Just got back from the Orange and Blue game. It's difficult to tell the true measure of the team with a scrimmage because so many key players are limited in their playing time, there is no hitting the QB and you have a lot of non-scholarship players filling in gaps. (Andrew Blaylock and Johnathan Phillips alternated at QB in the last couple of series.
Let's start with some high points. I had heard throughout Spring practice that young guys like Frankie Hammond Jr., T. J. Lawrence, Jon Bostic, Brendan Beal, were having great springs and they did not disappoint. Hammond especially had a good game at receiver, even though he missed a couple of catches, granted they were in traffic, but he made some nice grabs, had several good YACs and showed speed and elusiveness.
With Spikes (actually all 11 defensive starters sat) sitting out the game as a precautionary measure, Bostic and Beal made a ton of tackles from their MLB spots. The Gators are ridiculously deep at linebacker and in the secondary. Anytime you have guys like Will Hill and Dorian Monroe running with the twos, you know you've got talent. Monroe, by the way, made a nice one-handed interception of a tipped Tebow pass and had a good return on it.
Two walk-ons who've gotten some press this spring made some good plays in the game. Christopher Scott ran hard and made some good runs. Rick Burgess scored on a 12-yard run and caught a pass out of the backfield. Looks like the Gators plan to throw some to the fullback this year.
Meyer even pulled out a little trickeration for the game. Tebow handed off to Carl Moore for what looked like an end around, but Moore pulled up and completed a pass to Deonte Thompson for a nice gainer. I can see the SEC East defensive coordinators going "Oh crap," as they add another thing to what they must prepare for when they face the Gators.
Other good news is that I didn't see anyone get hurt. injuries have been a problem this Spring, but looks like everyone made it out alive.
