Intel from Florida Gators’ final scrimmage of fall training camp
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators had their final scrimmage of fall training camp Friday, 13 days away from the 2023 season opener at Utah on Aug. 31.
Practice was held inside The Swamp, with the first-team offense taking on the second-team defense and the second-team offense going against the first-team defense.
Here are the top plays, standouts, and takeaways from Saturday, according to Gators Online sources. GO’s Nick de la Torre contributed to this report:
Offensive MVP: Cam Carroll
Florida redshirt senior running back Cam Carroll was having himself a day prior to his injury. The Tulane transfer had rushed for over 100 yards in the scrimmage.
That includes a run of 70-plus yards where Carroll broke free through the middle of the defense and was tackled inside the 10-yard line. It was one of his best practices.
Unfortunately, Carroll suffered lower-body injury during the scrimmage and had to be carted off the field. Florida coach Billy Napier will address Carroll’s status on Saturday.
Defensive MVP: Jack Pyburn
This recognition belongs to sophomore EDGE Jack Pyburn, who “showed out” in the scrimmage according to one source.
Pyburn played particularly well during the second half of practice, with another source adding that “got better” as the scrimmage went on.
After making two sacks in the first scrimmage, Pyburn had another sack on Friday. He also got in the backfield regularly, had a few tackles for loss and also made some stops on running plays for short gains.
Top play from Florida’s scrimmage
That belongs to true freshman receiver Eugene Wilson III. The On3 five-star recruit came up big in the scrimmage with a long touchdown reception of 50-plus yards.
It was a play designed specifically for Wilson. This was a catch-and-run score where he got the ball in space and made an explosive play to take it to the house.
The touchdown generated a lot of excitement on the sidelines. One source said it was the play of the day along with Carroll’s run and Wilson showed that “he’s legit” on his TD.
Graham Mertz trending up
The play to Wilson was one of two touchdowns thrown by redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz. He also connected on a long pass to senior Ricky Pearsall and had additional completions to Pearsall and sophomore Caleb Douglas.
One source said that Mertz “looked good again” and has gotten better with each scrimmage since spring ball. He’s more comfortable with the offense but has also become one of team leaders over the course of the offseason.
It showed up on Friday during Florida’s two-minute drill, one source said. The offense was unable to score, and Mertz looked visibly frustrated as he came off the field. Seconds later, however, he was cheering on the second-team offense and encouraging the starters on the sideline.
“It was great to see how he handled that,” the source said.
How Jake Slaughter played
On Friday the Gators’ offensive line was without starting center Kingsley Eguakun, who suffered a lower body injury during Wednesday’s practice.
Like he did in the spring game, redshirt sophomore center Jake Slaughter started in place of Eguakun and looked good according to multiple sources.
UF has a few interior linemen behind Slaughter who have taken reps at center: true freshmen Knijeah Harris and Roderick Kearny and junior Richie Leonard IV.
Despite Eguakun’s absence, one source said the first-team offensive line played very well, describing it as a performance that “gives you confidence” about the starters.
More Gators scrimmage notes
* Junior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. and sophomore running back Trevor Etienne both made plays, with Etienne scoring on a touchdown pass from Mertz.
* Following the injury to Carroll, one source said true freshman running back Treyaun Webb had some nice runs toward the end of the scrimmage.
* In addition to Pyburn, EDGE Tyreak Sapp had a sack on Friday. He made a position change after the season-ending injury to fellow redshirt sophomore Justus Boone.
* Florida’s starter at the EDGE position, junior Princely Umanmielen, came up with a pick-six in the scrimmage.
* Sophomore cornerback Devin Moore and freshman cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson both had interceptions as well. Jackson also broke up a couple passes on Friday.
* With sophomore Shemar James and redshirt sophomore Scooby Williams sidelined, redshirt senior Teradja Mitchell and junior Derek Wingo started at inside linebacker.
* However, the mixed and matched several different ILB combinations, with redshirt junior Mannie Nunnery and true freshman Jaden Robinson receiving a lot of reps.
The post Intel from Florida Gators’ final scrimmage of fall training camp appeared first on On3.
