I like that." Uh, talk about the variety of play calling, because they found a comfort zone for TJJ.

Oh, yeah.

They did.

They, they, they ran some, I don't even know what you would call it, but they ran some jet motion with London Montgomery, with their linemen split out wide.

I mean, Buster Faulkner was in his bag, uh, on Saturday.

And, you know, the, the, the best part about that matchup is he was going against Will Muschamp, you know, a guy who they have history going all the way back to Valdosta together, and then they were on Kirby Smart's staff at Georgia.

So, so there was, you know, those two guys that really know each other and their tendencies, and, and Buster's out there with a guy making his first start, and he really made some great play calls.

Uh, bone throw to the secondary.

Now he's had to answer some tough questions for what's happened the last couple times out, so what has the month of October been like, uh, down there in Gainesville, and just kind of what's the state and the mood of the program as they head to Austin for a, a tough opponent to play if you're looking to try to bounce back and, and end a losing streak?

Yeah, it's interesting.

Um, you know, the first four weeks, and even the first five weeks of the season, like Summerall's press conferences and, and the way that he conducted himself at the podium was just, I mean, it was money.

Like every time he talked it was a soundbite.

And then even after the Missouri game, like I think people appreciated, fans appreciated the way that he talked about that loss and his fire and his just like matter-of-factness in some of the ways that he discussed the issues.

Um, I think everything was good all the way leading up to the loss to South Carolina.

After that game, that was the first time that Summerall like wasn't himself, I guess, and showed some like, you know, just like he just, he seemed defeated.

I know Texas fans are looking at that as, "Hey, can Arch Manning have his bounce back?" But what, what does that side of the ball do well? Who are we looking out for to say, you know, this is a guy who could really change how this game is played?

... what do you make of that group if it plays out the way that he said?

Yeah, it's, it's, it's [chuckles] very interesting to see how it came together.

I'm not surprised by the interior of the offensive line.

In the spring, Sumrall said that TJ Shanahan was the most physical lineman on the team, and I said, "Well, that guy's starting." Uh, and then he ended up being the right guard, which initially they were working Bryce Lovett there.

Then they were kicking him out to right tackle, and he was cross-training at those two spots.

Then lo and behold, [laughs] on the last scrimmage Saturday, he rolls out there as a starting left tackle.

Now, he had played there some in camp, and I was being told that they were working him at both tackle spots, but, you know, it's interesting to see how that came together.

Who's standing out on defense for the Gators? Anybody maybe that was unexpected for you coming into fall camp?

... what do you make of that group if it plays out the way that he said?

Yeah, it's, it, it's [chuckles] very interesting to see how it came together.

I'm not surprised by the interior of the offensive line.

In the spring, Summerall said that TJ Shanahan was the most physical lineman on the team, and I said, "Well, that guy's starting." Uh, and then he ended up being the right guard, which initially they were working Bryce Lovett there.

Then they were kicking him out to right tackle, and he was cross-training at those two spots.

Then lo and behold, [chuckles] on the last scrimmage Saturday, he rolls out there as a starting left tackle.

Now, he had played there some in camp, and I was being told that they were working him at both tackle spots.

Who's standing out on defense for the Gators? Anybody maybe that was unexpected for you coming into fall camp?

Is that your expectation? And what do you think about Aaron Philo? What's the idea about him around the building?

Yeah, I mean, that is my expectation.

I, I, I think that he's shown enough that, that, that he has some built-in advantages that are, that are gonna be hard to keep him from getting the job.

Uh, you know, he, he's done a really good job of, um, kind of ingratiating himself with his teammates.

Some of the stuff that he's done in the off-season, going golfing with the wide receivers and other quarterbacks.

Like he, he's done a good job of trying to become a leader in that locker room.

Uh, now I will give Tramel Jones credit.

Wow

in terms of just what i mean there's certainly nothing you're going to learn here about the program you've been covering it every day zach but just what's your final thoughts before they finally before they hit the field in a few weeks

Yeah, I think that the biggest question marks this team has is in the trenches.

I know everybody wants to talk about the quarterback.

There's questions in the secondary, too.

But the pieces that they lost on the offensive line and defensive line have been big question marks.

And that kind of is what John Summerall challenged his team all offseason on.

You guys got to get stronger.

I bet you can guess which one.

Not can the defense be okay, but who can the playmakers be? Who could the potential game wreckers be on that side of the ball?

Well, obviously, you know, the Miles Grahams of the world.

Um, I think Bryce Thornton has, is, got a chance to, to really take off in, in this defense.

I think they gave him that number one jersey for a reason.

To me, the guy that may be the biggest key to that defense is Brendan Bett.

Um, you know, they gotta replace Mekhi Barrow i- in the middle at nose tackle, and the guy that did it last year when he was out for four games was Brendan Bett.

Now, he wasn't big enough to play nose tackle last year or probably strong enough.

So how likely is it that the offensive line is actually not a vulnerability, but potentially just a solid part of their offensive roster?

He's not an offensive guy, but he feels like a UF fit.

Yeah.

It, it's interesting because that has been one of the most, um, notable developments of this off-season, is how he has killed that narrative.

And, you know, I've said this before, but, you know, when you think about the coaching candidates that Florida had out there other than Lane Kiffin, I don't know which one could have been hired and changed the narrative around, you know, this coaching search quicker and better than John Sumrall did.

And, and, and John Sumrall, I guess, was a, a unique case compared to the other candidates because, as you said, he was a G5 coach, he was from the, the state of Louisiana, so he had similarities to Napier that other candidates maybe didn't that, that made some fans just react to him not great initially.

Um, but I, I mean, I tell you what, I don't think it took long for him to get fans on board.

And, and I would say, I think for many of them, he did it before they even got to spring ball.

Why did it take so long if they have gotten it worked out, and how did they finally get everybody on the same page, assuming that they have here?