Florida football held its third spring practice on Tuesday at the Sanders Practice Field.
In all, the Florida Gators will hold 15 practices, culminating with the Orange & Blue game on April 12 at 1 p.m. at The Swamp.
Florida is coming off its first winning season since 2020, closing the 2024 season with four straight wins to finish 8-5.
“We have the players in place,” Florida defensive coordinator Ron Roberts said. “I’m going to be honest. Last year, we had the players in place. Could we have done better? Yes, you know, and it didn’t hit until, whatever, (week) five, (week) six, we started getting in that mode of doing those things. If I went back, I think we under achieved, you know, but I think we got the players in place, and I think right now, you’re already seeing guys, you know, know what to expect.”
UF will practice twice more this week before taking a week off for spring break from March 16-23.
Here are three takeaways from the open portion of practice:
Florida rachets up the contact
Florida football racheted up the contact as players wore shoulder pads, but not full pads, during Tuesday’s workout. Freshmen defensive linemen Stephon Shivers and Jeremiah McCloud went mano-y-mano in a rush-block drills, while wide receivers and tight ends worked on blocks.
Freshman QB Tramell Jones Jr, makes nice throw, DJ Lagway still not throwing for Florida football
Freshman quarterback Tramell Jones had the best throw of the day, hitting walk on receiver Jackson Wade in stride on a deep pattern. Wade made a nice lunging catch to complete the play.
True freshman receivers Dallas Wilson, Vernell Brown Jr, and Naeshaun Montgomery continued to stand out in pass catch drills as well.
For the third straight practice, quarterback DJ Lagway (shoulder, lower body) did drop back drills, but didn’t throw. Wide receiver Kahleil Jackson (torn ACL) remained in a black jersey and took part in agility drills but didn’t run routes.
Return jobs for Florida football up for grabs
Florida football special teams senior analyst Joe Houston said a number of players have shown interest in replacing Chimere Dike returning punts this season.
It’s big shoes to fill, as Dike, who recently ran a 4.34 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, averaged 13.36 yards per punt return last season.
“Chim (Dike) was so great for us, a lot of our success in that unit was predicated on him, his decision making, his ability, so, we’re working a ton of guys in that area,” Houston said. “Not just some of the younger guys but Tre Wilson, Tank Hawkins, Jadan Baugh, Ja’Kobi Jackson, J. Michael Sturdivant, Aidan Mizell, Vernell Brown III, Duke Clark, Dallas Wilson, Naeshaun Montgomery, DeBraun Hampton will all get reps at that position, they are gonna compete for it and the best guy is going to be the starter.”
The 5-foot-11, 172-pound Brown, a true freshman, four kicks (three punts and a kickoff) for TDs. during his junior year at Jones HS.
“He’s got what I can’t coach, alright and that’s speed, there are a lot of guys too that are just. they’re fast, right,” Houston said. “And like anytime you are just trying to get creative to get your best athlete the ball in the open field and in that position, you are almost guaranteed to get it.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Three observations from Florida football spring practice
