Florida Gators DL Gervon Dexter Provides Scouting Report on OL O'Cyrus Torrence
Photo: O'Cyrus Torrence, Gervon Dexter; Credit: Zach Goodall
The Florida Gators have officially kicked off their first fall camp under head coach Billy Napier, a time when the coaches and players can get a real feel for what should be expected from their team by the start of the regular season.
Prior to fall kickoff, Florida hosted a trio of players for their initial media day on Tuesday, including defensive lineman Gervon Dexter, offensive lineman O'Cyrus Torrence and punter Jeremy Crawshaw.
Many questions were posed, of course, to the two Outland Trophy watch list players, Torrence and Dexter. Entering camp, they're perceived as the two most talented players on the lines offensive and defensively, respectively. Dexter, perhaps is the top player on defense.
During the session, Dexter was asked to provide a scouting report on his counterpart in Torrence. The two have gone and will continue to go up against each other in practices throughout the year. If anything, they'll make each other better - iron sharpens iron.
"That was huge for me because O'Cyrus [Torrence] is a big, big guy, and he can move well. Just the way -- his approach. You wouldn't know you're going against a pro until you go against O'Cyrus," Dexter said of Torrence.
Torrence, a true senior, spent three years with Napier at Louisiana prior to transferring to Florida, what could be his final season in college with just two years of eligibility left (in 2020, all college athletes received a COVID waiver, granting them an immediate extra year of eligibility).
At 6-foot-5, 347 pounds, Torrence is one of the largest humans on the Florida football team. His size, power, strength and aggression are what make him one of the best guards within the SEC, though he's technically yet to even play in the conference.
Still, by all accounts, Torrence does everything the right way, at least according to Dexter.
"Physically he does all the right stuff," said Dexter. "Like you really have to sit down and -- when you're pass rushing against O'Cyrus, you've really got to sit down and figure out what he's doing because if you just go out there and try to rush him freely, it ain't going to work.
"He's been a huge, huge -- that was a big gift for O'Cyrus to come to Florida. He's a great player."
Dexter is learning from Torrence, especially with technique. Thus far in his career, he's gotten away with things just being more physically gifted than the man in front of him. With the help of defensive line coach Sean Spencer and going up against guys like Torrence, that has changed.
"Just all the small things that I didn't know, hands, feet, get-off, some of the stuff like that has really helped my game so far," he said, "and then just knowing the game a little more, knowing where the quarterback is or where the running back is and what type of player I'm going to get or how is the guard going to play off of me or how is he going to block me.
"That's been the biggest thing, just the small things in the game that I didn't know."
Now, the two will be able to continue going up against each other, making each other better as the team begins the next era of Florida Gators football.
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