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Florida WRs and TEs to get increased opportunities with McElwain
By John Hollis
Published:
Much like life as a whole, success in football can be defined as when preparation meets opportunity.
That’s the message first-year Florida coach Jim McElwain has consistently preached to his wide receivers and tight ends since assuming the reins in Gainesville.
McElwain has challenged the group hard — and publicly — to compete and play hard on every play because he knows from experience that players often play like they practice.
Florida hardly lacks talent on the edge, but McElwain is working hard in preseason camp to make sure they perform to the best of their abilities.
That’s because the opportunities they longed for are soon coming, starting in the Sept. 5 season opener with New Mexico State.
It hasn’t been a hard sell to make as McElwain boasts a proven offensive track record as both a head coach and an offensive coordinator. The results figure to make all of his receivers and tight ends happy with the increased numbers they are likely to put in his sophisticated pro-style passing scheme.
It will be a far cry from recent years under the more conservative Will Muschamp regime when the Gators pass-catchers did more blocking downfield than hauling in passes.
Demarcus Robinson (53 catches for 810 yards, 7 TDs) was the only Florida receiver to have hauled in more than 21 passes last year, while the team’s tight ends managed just a collective 26 receptions.
That figured to change immediately upon McElwain’s hiring in December.
To keep everybody fresh, his offense relies on as many as seven or eight receivers per game, with each player running detailed routes that are intentionally designed to move the defense to certain areas.
The receivers as a whole will have considerably more routes available to them, especially across the middle and from the slot position, where converted tailback Brandon Powell will play this fall. Both he and Robinson figure to especially thrive with more chances to get the ball in space and make plays after the catch.
But nobody may have welcomed McElwain’s presence more than tight end Jake McGee. Now healthy again after breaking his right leg just nine snaps into the 2014 season, the sixth-year Virginia graduate transfer is poised to blossom in an offense in which tight ends play a prominent role in the numerous shifts and different personnel groupings designed to spread the ball around to skill players.
It’s a system that should suit especially McGee perfectly. He blossomed into a star at UVA because of his sure hands, the great speed that made him a difficult guard for most linebackers and the size at 6-feet-6, 249 pounds that posed problems for smaller safeties.
But getting the ball as much as possible to the team’s talented playmakers on the edge is more than just good football sense. It might be a necessity for a Florida team that is trying to break in a young quarterback in either Will Grier or Treon Harris and an inexperienced offensive line.
The Gators receivers and tight ends had best be ready.
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
