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The SEC is a line of scrimmage league.
Florida football demonstrated improvement on both lines of scrimmage in back-to-back wins over Mississippi State and UCF.
But a truer test will come Saturday, when the Florida Gators (3-2, 1-1 SEC) play Saturday at No. 9 Tennessee (7 p.m., ESPN).
The Vols (4-1, 1-1 SEC), led by preseason All-SEC edge rusher James Pearce Jr., will bring heat throughout the contest. Florida’s offense line hasn’t surrendered a sack since Sept. 14 against Texas A&M, while its defense has recorded eight sacks during that span.
Against UCF, Florida sacked Knights starting quarterback KJ Jefferson five times while keeping quarterbacks Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway fully protected throughout the game.
“It meant a lot to us,” Florida starting center Jake Slaughter said. “It’s important to protect, especially because we have two quarterbacks. It’s good to have two and bad to have one because the other one is hurt. There’s a sense of pride in getting in the right call and performing, executing your technique and blocking your man.”
Florida football coach Billy Napier said the improved line of scrimmage play is the result of playing better on first and second down.
“Creating some negatives, (tackles for a loss) and creating the passing downs where you can play coverage and go get the quarterback,” Napier said. “I thought we did that better. I think the coverage in the rush worked together. Covered them pretty good. I think the rush plan was sound. We did a nice job with the rush. Lane integrity. Crushed the pocket. When we did get a chance to finish on the quarterback, we did that.”
Florida football offensive line stabilizing
Florida has found a consistent starting five on its starting offensive line, with Austin Barber at left tackle, Knijeah Harris at left guard, Slaughter at center, Dameion George Jr. at right…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-footballs-improved-line-scrimmage-080334948.html
Author : The Gainesville Sun
Publish date : 2024-10-09 08:03:34
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