leon is a guy that we've really put some heat on. He needs to step forward. He needs to play lower pad level. He needs to play behind his pads. It's his opportunity to step forward and do some things for us. Danny Jacobs is a guy that we really like out of East Mississippi. He's been a nice addition so far in our off‑season program to see him move around and some of the things he does. He's got good lower body flexibility. He's got good quickness and initial quickness, and Dan and Brian have been real pleased with some of the stuff they've seen in the off‑season program. I think both of those guys are guys that need to figure into our depth, and however they play, it's nice to have some more numbers there as opposed to last spring, I can tell you that. Q. Will Tray continue to play multiple roles for you guys, or is he kind of hunkered in at fullback? WILL MUSCHAMP: No, I said he was going to play the H and play in the slot and we'll move him around a little bit. Tray is a good football player. He gets football. He understands it. He's a guy that can do a lot of things for us. We probably will have some sort of Wild Gator package there where he'll be involved in that, as well. It's something he does very well. Again, that's a guy that he can do a lot of things for you, special teams. He can do a lot of things for us. Q. And then you mentioned at quarterback, making a decision when it's the right time and the possibility of two. Is that something you probably wouldn't prefer, to play two guys through the season? WILL MUSCHAMP: Prefer to play one. Prefer to play one. But again, at the end of the day, you've got to make the best decision for the team. If one guy doesn't distance himself from the other, then you play two. You look at it as no different than any other position. We'll see how that plays itself out. Q. Is identifying a couple of consistent guys at wide receiver and someone who can really be a big playmaker at receiver, how high on the priority list is that for you in the spring? WILL MUSCHAMP: It's critical. Did you see us play in the fall? Yeah, so‑‑ again, I think that Quinton and Andre are certainly capable of that and Frankie. They're guys that have played. Again, you really want to look at, from the standpoint of your growth process as a college football player. Although Andre was a sophomore, he didn't play much as a freshman. He didn't play much receiver. So really you look at last year, that was kind of his freshman season of really playing and being relied to be a consistent player in the SEC. So he needs now to take the next step. He's played now. He's been in the big picture. He's been on the road. He's done all the things. Same thing with Quinton Dunbar; he was red‑shirted, and last year was his first year of really playing, and we were relying on him to be a big time playmaker as a freshman. That does happen some, but not as much as normal. So now he's been through that process. Now he's been through another off‑season program. He's been in the weight program now for two years, so he's gotten a little stronger. Now he's built his confidence up. Frankie Hammond is a senior. He's a guy that needs to continue to come on for us. You look at those three guys, and Solomon Patton, we need to find a role for him. I think the thing that excites me with Brent with some of the different packages we look at from a personnel standpoint of where he can fit in and go do some things for us. Stephen Alli needs to step in and do some things for us. Latroy Pittman has been a guy we've been pleased with. Ja'Juan Story needs to step up for us. He was red‑shirted last year. Let's see what he can do. So sure, you're always looking for play makers and certainly we need to continue to identify those guys and find out the guys who can score touchdowns. Don't throw it to a guy that can't. Q. Slightly off topic, there's a lot of former Florida players who are high school coaches in the state. When you're recruiting, is that an advantage for you guys? WILL MUSCHAMP: Sure. I always look at it as this: We have pro day today, so a lot of the NFL scouts, NFL coaches will call and they'll ask you about your players, but the most guys they ask you about is the opposing team because it's interesting to hear an opposing coach's perspective of what a guy is. That's why I always ask our guys. The film doesn't lie. So what do you think the other coordinator is saying about you. When they're sitting in that scouting meeting and they're talking about you on Sunday or Monday, whenever they have it, what are they saying about you? What is your film telling them? And I love talking to high school coaches about the kids we're recruiting, not the one they're coaching but the ones they play against. Is he a threat for you? Did you worry about blocking him? Could you block him? Was he a good decision maker? All those things. There's no question that that helps us tremendously. Q. (No microphone.) WILL MUSCHAMP: Well, sure. Firsthand experience of being a Gator and being a part of the Gator Nation and going to school here and understanding the expectation level on and off the field and all those things, there's no question. Q. With pro day today it was interesting to see Janoris Jenkins out there. Was that a gesture on your part, or was that a process of him showing up today? WILL MUSCHAMP: It's open to the public, so anybody can come. Q. Well, not anyone can get out on the field and everything like that. WILL MUSCHAMP: I have no problem. He did a great job for the University of Florida when he played here, and I wish him nothing but the best. Q. And you said when you were hired that you're not necessarily an offensive guy and you wanted to hire someone to run the offense. Is that still the case with Brent where he'll pretty much have autonomy? WILL MUSCHAMP: Sure, as long as philosophically we're doing the things I want to do, yes. Q. I know there's no point to looking back, but year one versus year two, is it easier, challenges? Last year do they all now know what you want, what you expect? WILL MUSCHAMP: I wouldn't say‑‑ use the word easier, but I think from a standpoint of going through our defense instead of going up here and introducing a whole new concept, we've got some kids in the room now that are nodding their head and they understand what we're talking about. We've tried to keep as much verbiage the same as we can offensively so we keep some continuity on that side obviously and special teams, as well. From that standpoint and a coaching standpoint, our players will be our best coaches in some situations because of the experience of teaching. We do a little bit more than most people do. That's just what we do. So it's worked. Our players will be the best coaches in some situations this spring for our younger players. Q. Are you a believer that there's the biggest jump from year one to year two? WILL MUSCHAMP: Oh, yeah, there's no question. It's no different than game one to game two. You ought to make your biggest improvement from the standpoint of your young players developing. Again, I've said it before, 70 percent of our roster last year, over 70 percent was freshmen and sophomores, and a lot of those sophomores it was their first