Gator coaches go to video tape for the scoop on Miami

Florida coaches have had to dig a little deeper than usual into their video vault this week in preparing for Miami.

They had to round up some tape on Kansas. They also had to find some on Tampa Plant High School.

The Kansas tape is for the offensive coaches seeking to get a more in-depth look at new Miami defensive coordinator Bill Young’s defense. Young spent six seasons at Kansas, where last season the Jayhawks ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense (16.3 points) and turnovers (35).

The Plant High tape is for the defensive coaches hoping to get a better feel for Miami quarterback Robert Marve, a redshirt freshman making his first collegiate start Saturday night in The Swamp.

The Gators pretty much know what to expect from Young’s defense because he’s been doing it for so long and Urban Meyer actually played against Young when Meyer was the head coach at Bowling Green.

It’s a different deal with Marve. He was suspended from Miami’s opener last Thursday, so there’s no tape. UF had to go back and look at the Plant tapes to familiarize themselves with Marve.

Marve hasn’t played in a game since leading Plant to a victory over Nease in the Class 4A state title game in 2006.

“It’s not like we have lots of college tape on Marve,” UF defensive line coach Dan McCarney said. “We all know about him from high school. He was recruited by everybody in the country. We got high school tape. We know he comes out of one of the top programs in Florida and he’s a winner.

“But it’s not like you’ve got (college) tape to see what his strengths are. ... Does he throw well underneath, is his timing good, what’s his escapability, is he mobile? Those kind of things. It’s hard to tell.”

At Plant, Marve operated out of a spread offense similar to Florida’s and was an excellent runner and passer. In his senior season he broke Tim Tebow’s single-season state records for passing yardage and touchdowns.

He was injured in a car accident last summer and redshirted last season as a true freshman.

True freshman Jacory Harris started UM’s opener against Charleston Southern last Thursday. Now, it’s Marve’s turn to run the offense.

“He’s been in the program for a full year,” McCarney said. “He knows their system and he’s been coached and he’s not a rookie, even though this will be his first start.

“He’s been around college football for a full year. We have great respect for him. We’ll know a lot more when we get out here and get started in the first couple of series.”

McCarney said the Gators are preparing for both UM quarterbacks.

“Definitely,” he said. “We fully anticipate seeing them both. I think that’s probably their plan. From everything we’ve heard, both of them probably will play.

“Those are talented quarterbacks. They’re multi-dimensional. They can run and they can throw. No. 12 (Harris) is a really special athlete, a tremendous athlete.”

As for preparing for the UM defense, the Gators have a better idea what to expect from Young’s group.

“They like to get up tight (on the receivers),” UF wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales said. “They’re going to play bump-and-run. They’re going to play a physical cover 2 with an aggressive style at the line of scrimmage. We’ve got to do a great job in releasing this week.

“We know it, we’ve watched it, now we’ve got to go out there and perform and make plays.”