Notebook: Day 6 of Florida Gators Fall Camp 2022
Photo: Sean Spencer; Credit: Zach Goodall
Back in the heat — what felt like extreme heat, we'll add — the Florida Gators took the outside practice field on Tuesday for the sixth day of 2022 fall camp, removed from the indoor practice facility where the team had been for the last three workouts.
You can find AllGators' observations from the media viewing portion of practice below, as well as our notebooks for each day of camp so far this year. Since day three, we have covered positions individually to maximize the viewing window, with Monday's focus on the Gators' running backs.
- Day one - offense
- Day two - defense
- Day three - wide receivers
- Day four - linebackers
- Day five - running backs
Focusing on the defensive line
We shifted our focus back to the defensive side of the ball on Tuesday, assessing one of the most critical units on the team entering the 2022 season as Florida's defensive line has some question marks across it entering the campaign. The group worked on explosion by slanting gaps, shedding blocks with left and right arm rips and rushing from the edge with swiping and bending rush moves.
Although UF is still in the process of figuring out its interior rotation, specifically at nose tackle (and, unfortunately, nose tackle Desmond Watson did not take part in practice while media was in attendance), this unit is filled with talent and potential at the top.
Gervon Dexter, as always, impressed with his natural athleticism and strength. The 6-foot-6, 312-pound lineman has focused on the defensive end position this year but continues to earn reps along the interior as well. His bust and striking power against the stationary bag were unmatched by any lineman, and his flexibility while turning the corner indicates that he should handle defensive end responsibilities well despite his size.
The rep below, where Dexter worked outside-in with two swipes before bending the corner, is a perfect example.
However, since Dexter's physical skill-set is well-documented, we believe instead it was defensive ends Princely Umanmielen and Justus Boone. Both players are springy out of their steps and have developed solid hand usage to take on blocks, as seen in both of the three-bag drills where their outside and inside swiping rush moves were examined individually.
Their full-body strength will be tested against starting SEC offensive tackles and guards when they stunt inside, but the explosion, hand technique and upper-body power pass the eye test in practice and indicate that both players can create ample pressure from the outside in game situations.
Umanmielen and Boone are featured in our clip-of-the-day below and earned the most praise from coaches of any lineman throughout the viewing window.
Jalen Lee will be needed to step up in 2022, considering UF's lack of interior depth, after seeing minimal rotational playing over the first two years of his career. Although he's a bit stout compared to the rest of the unit, he's athletic for his size and can create a lot of natural leverage at 6-foot-2. Lee's two-handed swipe was lethal in the three-bag drills, in particular.
When it comes to assessing interior depth, it's worth noting that true freshman Chris McClellan was the third defensive tackle to take reps in every drill on Tuesday, behind Dexter and Lee. Watson, Jaelin Humphries, Chris Thomas Jr. and preferred walk-on Keenan Landry also make up the team's interior depth, currently.
As AllGators reported on day two, walk-on offensive linemen Kaleb Boateng and Nicolas Flynn have been working with the defensive linemen throughout camp. Neither is expected to receive playing time with this unit, but their reps are of importance as head coach Billy Napier has depended on walk-ons in practice to aid the development of scholarship players.
Participation report
Below are the players that were seen wearing no-contact jerseys throughout the media viewing portion of practice. An asterisk indicates that the player worked off to the side instead of on the field. This list does not include the quarterbacks as they are required to wear no-contact jerseys at all times.
- TE Jonathan Odom
- OT David Conner*
- DE Tyreak Sapp*
- DT Desmond Watson*
Offensive tackle Richard Gouraige's presence at practice has been hit or miss as of late. AllGators did not see him at the facility on Tuesday, marking what could have been his second absence in three days. He was not with the offensive line group during the media viewing period, although we can not confirm if he was working with trainers or away from the team entirely.
Gouraige has yet to participate in practice this fall due to a minor knee injury, AllGators has learned. When he has been seen at practice, he's worn a no-contact jersey and worked to the side.
Sapp and Watson worked together with trainers off to the side of the field on Tuesday, marking Sapp's second day in a row as a non-participant and Watson's first. The same can be said for Conner, who was in a no-contact jersey for the first time on Tuesday,
AllGators also did not see quarterback Jalen Kitna at practice for the second day in a row. He was last seen on day four in a no-contact jersey.
Clip of the day
From what we saw of the defensive line in the media viewing window, there are several clips worthy of the clip-of-the-day status. But these back-to-back reps from Umanmielen and Boone in the three-bag drill stole the show. Both players were commended by coaches for these reps in particular, for keeping tight to the bags yet showing off impressive flexibility and striking power.
Yes, we are aware of the "greet" typo.
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