times playing. We had less starts than anybody else in the SEC on defense going into the year by a lot, so we had a lot of guys that hadn't played much, and in a new scheme and a new system. I'm just stating facts here. So when you couple all that together, were there some rough days? Yes, there were. Are there better days ahead? Certainly there are, with the experience and the talent level and those things all considered. Q. Is that tough having Roberson out in particular, a guy who was getting a lot of starts and then got hurt and now he misses spring? WILL MUSCHAMP: Well, I'm just happy that he's probably going to be cleared for the fall, certainly. It's a scary injury any time you're dealing with the head or the neck, and I'm just very pleased we're going to get him back in the fall more than likely. And Marcus, it's been very, very frustrating for him. He's a good young man, and he's a competitive guy, and I know it's been very frustrating for him. Q. And then as far as that quarterback battle is concerned, what will the guy who does end up being one, how will he distinguish himself in practice? WILL MUSCHAMP: Manage our football team, on the field, in the locker room, in the meeting room, productive, accurate, whatever adjectives you want to throw on top of it, helping our football team move the ball down the field and score points. Q. How do you see and envision the running game evolving with Mike and Mack in there differently from last year? WILL MUSCHAMP: Well, I think last year we were more of a stretch perimeter running team. We tried to run the ball inside to keep people honest with us, so people wouldn't just edge us on everything as far as the defenses were concerned and try and hold the edges of the defense. So certainly inside zone and the power game, and whether it's one back or two back, and more downhill running. I mean, that's something that we need to be able to do, not just for our offense but for our defense with what we see in our league. You've got to be able to stop the north‑south running game, and that's something that we need more reps and turns. Q. Do you feel like it's an unwritten kind of part of your job to get guys ready for the NFL? How much did you talk to Rainey and Howard just in preparation for the combine and pro day and all that? WILL MUSCHAMP: I think that's a huge part of your job. That's why we run the systems we run from a standpoint of offense and defense and special teams. Other than punt, which is different rules from the NFL to college. We're able to release on snap, whereas in the NFL you're not allowed to. That's the only thing in our organization, as NFL scouts and coaches and general managers watch our film, that's different from the NFL game. Our basis of our defense is the same stuff we did at the Miami Dolphins, and the same things on the offensive side of the ball. When they watch our tape there are no projections, there are no I wonder if he can do this with our offense or our defense. That's part of the continual 365 days of preparing our players on and off the field for life after the University of Florida, whether that's in the NFL or it's in the business world. It's all the same to me. That's a continual education process. And then as far as the draft is concerned, yeah, Dan sat down with Jay Howard and Willie Green and all those guys. Dan has been a part of ten combines, so to have that experience on your staff, and Tim Davis as an offensive line coach, myself, Bryant Young as a player, that's a great resource of information for our organization. Q. Can you talk about what Hines brings to the running back position and how he has a chance to develop into that big back that you like with his size and physicality? WILL MUSCHAMP: Well, we're going to see. I don't know. That's what spring ball is for is to experience and look at it, and that's what we want to do. Omarius came to us. It was something he came to us there, and we talked about, and obviously we've got Matt coming in as a freshman. We've got some different options because of Tray and Hunter and their versatility, but we said, let's take a look at this thing and see what we can do. We've got to be able to generate some things downhill and be able to push the pile. But again, Omarius is a very explosive guy and a guy that we need to get more out of. Q. Would you talk about Tim Davis, hiring him, bringing him in, what he brings to the offensive line and to the running game in particular? WILL MUSCHAMP: Well, I've worked with him, and I worked with him at the Miami Dolphins. He worked at Wisconsin with Brian White, so there's some familiarity there, some carryover. He and Brent's paths have crossed, haven't necessarily worked together but they knew each other, and then obviously the job he did at USC, won two National Championships and Pete Carroll endorsed him, and I know how Nick Saban feels about him, and he did a great job at Utah this past year. But again, a guy that's passionate, and energy level, and going to reach his players off the field and understands what he's got to do to get guys and what makes them tick and what makes them go. It's not just about Xs and Os, it's about when you're dealing with a college kid you're dealing with a lot of stuff. It's not just about Saturday afternoon. You deal with different stuff. You're an advisor, you're a father figure, you're a friend. There's a lot of things that go into being a college coach, and I think Tim understands that. Q. You spoke a lot at the end of last season about how hamstrung you were by injuries and your numbers in practice. How much does it help to have kind of the bodies this year that you can grab a guy if someone screws up? WILL MUSCHAMP: Well, when I'm sitting there scheduling practice, it's nice to not sit down and think about how we're going to structure the drills. We practiced the‑‑ I don't know, the last six or seven games of the year as an NFL team would. We serviced each other. When you look at the amount of reps a young player misses when you have to practice that way, Dan is the scout team defensive coordinator, and Charlie and Brian White were the offensive scout team coordinator. You just miss a lot of turns and reps, but that's what it was and that's what we did. I'm not complaining about it. But you get a lot more turns, you develop your players better, they get more turns, they get more reps, the young running backs get to see the hole more. There's a lot of things that you go into that you miss when you don't have that opportunity to have those type of situations. Q. You haven't mentioned Tyler Murphy. What's his role or status for spring? WILL MUSCHAMP: Yeah, he's a quarterback. Tyler is battling in there with Jacoby and Jeff and obviously they've kind of distanced themselves a little bit, but I'm very pleased with Tyler. He's a very good athlete, very smart, very dependable guy and a guy that certainly will get his opportunity and reps in the spring. Q. Is he a guy who could move? WILL MUSCHAMP: No, not at this time. I think Tyler is a quarterback, and that's where we see his future at the University of Florida. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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