Options on the O-line
Florida coach Urban Meyer stopped short of naming his starting offensive line Monday because there still are some options to consider.
The feeling is that if the season started today, here’s how the Gators would line up on the offensive front: Matt Patchan at left tackle, Carl Johnson at left guard, Maurkice Pouncey at center, Mike Pouncey at right guard and Marcus Gilbert at right tackle.
The only holdup seems to be whether to go ahead and name Patchan a starter, even though he’s been running with the No. 1 offense for two weeks now.
“The left tackle right now, he’s as talented as any offensive lineman we’ve ever coached,” Meyer said. “It’s just. … I don’t want to say this, but he almost wasted a year because we had to play him on defense (last season as a true freshman).
That’s a whole year of development at arguably the most difficult position in college sports. He’s still a little bit behind, but he’s catching up real fast.”
Meyer said the Gators are considering two other options on the line: Johnson moving to left tackle and sophomore James Wilson starting at left guard; orredshirt freshman Sam Robey starting at center, with the Pouncey twins at the two guard positions and Johnson and Gilbert at tackle.
The coaches will reveal the starting front later in the week, but all indications are Patchan will be the opening-day left tackle.
Robbie Andreu has been The Sun’s college football beat writer since 1993. He covered every game of the Steve Spurrier coaching era. The only game he’s missed since he has been in Gainesville is the 2006 Florida State game in Tallahassee. He happily stayed home for that one because of the imminent birth of his second child. Before coming to The Sun in March of 1993, Andreu worked for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel for 10 years, covering a variety of sports, including the Miami Dolphins, the Miami Hurricanes, professional golf and baseball (playoffs and World Series). He also worked in Clearwater and Bradenton. He graduated from UF in 1977.
[...] Uh-huh.The starting offensive line hasn’t been named yet, but here’s a look at how it figures to shape up on Saturday.Jeff Demps is expected to be the Gators’ starter at running back.Freshman receiver Andre [...]
by Florida News – 9/1/09 | MrSEC.com